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.
Chaves County, New Mexico, has about 64,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Chaves County 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: Chaves County public records, Chaves County arrest records, Chaves County warrants, Chaves County criminal records, Chaves County court records, New Mexico arrest records and New Mexico inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Chaves County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Chaves County is held at the county jail, run by the Chaves County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
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 agencies that report for Roswell, Dexter, Hagerman and Lake Arthur make the arrests that end in a booking in Chaves County.
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 Chaves County arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison, not the jail; the New Mexico Corrections Department lists its inmates at cd.nm.gov.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Chaves County?
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 Chaves 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.