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 on September 23, 2026.
Dawson County, Texas, has about 12,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Dawson County is held at the county jail, run by the Dawson 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: Dawson County public records, Dawson County arrest records, Dawson County warrants, Dawson County police reports, Dawson County property records, Texas arrest records and Texas inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Dawson County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Dawson County is held at the county jail, run by the Dawson County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Dawson County Sheriff's Office at co.dawson.tx.us/page/dawsonSheriff (page title: Dawson County, Texas), phone 806-872-7560, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 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 806-872-7560.
The Dawson County Jail by the Numbers
So far in 2026 the jail has held about 37 people on an average day, down from about 39 in 2019. Its rated capacity is 54 beds, and it is running at 69 percent of it. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Dawson County has about 12,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 31 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Dawson County Jail
The Dawson County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Lamesa make the arrests that end in a booking in Dawson County.
The O'Donnell Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Dawson County, so its arrests are not broken out for Dawson County here.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Lamesa's 142 for 2025 and the Dawson County Sheriff's Office's 7 for 2025.
Together, the two agencies in Dawson County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 149 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 Dawson 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 Dawson County serves the sentence in a facility of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, whose inmate locator is at inmate.tdcj.texas.gov/InmateSearch/start.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Dawson County?
Ask the Dawson County Sheriff's Office at 806-872-7560; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at co.dawson.tx.us/page/dawsonSheriff.
How many people are in the Dawson County jail?
About 37 on an average day so far in 2026, against a rated capacity of 54 beds.
What is the phone number for the Dawson County jail?
806-872-7560, the number on the page of the Dawson County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Dawson County go?
To a facility of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice; its inmate locator is at inmate.tdcj.texas.gov/InmateSearch/start.
Is this the official Dawson 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.