Search Dickinson County Jail Inmates

Dickinson County Jail Overview

Dickinson County Jail is operated by the Dickinson County Sheriff's Office at the county courthouse complex in Spirit Lake. The sheriff's jail page describes it as a secure 24-bed county detention facility staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It holds pretrial detainees and male and female sentenced county inmates. It also handles locally approved mittimus and work-release sentences when a court order and jail administrator approval allow that status.

The jail receives bookings from the sheriff's office and from local or state agencies serving Dickinson County, including Arnolds Park, Lake Park, Milford, Okoboji, and Spirit Lake police, Iowa State Patrol, and Iowa Department of Natural Resources. No separate adult city jail, regional jail, Iowa DOC prison, federal BOP prison, or ICE detention center was confirmed inside Dickinson County in the official sources reviewed.

Dickinson County Jail Capacity

The sheriff's jail page gives the rated capacity as 24 beds. The official roster PDF inspected in the research was printed June 12, 2026 at 7:59 p.m. and listed 6 current inmates. Historical Vera/BJS-derived trend data listed a 2019 total jail population of 11 and a 2021 total jail population of 6. The roster count is only a point-in-time count, while historical trend rows are not live custody figures.

Look Up Dickinson County Jail Inmates

The correct lookup source for Dickinson County Jail is the official current inmate roster PDF. It is free and does not require an account. It is not a searchable web database, so use the PDF timestamp and text search. For people sentenced to Iowa prison or supervision, use the Iowa DOC offender search instead.

1. Open the sheriff roster PDF from the jail page, sheriff home page, or direct roster link.
2. Check the printed timestamp before relying on the roster.
3. Search by last name or scan the roster entries by name.
4. Read the booking date, arresting agency, charge description, and bond total.
5. Call the jail if the person is missing, recently booked, released, transferred, or possibly held under another system.

Dickinson County Jail Address

Public sheriff office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Detention staff are present around the clock, but routine records, visitation check-in, property, money, and administrative questions should be handled through the sheriff or jail administration rather than emergency lines.

Visit Dickinson County Jail

Regular visitation occurs Thursday afternoon. The sheriff page lists 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., while the handbook lists 12:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Because both are official-source details and they differ, visitors should call before travel. Visits are first come, first served, and each visit is limited to 30 minutes. Visitors must check in at the sheriff's office and show a valid driver's license or ID card.

Visitor rules include adult supervision for anyone under 18, conservative dress, search on entry, no food or drinks, no disruptive behavior, and no cell phones or recording devices in the visitation area. Visitors who were Dickinson County inmates within the last 90 days are not allowed to visit under the handbook.

Mail Phone and Money

Letters must include the inmate's full name. Personal mail may be opened and inspected. Legal mail is opened by the inmate in staff presence and is not read or censored. Packages, obscene or pornographic materials, personal checks, postage stamps or stamped envelopes, food, and periodicals not sent directly from the publisher are restricted.

Booking at Dickinson County Jail

During booking, jail staff create the custody record, inventory property, and manage housing or classification. The handbook states that staff control cell assignment and can move inmates between cells. Inmates held over 24 hours must shower or bathe before moving into main population. Personal money, jewelry, clothing, and other property are stored and returned upon release or transfer, subject to jail rules.

Medical and dental care are available when necessary. Prescription medication must be in the original container with a current and legible prescription, and medication is taken in the presence of a jail officer. Jail staff use local doctors at Spirit Lake Medical Center for inmate medical needs while incarcerated. Grievances have written time limits, including 3 days to file, 5 days for jail administrator response excluding weekends and holidays, 3 days to appeal, and 10 days for the sheriff's final response.

Dickinson County Work Release

Work release and mittimus rules are unusually detailed in the Dickinson County materials. Work release is available only for Dickinson County cases when the court order says the person is eligible and the jail administrator approves. Employment must be within 30 miles of the jail, and the inmate must serve 8 hours in jail before being released to work. The policy allows refusal based on jail population and special events in the area.

The policy also lists reasons for denial or revocation, including alcohol or drug use, false work information, unauthorized travel, new law violations, unpaid prior room and board, overdue mittimus, failed or refused PBT or drug screening, extensive criminal history, or jail discipline. The employer certificate asks for supervisor name, workplace, supervisor contact number, job title, and daily schedule.

About Dickinson County Jail

Dickinson County Jail is tied to the courthouse complex in Spirit Lake and serves a county with significant Iowa Great Lakes travel and seasonal activity. The sheriff's about page says the county was organized in 1857, has 404 square miles including 23 square miles of water, and is one of the few rural Iowa counties growing in population. No official jail expansion, closure, consent decree, DOJ investigation, or jail-population reform report was located in the research.

The handbook gives the strongest public view of day-to-day jail life. It lists regular lockdown from 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., cleaning supplies on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, laundry schedules, limited exercise access after seven days, voluntary NA, AA, and Bible Study when available, and law-library access by written request. Those operational details are not roster fields, but they help explain what families often ask about after a booking.