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 between September 24, 2026 and September 26, 2026.
Valley City, North Dakota, in Barnes County, has about 6,600 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Valley City is held at the county jail, run by the Barnes County Sheriff's Office, and the jail's record of each person held is a public record. This guide says where to look for someone in custody, what the jail holds and who books people into it.
This guide covers the search, the jail, who books people, state prison and common questions.
Related guides: Valley City public records, Barnes County inmate search, Valley City arrest records, Valley City warrants, Valley City police reports, Valley City property records, North Dakota arrest records and North Dakota inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Valley City
The county jail, run by the Barnes County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Valley City, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Barnes County Sheriff's Office at barnescounty.us/index.php/sheriffs-office (page title: Sheriff's Office | Official Website of Barnes County, North Dakota), phone 701-845-8530, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster, so a search for a particular person goes through the office at 701-845-8530.
The Barnes County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2021 the jail held about 4 people, down from about 11 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 32 beds, and it ran at 34 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Barnes County has about 11,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 4 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Barnes County Jail
The Barnes County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Valley City (filed by the FBI as Valley City Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Valley City.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Valley City's 92 for 2025 and the Barnes County Sheriff's Office's 58 for 2025.
Together, the two agencies in Barnes County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 150 arrests to the FBI that year. Those kept in custody were booked into the county jail; a person cited and released at the scene was not.
The counts, agency by agency and year by year, are in Valley City arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison, not the jail; the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation lists its inmates at docr.nd.gov/resident-lookup.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Valley City?
Ask the Barnes County Sheriff's Office at 701-845-8530; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at barnescounty.us/index.php/sheriffs-office.
How many people are in the Barnes County jail?
About 4 on an average day in 2021, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 32 beds.
What is the phone number for the Barnes County jail?
701-845-8530, the number on the page of the Barnes County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Barnes County go?
To a facility of the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; its inmate locator is at docr.nd.gov/resident-lookup.
Is this the official Valley City website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.