Butler County Jail Overview
Butler County Jail is the primary and only local detention facility identified in official Butler County sources during research. It is operated by the Butler County Sheriff's Office from the courthouse and sheriff complex in Allison. The jail's role is local custody. It holds people arrested for crimes committed in Butler County so they remain available for later court appearances, and it can also hold people sentenced to county jail for misdemeanor convictions.
The official sheriff page says the jail was built in 1928, remodeled in 1983, and remodeled again in 1992. It is a small county facility, not a state prison or federal detention center. The jail can hold males, females, and juveniles waived into adult court. People sentenced to Iowa prison terms are searched through the Iowa Department of Corrections, not through Butler County Jail.
The official sheriff jail page is the local source for the facility details used here.
It includes the jail history, capacity, cell layout, basic inmate services, and visiting schedule.
Butler County Jail Capacity
The sheriff's page lists a current capacity of 12 inmates. It also gives a five-cell layout: three single cells, one three-person cell, and one six-person cell. Historical figures on the same official page report a 1999 average daily population of 11 inmates and a 15-day average length of stay. Current average daily population was not located in official sources, so the older number should be treated as historical context only.
The small size affects how readers should treat the Butler County Jail inmate lookup process. One arrest, release, court order, or transfer can materially change the daily custody picture. Direct confirmation with the sheriff remains the practical path for current status.
Look Up Butler County Jail
No official online Butler County Jail roster, booking report, or current-inmate search form was located on the county site. The correct local lookup method is the sheriff's phone or records-request channel first, with other systems used only when the person has moved into court, state prison, federal custody, or immigration detention.
- Call the Butler County Sheriff's Office at 319-346-6621 and ask whether the person is in current Butler County Jail custody.
- Provide the full legal name, date of birth or age, approximate arrest date, and arresting city or agency if known.
- Ask whether the person is still housed at the jail, released, transferred, held for another agency, or waiting on a court appearance.
- Search Iowa Courts Online if charges have been filed in Butler County District Court.
- Use the Iowa DOC Offender Search, BOP locator, or ICE ODLS if the person is no longer in local jail custody.
Note: IowaVINE can help with notifications, but jail or court staff should confirm time-sensitive release or bond questions.
Butler County Jail Contact
The jail and sheriff share the courthouse complex contact point. Older jail-specific public listings and regional jail-time references show another number, but the current official sheriff page should control unless jail staff confirms a different direct line. Use the current non-emergency number for custody checks, visit questions, and records routing.
Butler County Jail
428 6th St., P.O. Box 325
Allison, IA 50602
319-346-6621
Sheriff non-emergency and jail information line
Butler County Sheriff's Office
Butler County Courthouse
Allison, IA 50602
Fax: 877-857-0241
Sheriff Jason Johnson email: jjohnson@butlercounty.iowa.gov
Butler County Jail Visits
The official sheriff page publishes in-person visiting days and times by male and female inmate category. It does not publish a remote video visit system, visitor approval form, dress code, minor visitor rule, photo ID rule, visit length, or attorney visit procedure. Confirm those details before arriving because court, staffing, illness, weather, or jail operations can change access.
| Inmate category | Days | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Male inmates | Monday and Thursday | 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. |
| Female inmates | Tuesday and Friday | 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. |
Before traveling, ask whether the person is still in custody, whether visitors must be on an approved list, what identification is required, whether minors may visit, and what property must stay outside the secure area.
Butler County Jail Mail
Official research did not locate a Butler County Jail mail-address format, phone vendor, remote video vendor, commissary vendor, online deposit system, or fee table. The sheriff page does say people received at the jail get uniforms, deodorant, toothbrushes, and bedding. It also says prisoners receive three hot meals per day and have the chance to buy commissary items twice per week.
| Service | Published Butler County detail |
|---|---|
| Mail address format | Not published in official research. Call before sending letters, books, photos, money orders, or legal mail. |
| Phone or video vendor | Not located in official Butler County jail sources. |
| Commissary | Available two times per week, vendor and fee details not published. |
| Money deposits | No official jail deposit channel located. DOC deposits apply to state prisoners, not county jail inmates. |
Butler County Booking
Butler County Jail receives people arrested for crimes committed in Butler County. Intake normally starts when a sheriff's deputy, local police officer, or other law-enforcement officer brings the person into custody. The official source does not publish the booking form, but research supports a general path: custody acceptance, identification, property handling, jail issue items, classification, housing, court appearance, and release or transfer.
Jail staff issue uniforms, deodorant, toothbrushes, and bedding. The facility's five-cell layout means staff must manage separation by sex, safety, legal status, and other classification concerns within a small space. For charges and future court events after booking, use Iowa Courts Online or contact the Butler County Clerk of Court. For a detailed records path, see the Butler County jail inmate records page.
Court and Transfer Records
The jail booking charge is not always the final court charge. After arrest, the Butler County Attorney reviews the case, and the criminal case is filed in Iowa District Court for Butler County if prosecution proceeds. The Butler County District Court page lists Clerk of Court contact information, and Iowa Courts Online provides public docket information for filed cases.
People sentenced to Iowa prison terms leave the Butler County Jail lookup path and move into Iowa DOC systems. Federal sentenced prisoners use BOP. Immigration detainees use ICE ODLS. Butler County Jail staff may know whether a person was physically housed locally, but another agency may control a transfer, hold, detainer, or release decision.
About Butler County Jail
Butler County Jail is tied closely to the courthouse setting in Allison. County history identifies Allison as the county seat, and the sheriff, jail, clerk, and county government functions are near one another for people handling in-person custody or records business. Parkersburg and Aplington local materials also support the sheriff dispatch role because they route immediate police contact through Butler County Dispatch at the sheriff non-emergency number.
No official source located a separate county work-release annex, regional detention center, state prison, federal prison, ICE detention center, or municipal jail in Butler County. The facility map is therefore simple: Butler County Jail handles local custody, and other systems handle state, federal, and immigration custody.
Note: Confirm custody and visit rules with the Sheriff's Office before travel, because no official online roster was located.