Montgomery County Inmate Population Overview
The Montgomery County inmate population is centered on one local detention facility, the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center / Montgomery County Jail in Red Oak. The county sheriff page identifies jail administration as one of the sheriff's duties, so the Sheriff's Office is the local starting point for current custody questions, jail booking records, and public-records requests tied to the county jail. The research did not find a state prison, federal prison, or ICE detention facility physically inside Montgomery County.
That means the local jail count is only one part of the custody picture. A person arrested by the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, Red Oak Police, Iowa State Patrol, or another local agency may be booked into the county jail, released after court, held for a short sentence, or transferred when a sentence or outside hold changes the custody system. A sentenced state prisoner is searched through Iowa DOC Offender Search, not through a county roster. Federal and immigration cases move to BOP, U.S. Marshals, or ICE channels.
Montgomery County Inmate Population Statistics
The strongest county-level figures in the research come from the Vera Institute Incarceration Trends county dataset. For Montgomery County, Vera reports a 2019 total jail population of 16 and a rated capacity of 34. Those are historical dataset figures, not a live headcount from the sheriff. No current county dashboard, live jail roster count, annual sheriff jail report, or current average daily population report was located on the official county site.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Year |
|---|---|---|
| Total jail population | 16 | Vera Incarceration Trends, 2019 |
| Rated capacity | 34 | Vera Incarceration Trends, 2019 |
| Jail admissions | 137 | Vera Incarceration Trends, 2019 |
| Jail discharges | 137 | Vera Incarceration Trends, 2019 |
| Jail population rate | 258.11 per 100,000 residents age 15-64 | Vera Incarceration Trends, 2019 |
| County population estimate | 10,063 | U.S. Census QuickFacts, July 1, 2025 |
The Census QuickFacts page for Montgomery County is useful for context because small county counts can shift rates quickly. A change of only a few people in custody can look large when converted to a per-capita rate. The jail population rate should therefore be read with the year and dataset method in mind.
The Census image captured for Montgomery County shows the public demographic source used for population context.
County population context does not replace jail data, but it helps explain why Montgomery County jail rates can swing when the count changes by a small number of people.
Montgomery County Jail Population Trends
Vera's Montgomery County rows show a small jail population with a sharp rise from 2013 to 2014, followed by a steady range from 2015 through 2019. The 2019 count of 16 was below the 2019 rated capacity figure in the dataset. That does not prove today's jail is under capacity, because no current daily roster count or sheriff dashboard was found. It does show that the latest researched historical row was far below the published capacity field for that year.
| Year | Total Jail Population | Rated Capacity | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 4 | 33 | Admissions 188; prison population from county 15. |
| 2014 | 19 | 33.17 | Admissions 153.5; prison population from county 16. |
| 2015 | 16.5 | 33.33 | Admissions 139.25; prison population from county 10. |
| 2016 | 14 | 33.5 | Admissions 142.5; prison population from county 7. |
| 2017 | 13 | 33.67 | Sentenced custody 6.5; prison population from county 6. |
| 2018 | 15 | 33.83 | Admissions 158; prison population from county 10. |
| 2019 | 16 | 34 | Admissions and discharges both reported as 137. |
Statewide context is broader. Vera's Iowa state incarceration trends page reports a long-term rise in Iowa jail populations since 1970 and notes that pretrial detainees made up a large share of Iowa's jail population in 2015. The Prison Policy Initiative Iowa profile reports that thousands of people are booked into Iowa local jails each year. Those sources describe Iowa as a whole, not a live Montgomery County count.
Who Is in Montgomery County Jail
The Montgomery County inmate population includes people arrested in the county, pretrial detainees, sentenced misdemeanants, local holds, and short-term arrestees before transfer or court release. Vera's 2019 row gives a limited breakdown: 12 males, 4 females, 8 people in pretrial custody, and 8 people in sentenced custody. The research did not locate current sheriff-published demographic dashboards, average length of stay, felony and misdemeanor splits, age groups, or race and ethnicity tables reliable enough to state as current local facts.
- Pretrial custody: Vera reported 8 people in 2019, meaning people held before final court disposition.
- Sentenced custody: Vera reported 8 people in 2019, reflecting short local jail sentences or local sentence status in the dataset.
