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 October 1, 2026.
Williams County, North Dakota, has about 41,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Williams County is held at the county jail, run by the Williams 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: Williams County public records, Williams County arrest records, Williams County warrants, Williams County criminal records, Williams County court records, North Dakota arrest records and North Dakota inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Williams County
The county jail, run by the Williams County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Williams County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Williams County Sheriff's Office at williamsnd.com/correctional-center (page title: Correctional Center | Williams County, ND), phone (701) 577-4585, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 1, 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) 577-4585.
The Williams County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2021 the jail held about 76 people, down from about 110 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 235 beds, and it ran at 46 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Williams County has about 41,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 19 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Williams County Jail
The Williams County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Williston, Tioga and Ray make the arrests that end in a booking in Williams County.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Williston's 2,935 for 2025, the Williams County Sheriff's Office's 758 for 2025 and Tioga's 37 for 2025.
Together, the three agencies in Williams County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 3,730 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 Williams 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 Williams 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 Williams County?
Ask the Williams County Sheriff's Office at (701) 577-4585; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at williamsnd.com/correctional-center.
How many people are in the Williams County jail?
About 76 on an average day in 2021, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 235 beds.
What is the phone number for the Williams County jail?
(701) 577-4585, the number on the page of the Williams County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Williams 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 Williams 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.