Reviewed and updated October 11, 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 11, 2026.
Roswell, New Mexico, in Chaves County, has about 47,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Roswell is held at the county jail, run by the Chaves 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: Roswell public records, Chaves County inmate search, Roswell arrest records, Roswell warrants, Roswell criminal records, Roswell court records, New Mexico arrest records and New Mexico inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Roswell
The county jail, run by the Chaves County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Roswell, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Chaves County Sheriff's Office at chavescounty.gov/your-county/departments/detention-center/adult-det... (page title: Adult Detention Visitation | Chaves County, NM), phone 575-624-6600, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 11, 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 575-624-6600.
The Chaves County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 220 people, down from about 280 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 335 beds, and it ran at 67 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Chaves County has about 64,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 35 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Chaves County Jail
The Chaves County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Roswell (filed by the FBI as Roswell Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Roswell.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Chaves County: New Mexico Military Institute (campus police).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Roswell's 3,241 for 2024, the Chaves County Sheriff's Office's 382 for 2025 and Dexter's 20 for 2022.
Together, the four agencies in Chaves County with all twelve months of 2022 on file reported 3,657 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 Roswell 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 Chaves County serves the sentence in a facility of the New Mexico Corrections Department, whose inmate locator is at cd.nm.gov.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Roswell?
Ask the Chaves County Sheriff's Office at 575-624-6600; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at chavescounty.gov.
How many people are in the Chaves County jail?
About 220 on an average day in 2023, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 335 beds.
What is the phone number for the Chaves County jail?
575-624-6600, the number on the page of the Chaves County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Chaves County go?
To a facility of the New Mexico Corrections Department; its inmate locator is at cd.nm.gov.
Is this the official Roswell 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.