Finding Records on Iowa Jail Inmates

Iowa jail inmates are those held in the various county jails of the state. The primary difference between a jail and a prison is that jails are under local jurisdiction of the counties and cities. Jails are mostly run by the local law enforcement agencies.  The jail inmates are usually held for short periods of time. Prisons, on the other hand, are state-run, and they house criminals who have been convicted. Jail inmates may not always be convicted for a crime. Jail inmates may often just be held in custody, while they are going through their trials.

While the amenities in the state prison are more extensive, the securities and the correctional programs are more stringent. Several of the state prisoners serve a life sentence. The Iowa jail inmates are held for relatively less severe crimes and consequently serve shorter sentences and lenient punishments than the state prison inmates.

The state prisons in Iowa holds convicted criminals who are serving a sentence. The Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison City, run by the Department of Corrections, holds state prisons. Established in 1839, the Iowa State Penitentiary is a maximum security prison that holds approximately 950 inmates at present. Since the prison inmates serve a long sentence, as opposed to jail inmates, the security system is far more elaborate than that of any other Iowa jail.

County Programs and Services

There are 99 counties in the state of Iowa, United States of America. The offenders in each county are held in the respective county jails. Each of these county jails has their own programs designed specially for the inmates. These are done with one main motive: to correct the criminals and to successfully re-integrate them into society. The general vision is not only to reduce the crime rate, but also to rectify the offenders and impart the adequate knowledge in them to lead a proper life.

The prison inmates may take up a number of professional courses, such as commercial cooking courses, basic education, machining, etc. These programs are designed to help them once they are released from prison and set out to find employment.

Records and Public Awareness

The law enforcement authorities of Iowa not only aim at correcting the inmates, but they also provide public security at the same time. The Iowa jail inmate records are a database of information on the Iowa jail inmates held in the jails of the various counties. The records are maintained by each of the local agencies, like the sheriff’s office or the local police departments, and the records are accessible by the public. This is very important in terms of increasing public safety, because this allows the public to know about the status of any inmate. In order to access these records, you must contact the local sheriff’s office.

In general, the jail inmate records provide information about any particular inmate. Most of the counties offer to the public an available online search of the inmate's records. You are able to search any inmate by providing a few details, such as the first or last name, the offense he or she was convicted for, the county that the crime was committed in, etc. The result shows the names of the inmates matching the search. It also provides detailed information about the inmate, such as age, state of sentence, physical description (like eye color, hair color, height, weight, etc.), and expected date of release.

For example, if you live in Polk County, the following information regarding the Polk County Sheriff’s Office can easily be made available to you by doing an Internet search.  The informational results for Polk County are as follows:

* The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is located at 2309 Euclid Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50310.
* You may call the jail division of the office at (515) 323-5400
* For additional information, send an email to PolkCounty.Sheriff@polkcountyiowa.gov.
* The Jail Division of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office is located at 1985 NE 51st Place, Des Moines, IA 50313.
* You may visit the official website of Polk County going to http://www.polkcountyiowa.gov/sheriff/.
* If you wish to conduct an online search of the Polk County jail inmates, you may visit http://www.polkcountyiowa.gov/InmatesOnTheWeb/main.aspx. There you will find the names of all the inmates currently serving in the Polk County Jail. You may select any particular inmate and obtain information, like the offender identity number.the holding location of the inmate, or any of the other information that was mentioned earlier. You may also know about the description of the offense for which the inmate is serving their jail sentence.

The same set of information for Muscatine County, Iowa, is given below:

* The address of the Muscatine County Sheriff’s office (jail division) is

Muscatine County Sheriff- Jail Division
400 Walnut St.
Muscatine, Iowa 52761

* You may call the twenty four hour helpline at (563) 262-4190.
* You may also fax the jail division at (563) 262-4194.
* To visit the official website of Muscatine County, go to http://www.co.muscatine.ia.us/departments/she_jai.shtml.

One important point that you must keep in mind before you begin your search of the jail inmate records is that in any county you must not use these records to take any action against the offender. This is strictly against the law. You may only use the information from the inmate records for your personal reference.

Regardless of which county in the state of Iowa you live in, you will be able to find information about your county sheriff’s office. You may use them to process your request of accessing the inmate records.

The inmate records serve more than one purpose for the general public. If you have been the victim of any crime and your offender is currently at the county jail, you may perform a search on him or her and know about the current status or their incarceration. You may also ask the authorities to inform you when the offender is released so that you can take the precautions to stay safe from a repeat crime.

The jail inmate records also have a list of the "most wanted" criminals in the county. If you happen to know anything about these criminals, you must report any information to the police immediately.