Two sources work best, and you can use both in a few minutes:

1. Go to the official inmate lookup and search a surname.
2. Check the first name and age on any match, since small towns share family names.
3. Jot down any ID number on the screen for your call to staff.
4. Call the Detention Center at 605-345-3222 to confirm. The front office keeps weekday hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
5. Ask whether the person is being held for this county or for another one, such as Marshall.

Write down what staff tell you, including the charge and any bond. You'll need those details for every call after this one.

No match can have several causes:

• Still being processed. A brand-new arrest takes time to enter.
• Bond was paid. They may already be home.
• Spelling. Search again with a married or birth surname, a middle name, or a nickname like Bill for William.
• Another jail. Someone picked up near the county line may be in Aberdeen, Watertown, Sisseton or Milbank.
• Tribal custody. A tribal member arrested by tribal police on Lake Traverse land may be in tribal hands. Call SWO Law Enforcement at 605-698-7661.
• Youth. A minor's record is handled differently from an adult's.

When in doubt, phone the jail at 605-345-3222.

The county keeps its own jail, and nearby counties keep theirs. Here is the full picture:

• Detention Center, Webster. 710 W 2nd St, Webster, SD 57274, 605-345-3222. Thirteen beds for adults, plus juvenile detention approved by the state. It holds local arrests, adults for Marshall County and sentenced inmates for Grant and Edmunds counties. It also keeps youth sent by the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate and by Roberts, Grant and Marshall counties. Work release runs from here too. To ask whether women are housed there, call the number above.
• Roberts County Detention Center, 11924 BIA Hwy 700, Sisseton, SD 57262, 605-698-7667.
• Grant County Jail, 222 E 5th Ave., Milbank, SD 57252, 605-432-5853.
• Brown County Jail, 22 Court St., Suite 1, Aberdeen, SD 57401, 605-626-7101.
• Codington County Detention Center, 14 1st Ave SE, Watertown, SD 57201, 605-882-6284.
• Edmunds County Detention Center, 221 2nd Street, Ipswich, SD 57451, 605-426-6002.

Marshall has no jail, so its Sheriff's Office, 911 Vander Horck Street, Britton, SD 57430, 605-448-5181, sends adults to Webster.

Mugshots don't come up in the online state search. Call the Sheriff's Office at 605-345-3222. Ask whether booking photos are shared and what kind of request it needs. News outlets go through the same office. Other agencies handle their own photos:

• Immigration booking photos come only from ICE. Ask for one through its ICE records request page.
• U.S. agencies rarely release the photos they take. Marshals are the outlier, since a wanted poster for a fugitive can include one.

Court files are a separate source. A PARS search shows a case summary for $20.

Yes. SAVIN costs nothing and is managed by the state Attorney General. It reports offender information and status changes, like a release, at any hour. Sign up at SAVIN or call 844-299-4608, Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central.

• Juvenile matters fall outside SAVIN. Victims of a youth's crime reach out to the State's Attorney instead.
• Jail staff at 605-345-3222 can answer about one person faster than any alert.
• Court date reminders come from UJS notifications.

Bond for lots of routine charges comes straight off the statewide chart, set by a clerk magistrate. Serious felonies and all domestic abuse arrests wait for a judge. Under the state constitution, almost any charge allows bail (S.D. Const. art. VI, § 8), and release on a written promise is the starting point (SDCL 23A-43-2).

• Pay at the Sheriff's Office window inside the jail, 710 W 2nd St, Webster, SD 57274, 605-345-3222.
• Cash is taken. Visa, MasterCard and Discover go through the card service CourtMoney.com, in person with ID, plus a fee.
• Payments over the phone are refused.
• After a domestic abuse arrest, contact is forbidden before the first hearing. It covers the alleged victim and the whole household (SDCL 25-10-43). Please don't relay messages.

Our bail page lists amounts, refunds and bondsperson rules.

