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 4, 2026.
Brown County, South Dakota, has about 37,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Brown County is held at the county jail, run by the Brown 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: Brown County public records, Brown County arrest records, Brown County warrants, Brown County criminal records, Brown County court records, South Dakota arrest records and South Dakota inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Brown County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Brown County is held at the county jail, run by the Brown County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Brown County Sheriff's Office at brown.sd.us/department/jail (page title: Jail | Brown County), phone 800.896.3201, 22 Court St. Suite 1 Aberdeen, SD 57401, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 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 800.896.3201.
The Brown County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2019 the jail held about 58 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 40 beds, and it ran at 146 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Brown County has about 37,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 15 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Brown County Jail
The Brown County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Aberdeen and Groton make the arrests that end in a booking in Brown County.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Aberdeen's 1,395 for 2025, the Brown County Sheriff's Office's 453 for 2025 and Groton's 2 for 2020.
Together, the two agencies in Brown County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,848 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 Brown 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 South Dakota Department of Corrections lists its inmates at doc.sd.gov/adult-corrections/offender-locator.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Brown County?
Ask the Brown County Sheriff's Office at 800.896.3201; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at brown.sd.us/department/jail.
How many people are in the Brown County jail?
About 58 on an average day in 2019, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 40 beds.
What is the phone number for the Brown County jail?
800.896.3201, the number on the page of the Brown County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Brown 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 Brown 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.