- State prison population from county: Vera reported 8 in 2019, but that does not mean a prison is located in Montgomery County.
- Federal holder fields: Vera's 2019 row showed zero for BOP, ICE, Marshals, and other federal holder categories, but that is not a guarantee for any current case.
Because there is no public live county roster, a current custody question should not be answered from the historical trend table. The safer route is to call the Sheriff's Office, use the county public-information process, check Iowa Courts Online for a filed case, and search DOC, BOP, ICE, or VINELink when the facts point away from local jail custody.
Montgomery County Jail Population Laws
Iowa law explains why jail data, booking records, and corrections records may be available even when Montgomery County does not publish an online roster. Iowa Code chapter 356 governs county jails and municipal holding facilities. Iowa's open-records framework gives public access to records unless a law makes a record confidential. DOC records have their own public and confidential categories.
Key Statutes:
Iowa Code chapter 356 - sets county jail duties, jail standards, confinement records, and jail reporting rules.
Iowa Code 356.6 - requires the sheriff to keep an accurate jail calendar with prisoner, commitment, discharge, and descriptive information.
Iowa Code 356.49 - requires monthly jail reports to the DOC director, including men, women, and juveniles held.
Iowa Administrative Code r. 201-50.22 - lists jail records and notice duties for serious events such as death, escape, fire, injury, and use of force.
Iowa Code 904.601 - is cited by Iowa DOC as the public-record basis for state offender search records.
These laws do not create a Montgomery County web roster. They help explain why the public can ask the custodian for jail records and why state prison records appear through DOC. They also explain why some material may be redacted, such as medical, investigative, juvenile, protected personal, or confidential records.
Search Montgomery County Inmate Records
No official Montgomery County online jail roster, current-inmates page, recent-booking feed, booking-report PDF, mugshot gallery, or public inmate-profile database was located on the county website or sheriff pages. That fact should shape the search. A Montgomery County jail lookup starts with the Sheriff's Office and then branches to public information requests, court records, DOC, BOP, ICE, and VINELink as needed.
- Call the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office at 712-623-5107 and ask whether the person is currently held in the county jail.
- If staff will not release details by phone, use the county contact form or public-information request path and select the Sheriff's Office when appropriate.
- If the issue is filed charges or court dates, search Iowa Courts Online or contact the Montgomery County Clerk of Court.
- If the person has been sentenced to prison or DOC supervision, search Iowa DOC Offender Search.
- For victim notice or custody alerts, use VINELink Iowa person search.
- For federal or immigration custody, use the BOP Inmate Locator or ICE ODLS.
The Montgomery County contact form includes a department dropdown with Sheriff as an option. The form asks for name, email, selected department, and a message. The county public information page says requests should go to the department that holds the record, and the Auditor's Office can help when the custodian is unclear.
The official county contact form screenshot shows the department-selection route readers can use when a phone call does not resolve a jail records question.
A short, specific message helps the custodian route the request. Include the full name, approximate arrest date, arresting agency if known, and the record sought.
Current Montgomery County Inmate Lookup
The county roster search-field table is short because there is no inspected county search form. Montgomery County has not published a local roster tool in the official sources found. The practical table is therefore a channel table, not a field list copied from a nonexistent web form.
| Lookup Channel | Use It For | What to Provide | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sheriff phone | Current county jail custody | Full name, date of birth if known, arrest date | Staff may limit details by phone. |
| County contact form | Records request or written routing | Name, email, Sheriff department, clear message | Not an emergency or instant roster. |
| Iowa Courts Online | Filed criminal case and docket | Last name, first name, case ID, citation | Not a jail custody list. |
| Iowa DOC Search | Sentenced prison or DOC supervision | Name, offender number, county of commitment | Updated weekly and separate from county jail. |
| VINELink Iowa | Custody status and alerts | Name search or notification registration | Notification tool, not a full record file. |
For a direct county jail request, ask whether the person is in custody, when booking occurred if releasable, whether a bond or hold exists, and which court or agency controls the next step. If the person has already been released, transferred, or moved to DOC, the Sheriff's Office may not be the only record source.