Staff at 605-345-3222 can tell you what charge was listed at booking. The State's Attorney then decides what to file in court, and may add or drop counts. That office is at 711 W 1st St, Suite 213, Webster, SD 57274, 605-345-4624.

After a case is filed:

• See upcoming hearings, free, through Find a Court Date.
• Pay $20 for a case summary on PARS.
• Phone the courthouse clerk, 605-345-3771.

As a rough guide, Class 1 misdemeanors top out at one year locally, Class 2 at 30 days (SDCL 22-6-2). Felonies are more serious, starting at Class 6 with a two-year cap (SDCL 22-6-1).

The judge does, once asked at the first hearing. Someone too broke to hire counsel gets one appointed by the judge, and the county pays (SDCL 23A-40-6, 23A-40-8). Down the road, the court can bill the person for that lawyer (SDCL 23A-40-10).

A paid private attorney is always an option. Attorneys can reach a client by phoning the jail, since staff put through calls from lawyers and clergy. For questions about appointed counsel, call the Clerk of Courts at 605-345-3771.

Since COVID-19, the jail has handled visits without fixed days or times. Video calls on the inmate phones are the usual way to see someone. Here is what to know:

• Set up video calling through the phone account line, 800-896-3201.
• A visitor under 18 must have a legal parent or guardian present.
• Juveniles held here may have visits from parents or guardians any day except at mealtimes. Book a time with staff at 605-345-3222.
• Ask staff before driving over whether an in-person visit can be arranged.

For what to bring and how to act during a jail visit, read our visiting guide.

Families fund one account that pays for phone cards, text messages and video calls. Call 800-896-3201 to open an account or pay by phone, or fund it online through that phone service. The jail also takes cash at the facility, 710 W 2nd St, Webster, SD 57274.

• A phone card costs $10 and buys about 10 minutes, depending on the kind of call.
• Buy a card after 5 p.m., before 8 a.m. or on a Saturday or Sunday, and it might sit until staff are back on the next workday.
• Basic hygiene items are provided by the jail.

Read our money guide and commissary guide, and ask staff at 605-345-3222 what else the account can buy.

Inmates call out using phone cards from the account described above. The same account covers texts and video calling. Calls made to the jail's business line are never put through to an inmate, except from a lawyer or clergy member.

• Account help: 800-896-3201.
• Questions about the jail's rules: 605-345-3222.
• Jail calls may be recorded, so leave talk about the charges for meetings with counsel.

See our phone guide and our texting and email guide.

Use the jail's street address. A safe format is:

• Inmate's full legal name
• Day County Detention Center
• 710 W 2nd St, Webster, SD 57274

Before mailing, call 605-345-3222. Ask whether an ID number belongs on the envelope and what is allowed inside. Books, magazines and newspapers are allowed in cells, but nothing X-rated. Put your return address on the outside. Cash should never go in the mail. Tips for letters and photos are in our mail guide.

The jail gives out shirts, pants, shoes, bedding, towels and basic personal care items. Inmates may keep toiletries, books, magazines, newspapers, underwear, socks and bras with no underwire.

These are banned: sweatpants, sweatshirts, shorts, belts, personal shoes or sandals, lotions, perfume, makeup, hairspray, aerosol deodorant, electronics, and outside food or drinks.

Wallets, phones and other things taken at booking are held for the person. Family members picking it up should call 605-345-3222 on a weekday first. Staff will say whether the person must sign a form first. Bring photo ID to 710 W 2nd St, Webster, SD 57274.

The Sheriff runs the jail and is responsible for those inside it (SDCL 24-11-13). Got worries about pills, a chronic illness or an injury? Call 605-345-3222 without waiting. Have the medicine's name and dose ready, along with the prescribing doctor's number. A state law also covers medical treatment of prisoners and insurance (SDCL 24-11-21).

For mental health worries, say so on the call. The local mental health provider is Northeastern Mental Health Center, 101 West 11th Avenue, Webster, SD 57274, 605-345-3146. In an emergency, call 911.

