Davis County Inmate Population Overview
The verified local detention facility is the Davis County Jail, operated by the Davis County Sheriff's Office at the Davis County Law Center. It is a county jail, not a state prison. That distinction matters because the Davis County inmate population in the jail is made up of local arrestees, pretrial detainees, people serving county jail terms, and short-term holds before court or transfer. Sentenced felony prisoners move into the Iowa Department of Corrections system and are searched through the statewide DOC locator, not through a Davis County jail list.
Davis County's detention map is narrow but layered. No state prison, federal Bureau of Prisons facility, ICE detention center, regional jail, or separate Bloomfield city jail was verified inside the county. Bloomfield Police share the Law Center address, and city records show payments tied to law-center rent and inmate expenses. That points city arrests back to the county jail. The result is a local inmate population that can be checked by calling the jail, reviewing court records after charges are filed, using VINE for notice, and switching to DOC, BOP, or ICE systems only when the custody type changes.
Davis County Inmate Population Statistics
The best current local snapshot in the research is a Davis County Board of Supervisors minute entry from March 10, 2025, where Sheriff Zach Dunlavy reported 11 inmates in jail. The facility's rated capacity is 41 beds, reported in the Iowa State Sheriffs' and Deputies' Association Gold Star article about the 2017 Law Center opening. Vera Institute county data gives a 2019 jail population of 17, 93 annual admissions, and 41 rated beds. Those sources do not replace a live roster, but they show the scale of Davis County jail custody.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Date |
|---|---|---|
| Point-in-time jail count | 11 inmates | Davis County Board minutes, March 10, 2025 |
| Rated capacity | 41 beds | ISSDA Gold Star, 2017 |
| Annual jail admissions | 93 | Vera Incarceration Trends, 2019 |
| Jail population rate | 326.36 per 100,000 residents age 15-64 | Vera Incarceration Trends, 2019 |
| Davis County population | 9,230 | U.S. Census QuickFacts, July 1, 2025 estimate |
Davis County Inmate Population Trends
Davis County's inmate population story is tied to the move from the old 10-bed jail to the 41-bed Law Center jail. The former jail was in a 1934 waterworks building converted to jail use in 1972. Sheriff association material said the old space created classification and structural problems, and when beds or classification space ran short, Davis County had to send inmates outside the county. Voters approved a new law center and jail in 2015, construction began in 2016, and the new facility opened in 2017.
| Year / Date | Population or Capacity | Research Note |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-2017 | 10-bed jail | Old jail in converted waterworks building |
| 2013 survey | 7 local prisoners | Prison Policy Initiative table tied to BJS jail data |
| 2017 opening | 41-bed facility | New Law Center/Jail opened after expansion during construction |
| 2019 | 17 jail population, 93 admissions | Vera county row |
| March 10, 2025 | 11 inmates | Sheriff report to Board of Supervisors |
The March 2025 count equals about 26.8 percent of the 41-bed capacity. That is only a dated snapshot. No current official annual average daily population, current annual booking total, or average length of stay was located for Davis County, so those measures should not be guessed from the available material.
Davis County Inmate Population Makeup
Vera's 2019 county row gives the clearest breakdown for the Davis County jail population. It reported 15 people in pretrial custody and 2 sentenced people, with 8 held from other jails. Sex and race fields in that source showed 10 male inmates, 6 female inmates, and 16 white inmates, with zero reported in the Black, Latinx, Native, AAPI, and other-race categories. Those are historical research figures, not a current roster profile.
- Pretrial custody: Vera reported 15 pretrial jail inmates for Davis County in 2019.
- Sentenced custody: Vera reported 2 sentenced jail inmates in the 2019 county row.
- Held from other jails: Vera listed 8 people held from other jails in 2019.
- Rural context: Iowa HHS classified Davis County as rural, and Census QuickFacts lists low population density.
Davis County Jail Capacity
The 41-bed Davis County Jail was built to handle more classification needs than the old 10-bed facility. The researched housing layout includes a 24-bed male general population cell, a 2-bed male maximum-security cell, a 4-bed male medium cell, a 4-bed female general population cell, a 1-bed female maximum-security cell, a 4-bed swing dorm, and 2 single-bed special-status cells with negative air. One intake cell is padded for detox. This layout helps separate people by sex, custody level, status, medical need, and intake risk.
Iowa jail standards also shape how Davis County manages the inmate population. The standards require separation of adults and juveniles, males and females, and risk or health categories where needed. That is why jail capacity is not just a bed count. A jail can have an open bed yet still face classification limits if the open space cannot safely house the person being booked.
