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 9, 2026.
Independence, Oregon, in Polk County, has about 10,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Independence is held at the county jail, run by the Polk 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: Independence public records, Polk County inmate search, Independence arrest records, Independence warrants, Independence criminal records, Independence court records, Oregon arrest records and Oregon inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Independence
The county jail, run by the Polk County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Independence, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Polk County Sheriff's Office at polkcountyor.gov/210/Sheriffs-Office (page title: Sheriff's Office | Polk County, OR), phone 503-623-9251, 850 Main St. Dallas, OR 97338, Monday - Friday 8am - 5pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 9, 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 503-623-9251.
The Polk County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 120 people, down from about 180 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 195 beds, and it ran at 92 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Polk County has about 91,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 13 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Polk County Jail
The Polk County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Independence (filed by the FBI as Independence Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Independence.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Polk County: the Polk County Liquor Commission (state agency); the Polk County State Police (state police).
The Salem Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Polk County, so its arrests are not broken out for Polk County here.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Dallas's 350 for 2025, the Polk County Sheriff's Office's 326 for 2025 and Independence's 222 for 2025.
Together, the four agencies in Polk County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,118 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 Independence 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 Polk County serves the sentence in a facility of the Oregon Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at oregon.gov/doc/victim-services/pages/offender-search.aspx.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Independence?
Ask the Polk County Sheriff's Office at 503-623-9251; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at polkcountyor.gov/210/Sheriffs-Office.
How many people are in the Polk County jail?
About 120 on an average day in 2023, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 195 beds.
What is the phone number for the Polk County jail?
503-623-9251, the number on the page of the Polk County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Polk County go?
To a facility of the Oregon Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at oregon.gov.
Is this the official Independence 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.