The roster is a dated document that you open and scroll through. Follow these steps:

1. Open the roster link on the Detention Center page.
2. Note the date printed with it, which shows when the list was made.
3. Use Ctrl+F on a computer, or the find tool in a phone browser, to jump to a surname.
4. Read the charges and the bond amount listed for that person.
5. Write down the booking number to use when you call.

Can't find the name? Call 406-497-1189. The department's main jail line, 406-497-1040, also works.

Most gaps have a simple cause:

• Timing. Someone booked this morning may only show on the next copy.
• Release. A bond was posted, or a judge ordered them freed.
• Transfer. They went to a state prison, another county or a federal hold.
• Spelling. Search a second spelling, a nickname, a middle name or a birth surname.
• Age. Anyone under 18 goes through Youth Court.

Detention staff can answer the question for sure. Call 406-497-1189 and have the person's birth date ready.

All arrested adults go through intake. Here is what happens there:

• Staff ask questions, take a photo and take fingerprints.
• A $25 booking fee is charged to each person.
• The person may phone a bail bondsman, relatives or friends.
• Anyone who can't bond out, or whose charge has no bond, is classified and moved to a housing unit.

Housing ranges from minimum to maximum security, based on a risk review. Men and women are both held here. Women live in A Pod.

The city-county keeps its own adult prisoners on Quartz Street. If the arrest happened outside the area, or the person has a warrant elsewhere, try these nearby jails:

• Anaconda-Deer Lodge County jail, 800 S Oak Street, Anaconda, MT 59711, 406-563-5241
• Jefferson County Detention Center, 110 S. Washington St., Boulder, MT 59632, 406-225-4091
• Beaverhead County Detention Center, 2 South Pacific Street, Suite 16, Dillon, MT 59725, 406-683-3700
• Gallatin County Detention Center, 605 S. 16th Ave, Bozeman, MT 59715, 406-582-2130. Adults arrested in Madison County are kept here.

Besides local arrests, the jail holds people for other agencies:

• U.S. Marshals. An agreement lets the Marshals house federal defendants and federal prisoners here.
• Montana Department of Corrections. People can be held for the state, such as after a sentence or for a parole or probation issue.
• Montana Highway Patrol. Troopers book their arrests here too.

The holding agency matters, because it decides who can release the person. Ask jail staff at 406-497-1189 who the hold is for.

The roster gives text details, such as names, charges and bonds. For a photo, ask the Law Enforcement Department at 406-497-1120. Montana treats booking photos as public records, along with rosters and bail records (MCA 44-5-103).

• For an ICE photo, file a request on the ICE public records page.
• Federal mugshots are mostly kept private. A rare exception is a Marshals photo used to help find a fugitive.

For the Butte jail, keep checking the roster and call 406-497-1189 to ask about a release.

• VINE is a free state alert system. It tracks adult felons supervised by the Department of Corrections, not county jail stays. Register at VINELink or dial 800-456-3076, day or night. You must enroll on your own.
• Victims in some cases have a right to quick word from staff once the accused posts bail. These are partner assault, strangling, stalking and broken protection orders (MCA 46-9-108).

Release is set at the first hearing, often by video in Justice Court, Room 305, 155 W. Granite St., Butte, MT 59701, 406-497-6390.

• For a misdemeanor, the court sets the bond.
• Felonies and "no bond" charges wait for a judge to set an amount.
• Any adult may post a cash bond at the jail, paying by card, cash or cashier's check.
• A licensed bail agent can post the bond for a 10% fee that is not refunded.

Step-by-step help is on our bail page.

The roster names each charge. When a Montana Code number is shown, type it into the state's Montana Code Annotated to read the law.

Once filed, the court file spells out the charge. Misdemeanors are on the state's lower court search, and felonies are on the District Court search. The County Attorney decides the final charges. That office is in Room 104, 155 W Granite St, Butte, MT 59701, 406-497-6230.

A person who can't pay may get a state public defender for a felony, a youth case or a misdemeanor that could bring jail. The judge brings this up at the first hearing.

• Local office: Office of State Public Defender, 44 W. Park, Butte, MT 59701, 406-496-6680
• Online form: advopd.mt.gov, with proof of income

Relatives are free to hire a private lawyer instead. That lawyer can phone the jail to set up a meeting.

The person in jail books their own visit for their pod's day. Ask them which pod they are in. The days are:

• Sunday: D Pod and Minimum
• Tuesday: A Pod (women)
• Wednesday: B Pod
• Thursday: E Pod
• Friday: F Pod
• Saturday: C Pod

Show a photo ID when you arrive. Leave your phone in the car. The only thing you may carry in is a vehicle key, and money can't be dropped off at a visit. Call 406-497-1189 for visit times. More tips are in our visitation guide.

Money goes in by mail only. Send cash or a cashier's check straight to the Detention Center, 155 W Quartz St, Butte, MT 59701.

