Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site on September 24, 2026.
Sanders County, Montana, has about 14,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Sanders County Sheriff's Office and three city agencies. An arrest leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at the county jail, and, if the County Attorney files charges, a case in the Sanders County District Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts each agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Sanders County public records, Montana arrest records, Montana inmate search and Montana criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Sanders County
The Sanders County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Sanders County. It reported 17 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists three cities in Sanders County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Thompson Falls, 1,526 residents: 7 arrests reported for 2025.
- Plains, 1,244 residents: 0 arrests reported for 2025.
- Hot Springs, 623 residents: 0 arrests reported for 2025.
A city on that list is reported separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Sanders County
The FBI publishes every agency's monthly arrest counts on the Crime Data Explorer. These are the full-year totals, all offenses, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026; a year with months missing or not reported is left out.
- Sanders County Sheriff's Office: 17 for 2025, 55 for 2024, 40 for 2023, 35 for 2022, 20 for 2021 and 6 for 2020.
- Thompson Falls: 7 for 2025, 7 for 2024, 19 for 2023, 13 for 2022, 15 for 2021 and 7 for 2020.
- Hot Springs: 0 for 2025, 0 for 2024, 3 for 2023, 0 for 2022, 2 for 2021 and 1 for 2020.
- Plains: 0 for 2025, 5 for 2024, 1 for 2023, 8 for 2022 and 40 for 2019; 2020 and 2021 are missing months.
Together, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 24 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 24 in 2025 against 67 in 2024, down 64 percent.
Through May 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 1 arrests, against 20 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Sanders County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Sanders County is held at the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest, apart from the short stay some city departments' own holding cells allow; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked at all. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and the court file takes over from there.
On an average day in 2019 the jail held about 27 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 29 beds, and it ran at 93 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Sanders County Sheriff's Office at co.sanders.mt.us/212/Sheriffs-Office (page title: Sheriff's Office | Sanders County, MT), phone 406-203-0082, 1115 Main Street Thompson Falls, MT 59873, Monday through Friday 8 am to 5 pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Montana Department of Corrections lists its inmates at offendersearch.mt.gov/conweb.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Sanders County
An arrest in Sanders County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Sanders County District Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at co.sanders.mt.us/DocumentCenter/View/512/Court-Case-Access-); the County Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at co.sanders.mt.us/198/County-Attorney, phone 406-827-6903).
Montana is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: the CHOPRS service lets anyone search public criminal history online by name, through the Montana Department of Justice. That record shows what agencies reported to the state, which is wider than one county's court index but can lag it.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Sanders County
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. Under the Montana Public Records Act the agency must answer in a timely manner; the statute sets no number of days, and it may charge the actual cost of fulfilling the request.
- An arrest by the Sanders County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 406-203-0082.
- An arrest in Thompson Falls, Plains or Hot Springs: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the County Attorney, 406-827-6903, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Sanders County District Court, through the court records page at co.sanders.mt.us.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Sanders County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the three cities in Sanders County: Thompson Falls, Plains and Hot Springs.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Sanders County District Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Sanders County each year?
The Sanders County Sheriff's Office reported 17 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the four agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 24 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Sanders County?
Ask the Sanders County Sheriff's Office at 406-203-0082; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at co.sanders.mt.us/212/Sheriffs-Office.
Where are people arrested in Sanders County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Sanders County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Sanders County?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Montana Department of Justice: the CHOPRS service lets anyone search public criminal history online by name. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Montana Public Records Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Sanders County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Sanders County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Montana Public Records Act the answer is due in a timely manner; the statute sets no number of days.
Is this the official Sanders County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.