Laws Governing Davis County Jail Data
Iowa law gives the public a route to records, but it also allows limits for active investigations, confidential records, juvenile material, medical information, and security concerns. For Davis County inmate population data, the practical path is to start with the sheriff or jail, then use court records or state corrections records when the person has moved beyond local custody.
Key Statutes:
Iowa Code § 22.2 gives a baseline right to inspect and copy public records unless another law makes them confidential.
Iowa Code § 22.3 allows supervision and reasonable fees for copying or producing records.
Iowa Code § 22.7 lists confidential records, including some law-enforcement investigative records.
Iowa Code § 904.601 supports public access to certain Iowa DOC offender records.
Iowa Administrative Code 201-50 sets jail standards for admission, classification, records, inspection, and serious incident reporting.
Search Davis County Inmate Records
No official Davis County public online jail roster was located on the county sheriff website or in the linked jail materials. The sheriff page instead gives jail contact information, communications links, visitation material, commissary links, VINELink, and records fee information. That makes the Davis County inmate search a fallback chain rather than a single roster form.
- Call the Davis County Sheriff's Office or jail to ask whether the person is currently held in local custody.
- Have the full legal name, date of birth or age, arrest date, and arresting agency if known.
- If booking is recent, ask whether intake is complete and whether any public information is available yet.
- Search Iowa Courts Online after charges are filed to see case status, court dates, and filed charges.
- Use Iowa DOC Offender Search if the person was sentenced to prison or DOC supervision.
- Use Iowa VINE for custody notification when the person is covered by the service.
Davis County Current Inmate Lookup
The local roster field is a research gap, not a blank to fill with guesses. No official Davis County roster form was found, so no official fields such as booking number, bond, housing unit, or mugshot can be promised online. The best local current-custody route is the jail phone line, followed by records requests where a report or booking record is needed.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| No official Davis County jail roster form located | n/a | n/a | Use jail phone, records request, VINE, Iowa Courts Online, DOC, BOP, or ICE depending on custody stage. |
The official sheriff page is still useful because it lists jail communications, records fees, report pickup or fax rules, visitor information, and VINELink. That page is the county source to check before relying on a third-party listing.
The screenshot reflects the local pattern: Davis County publishes jail-service and records routes, while current custody confirmation still routes through the sheriff and jail.
Davis County Inmate Record Fields
Because no official Davis County online jail roster profile was located, the county-level profile fields are not verified. For state prison or supervision records, Iowa DOC profiles can show detailed public fields. That difference is important. A county booking record is local jail material, while a DOC record follows a sentenced offender after transfer or supervision.
| DOC Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Name / Offender Number | Full name and Iowa DOC identifier |
| Sex / Age | Basic demographics on the DOC profile |
| Location | Prison, community-based corrections district, compact, or supervision status |
| Offense | Primary offense text |
| TDD / SDD | Tentative discharge or supervision discharge date |
| Charges | Supervision status, offense class, county of commitment, and end date |
Davis County Jail vs State Prison
Readers often search the wrong system after a Davis County arrest. The county jail is the right starting point for recent arrests, pretrial custody, local sentences, and short-term holds. The Iowa Department of Corrections is the right system after a felony sentence or DOC supervision begins. Federal and immigration custody use separate federal portals.
| Custody Type | Who Runs It | Where to Look |
|---|---|---|
| County pretrial or short local sentence | Davis County Sheriff's Office | Call the jail and use sheriff records channels |
| State prison or DOC supervision | Iowa Department of Corrections | Iowa DOC Offender Search |
| Federal sentenced custody | Federal Bureau of Prisons | BOP Inmate Locator |
| Immigration detention | U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement | ICE Online Detainee Locator System |
Davis County Detention Facilities
The facility map lists one Davis County detention facility. It is the local jail serving arrests from county agencies, including Bloomfield Police, and it also holds local sentenced inmates and short-term custody before court or transfer.
- Davis County Jail - county jail operated by the Davis County Sheriff's Office for local arrestees, pretrial detainees, local sentenced inmates, and short-term holds.
Davis County Inmate Population FAQ
How big is the Davis County inmate population?
The strongest recent local snapshot is 11 inmates reported by Sheriff Zach Dunlavy to the Board of Supervisors on March 10, 2025. The jail has a 41-bed rated capacity. Vera's 2019 county row listed a jail population of 17 and 93 annual admissions.
Is there a Davis County online jail roster?
No official public Davis County online jail roster was located in the reviewed county sources. Use the jail phone line, sheriff records process, Iowa Courts Online, VINE, and state or federal locators depending on custody status.
Where do sentenced Davis County inmates appear?
After a felony sentence or DOC transfer, the person may appear in the Iowa DOC Offender Search. Search by name, offender number, offense, location, or county of commitment, using Davis when that applies.