Montgomery County Inmate Record Details
Because there is no public county inmate profile to inspect, record fields should be described as request targets rather than promised online fields. The sheriff or records custodian may have booking and custody data, but the public web user cannot open a Montgomery County profile page with verified fields such as housing unit, mugshot, bond type, or booking number format from the official county site.
| Requested Detail | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Name of arrested person | Identifies the person whose booking or custody record is being requested. |
| Booking date and time | Shows when jail intake occurred if the detail is releasable. |
| Arresting agency | Distinguishes sheriff, Red Oak Police, Iowa State Patrol, or another agency. |
| Booking charges | Reflects intake allegations, which can differ from later filed court charges. |
| Bond or release status | Helps explain whether a person can leave custody or has a hold. |
| Booking photo | May be requested if maintained and releasable under Iowa public-records law. |
Short legal terms can be confusing. A booking is the jail intake record after arrest. A charge is an alleged offense, not a conviction. A detainer is a request or hold from another agency. A disposition is the current or final court outcome. DOC means Iowa Department of Corrections, which is separate from the county jail.
Montgomery County Jail vs DOC
County jail and state prison records answer different questions. The Montgomery County jail covers local pretrial custody, short sentences, booking, release, and local holds. Iowa DOC covers sentenced state prisoners and people under DOC supervision. A person can be arrested in Montgomery County, appear in Iowa Courts Online, and later show in DOC only after a state corrections stage begins.
| Montgomery County Jail | Iowa DOC | |
|---|---|---|
| Who is covered | Pretrial detainees, short local sentences, local holds | Sentenced state prisoners and DOC supervision cases |
| Operator | Montgomery County Sheriff's Office | Iowa Department of Corrections |
| Lookup path | Phone, public-information request, county contact form, VINELink where available | Official DOC Offender Search |
| Update caveat | No official online county roster found | DOC states records are updated weekly and may change quickly |
State Federal ICE Search Paths
Iowa DOC is the state prison and supervision locator. The DOC search fields include first name, middle name, last name, offender number, sex, location, offense, county of commitment, and name-search type. Montgomery appears as a county of commitment option. The DOC page says offender records are public under Iowa Code 904.601(1), but it also warns that information is believed accurate, updated weekly, and not warranted as complete or current.
The federal paths serve different custody types. The BOP locator covers federal inmates incarcerated from 1982 to present and shows result fields such as name, register number, age, race, sex, release date, and location. The U.S. Marshals Southern District of Iowa handles federal pretrial or fugitive custody questions that may not appear in BOP yet. ICE ODLS is for immigration detainees and should not be used as a county jail roster.
The Iowa DOC offender search screenshot shows why a sentenced-prison search has more structured fields than Montgomery County's local no-roster path.
Use the DOC locator only when the custody question has moved beyond the local Montgomery County jail stage or when the person may be under state supervision.
Montgomery County Detention Facilities
The facility map supports one local detention facility page for Montgomery County. No separate work-release annex, juvenile detention center, city jail, state prison, BOP institution, or ICE detention facility was verified inside the county during the official-source sweep.
- Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center / Montgomery County Jail - sheriff-operated county jail for people arrested in Montgomery County, pretrial detainees, sentenced misdemeanants, local holds, and short-term arrestees before transfer or court release.
Red Oak Police, the Sheriff's Office, 911 dispatch, and state officers may all touch a case before or after booking. Custody questions still route to the sheriff-run county jail unless a court, DOC, federal, or immigration source shows the person has moved to a different system.
Montgomery County Inmate Population FAQ
How big is the Montgomery County inmate population?
Vera reported a total jail population of 16 for Montgomery County in 2019 and a rated capacity of 34 for that same year. Those are historical dataset figures, not a live count from the sheriff.
Can I search a Montgomery County jail roster online?
No official county online jail roster was located in the researched county or sheriff pages. Start with the Sheriff's Office phone, then use a public-information request, Iowa Courts Online, DOC, VINELink, BOP, or ICE depending on the custody type.
Where do court charges appear after arrest?
Filed court charges appear through Iowa Courts Online and the Montgomery County Clerk of Court, not through a county web roster. Very recent arrests may not show in court search until the case is added.
Are Montgomery County mugshots posted online?
No official Montgomery County mugshot gallery or recent-bookings photo feed was found. A booking photo may be requested from the Sheriff's Office if maintained and releasable, but the county does not publish a photo roster.