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.
Barnes County, North Dakota, has about 11,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Barnes County 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: Barnes County public records, Barnes County arrest records, Barnes County warrants, Barnes County police reports, Barnes County property records, North Dakota arrest records and North Dakota inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Barnes County
The county jail, run by the Barnes County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Barnes County, 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 make the arrests that end in a booking in Barnes County.
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 Barnes County arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
The jail holds people awaiting trial and people serving short sentences. A person sentenced to prison in Barnes County serves the sentence in a facility of the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, whose inmate locator is at docr.nd.gov/resident-lookup.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Barnes County?
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 Barnes 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.