Deputies and Webster police both serve arrest and bench warrants. To ask about one, ring the Sheriff's Office at 605-345-3222 or the police at 605-345-4040. A court case with an active warrant is marked on UJS ePayments. At the state level, look at the Sex Offender Registry, and at the corrections Most Wanted page of escaped or walkaway prisoners. The Sheriff's Office accepts warrant payments. Getting one cleared begins with a defense attorney. Together you can arrange surrender at the jail or courthouse. Clerk of Courts: 711 W 1st St, Suite 201, Webster, SD 57274, 605-345-3771.

All state hearings take place at the courthouse in Webster. Three ways to find the date:

• No charge applies on Find a Court Date, where you type the person's name or the case file number.
• Or dial the clerk's office, 605-345-3771. It sits at 711 W 1st St, Suite 201, Webster, SD 57274, open weekdays 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m.
• Ask the person or their lawyer.

For what each hearing means, from bond review to sentencing, open our court page.

A federal case starts at the Northern Division court, 102 Fourth Avenue SE, Aberdeen, SD 57401. Federal pretrial staff there answer at 605-377-2625.

1. Federal law calls for a detention hearing the moment the defendant first appears, and that hearing settles custody (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. Until trial, a defendant who is denied release sits in U.S. Marshals custody. Call the Aberdeen office, 102 Southeast 4th Avenue, Suite 409, Aberdeen, SD 57401, 605-226-1794, to ask where.
3. After sentencing, use the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator, searching by full name or by BOP register number.

Immigration agents can ask the Webster jail to hold a person who is due to go free. It goes like this:

1. ICE files its detainer request, Form I-247A, with jail staff.
2. Once the state case would release them, staff may keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Immigration officers then collect the person. Their regional base for this state is the St. Paul Field Office, 1 Federal Drive, Suite 1601, Fort Snelling, MN 55111, 612-843-8600.
4. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator. Enter the A-number from immigration papers. If you lack it, the name and birth country will do.

Lawmakers passed SB 7 (SL 2025, ch 100) in 2025. It bars any city or county rule that would keep its staff quiet about a person's status when federal officers ask.

State prison follows only a felony sentence to the South Dakota Department of Corrections. Misdemeanor sentences stay in a county jail. Even a Class 5 or 6 felony may end in local time, capped at one year, rather than prison (SDCL 22-6-1.1).

• Look up anyone sentenced to the DOC in its offender locator. It leaves out people held in county jails.
• See our South Dakota prisons guide for a look at each prison.
• DOC central office: 3200 East Highway 34, Pierre, SD 57501, 605-773-3478.

Most youth picked up by police are released to family. Holding one in detention takes an intake officer's decision, backed by a reason found in the statute (SDCL 26-8C-3). Youth cases are heard in circuit court.

Youth who must be held usually stay in the juvenile detention space at the Webster jail, 710 W 2nd St, Webster, SD 57274, 605-345-3222. Parents and guardians may visit any day except at mealtimes, by appointment. SAVIN alerts do not cover juvenile cases.

Ask jail staff which officers brought the person in. These agencies work in the county:

• Day County Sheriff's Office, 710 W 2nd St, Webster, SD 57274, 605-345-3222. Patrols the whole county, including Andover, Bristol, Pierpont, Roslyn and Waubay, and backs up city officers. Weekday office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Webster Police Department, 605-345-4040. Covers the city.
• Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Law Enforcement, 100 Veterans Memorial Drive, Sisseton, SD 57262, 605-698-7661. Serves tribal members on Lake Traverse Reservation land. When its officers arrest a tribal member, tribal court is the usual next step, and the most serious cases can head to federal court.
• BIA Office of Justice Services (District I, based in Aberdeen), 115 4th Avenue SE, Aberdeen, SD 57401, 605-226-7347.
• South Dakota Highway Patrol, District One, which serves the Glacial Lakes area, PO Box 1797, Aberdeen, SD 57402, 605-626-2286.

Every town not named above is covered by the Sheriff's Office.