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 September 30, 2026.
Brookings County, South Dakota, has about 36,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Brookings County is held at the county jail, run by the Brookings 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: Brookings County public records, Brookings County arrest records, Brookings County warrants, Brookings County criminal records, Brookings County court records, South Dakota arrest records and South Dakota inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Brookings County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Brookings County is held at the county jail, run by the Brookings County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Brookings County Sheriff's Office at brookingscountysd.gov/m/directory/department?did=11 (page title: Staff Directory, Sheriff's Office), phone 605-696-8308, 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 605-696-8308.
The Brookings County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2021 the jail held about 31 people, down from about 35 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 54 beds, and it ran at 65 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Brookings County has about 36,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 9 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Brookings County Jail
The Brookings County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Brookings make the arrests that end in a booking in Brookings County.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Brookings County: South Dakota State University (campus police).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Brookings's 644 for 2025 and the Brookings County Sheriff's Office's 14 for 2025.
Together, the two agencies in Brookings County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 658 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 Brookings 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 Brookings County serves the sentence in a facility of the South Dakota Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at doc.sd.gov/adult-corrections/offender-locator.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Brookings County?
Ask the Brookings County Sheriff's Office at 605-696-8308; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at brookingscountysd.gov.
How many people are in the Brookings County jail?
About 31 on an average day in 2021, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 54 beds.
What is the phone number for the Brookings County jail?
605-696-8308, the number on the page of the Brookings County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Brookings County go?
To a facility of the South Dakota Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at doc.sd.gov/adult-corrections/offender-locator.
Is this the official Brookings 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.