• Do not put a letter in with the money. Letters sent with funds are destroyed.
• Money can't be handed over during a visit.
• The jail takes the $25 booking fee and any medical co-pay out first. The rest goes to the commissary account.

Before you mail it, call 406-497-1189 to confirm how to address it. Our guide to sending money has more general tips.

The commissary sells candy, snacks and drinks. Money from the store pays for TVs, cable, a newspaper, board games and basic supplies for people who have no money.

Purchases come out of the person's account after the jail takes its fees. To ask about prices or limits, call 406-497-1189. Our commissary guide explains how jail stores usually work.

The jail's phone details are shared as pictures on its Mail, Money and Phone page. The easiest way to get the facts is to call the jail at 406-497-1189. Ask:

• which company runs inmate calls and how to open an account
• what calls cost and how to add money
• whether calls are recorded
• whether messaging or video calls are offered

Save case talk for the lawyer. General tips sit on our jail calls page, and email tips on our inmate email page.

Packages must ship straight from the maker or a company. Label them with the person's first and last name and the sender's name and return address. Use this address:

Butte-Silver Bow Detention Facility, c/o (Inmate Name), 155 W. Quartz St, Butte, MT 59701

Rules for letters, photos and cards are shared as images on the jail's mail page. Before you write, call 406-497-1189 to ask about the letter address and what is allowed. Our inmate mail guide covers common rules.

The jail has a mental health therapist, a registered nurse and a medical doctor. Emergency dental care is provided.

• Doctor visits and prescriptions cost a co-pay of no more than $10.
• Mental health care has no co-pay.
• Money sent to the person covers co-pays before anything else.

If your loved one needs a medicine or has a health problem, call 406-497-1189. Give the drug name, dose and doctor. In an emergency, call 911.

Whatever the person had on them at intake is kept for them. To ask how and when property can be collected, call 406-497-1189. Ask if the person must sign a form to let someone else pick it up.

Pickup is at 155 W Quartz St, Butte, MT 59701, with photo ID. Ask about leftover account money at the same time.

The Law Enforcement Department serves warrants in Butte and Walkerville. Its 911 center enters wanted persons into state and national records. Call the department at 406-497-1120 to ask about a warrant. Court cases tied to a warrant can be searched on Montana's free Justice and City Court records and District Court records. People who fled state parole or probation are flagged as absconders on the DOC offender search. A missed ticket date in Justice Court or City Court can also bring a warrant. A lawyer can help you surrender at 155 W Quartz St, Butte, MT 59701, or seek a fresh hearing date from the court.

Phone the court handling the case. All three are at 155 W. Granite St., Butte, MT 59701:

• Justice Court, Room 305: 406-497-6392 for scheduling
• City Court, Room 401: 406-497-6365
• Clerk of District Court, Room 313: 406-497-6350

The two free state court sites also show dates by name. Our court guide walks through a case.

Federal charges here go to the Mike Mansfield Federal Courthouse, 400 N. Main Street, Suite 273, Butte, MT 59701, 406-497-1279.

1. At the opening federal hearing, a judge decides between custody and home before trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. The U.S. Marshals hold the person before trial, sometimes at the Quartz Street jail. Call 406-200-6004.
3. Federal court files are on PACER.
4. To find someone already sentenced, try the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

An immigration hold follows a set path:

1. ICE lodges a detainer, Form I-247A, with Quartz Street staff.
2. That allows a hold up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released. Montana makes officers honor a detainer, but not for someone who presents believable papers on citizenship or lawful status (MCA 27-16-801).
3. ICE moves the person under its Salt Lake City Field Office, 2975 Decker Lake Drive, Suite 100, West Valley City, UT 84119, 801-736-1200.
4. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator by A-number, or by exact name and the country of birth.

A person sentenced on a felony may wait at the Butte jail during a Department of Corrections review. The DOC search may list them in that period.

• Their facility and status appear on the Montana DOC offender search, which takes a name or a DOC ID.
• Montana State Prison, a DOC prison, is in nearby Powell County.
• Our Montana prison list has visit and mail rules for every facility.

Youths are kept apart from adults. Youth Court hears their cases, and those files are private. A held youth gets a hearing within 24 hours, with Saturdays, Sundays and holidays skipped (MCA 41-5-332).

For the youth's location and next steps, call Youth Court at 406-497-6375. The office is in Room 410, 155 W. Granite St., Butte, MT 59701.

Call the jail to learn the arresting agency. Agencies working in the area, home to about 36,118 people (Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025):

• Law Enforcement Department, the combined sheriff and police force, 225 Alaska St, Butte, MT 59701, 406-497-1120. It patrols around the clock and runs the 911 center and the jail.
• Walkerville, a town of about 649 people. Call the Law Enforcement Department to learn who handles a Walkerville arrest.
• Montana Highway Patrol, 18 Trooper Drive, Boulder, MT 59632, 24-hour dispatch 855-647-3777
• Montana Tech Campus Security, 1300 West Park Street, Butte, MT 59701, 406-496-4357. It works with local police on campus.