Monroe County Jail Custody Overview
Monroe County Jail is the only detention facility identified in official Monroe County, Iowa sources for the county facility map. The jail is operated by the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, whose official page says Sheriff Joe Worth's office maintains the county jail facility. The jail sits at the Sheriff's Office and Law Enforcement Center address in Albia. It is a county jail, not an Iowa Department of Corrections prison, and no separate city jail, regional jail, work-release annex, federal prison, or ICE detention facility was located in Monroe County through the official sources reviewed.
The facility holds people arrested or committed locally in Monroe County. That may include people arrested by sheriff deputies, Albia Police, other local officers, warrant arrests, court commitments, or transfers for local custody. The sheriff page also says the office enforces state and county laws, investigates criminal allegations, serves civil process, patrols almost 552 miles of roads, and routinely patrols municipal streets. Those duties explain why jail intake can come from rural Monroe County roads, Albia-area law enforcement, local warrants, or court orders.
County jail custody should not be confused with state prison custody. A person newly arrested in Monroe County may be held at Monroe County Jail while bond, first appearance, charges, or release terms are addressed. Once a person is sentenced to Iowa DOC custody, the search shifts to the statewide DOC locator, not the county jail. Current county context is summarized on the Monroe County inmate population home page, while federal sentenced prisoners are searched through the Bureau of Prisons and immigration custody is searched through ICE's detainee locator.
Monroe County Jail Capacity
The official local capacity source is the sheriff's office page, which states that the office maintains a 26-bed county jail facility. No official Monroe County daily jail dashboard, current jail count, current average daily population, annual booking count, or modern demographic dashboard was located in county sources. Because the jail is small, even a few new bookings, court holds, weekend sentences, or transfers can change capacity pressure in a way that may not be visible online.
Historical data gives context but does not replace a live Monroe County Jail custody check. Vera Institute county jail trend data, based on BJS jail data and later supplements, lists a 2019 Monroe County jail population count of 24, annual admits of 74.25, pretrial custody of 6, and sentenced custody of 18. The Prison Policy Initiative Census 2020 correctional facility locator lists 8 prisoners at Monroe Co. Jail. Those figures are dated county-level context, not a current roster.
The Monroe County office directory repeats the sheriff's office address and phone, making it a practical place to confirm the correct local contact before relying on older jail population data. For a live custody question, the current answer must come from the jail or another official custody system.
Monroe County Jail Lookup Steps
No official Monroe County online jail roster, current-inmate page, booking list, or mugshot gallery was located on the county, city, or state official sources reviewed. That means a Monroe County Jail inmate search should start with a fallback chain. For a roster-focused version of that process, use the Monroe County jail inmate records page. The chain keeps county jail custody, court records, state prison custody, and federal or immigration custody in their correct lanes.
- Call the Monroe County Sheriff's Office at 641-932-7815 and ask whether the person is currently held, recently released, transferred, or only tied to a court case.
- If in-person contact is needed, go to the Law Enforcement Center only after confirming lobby or records procedure with the sheriff's office.
- Use IowaVINE / VINELink for custody-status notification when the person may be in county jail or state prison custody.
- Search Iowa Courts Online to see whether Monroe County District Court charges, hearings, fines, or dispositions have been filed.
- Use the Iowa DOC Offender Search when the person may be in state prison, probation, parole, work release, or other DOC status.
- Use the BOP Inmate Locator for federal sentenced prisoners, and use ICE ODLS for current immigration custody.
- File an Iowa Chapter 22 public-records request when a booking record, jail record, or other public jail information is not posted online.
IowaVINE is a notification tool, not a complete public-record archive. Iowa Courts Online is a court docket, not a jail roster. The Iowa DOC locator is for state prison and supervision status, not for a person newly booked into Monroe County Jail. Each tool answers a different part of the custody question.
The Monroe County emergency resources page lists sheriff contact information and notes that 911 and text-to-911 serve emergency needs. Do not use 911 for routine jail roster or records questions.
Monroe County Jail Contact
Monroe County Jail contact starts with the sheriff's office because the sheriff operates the jail. The official sheriff page lists the same address and phone as the jail detail in the research. Office hours are posted for the sheriff's office, but jail-specific lobby, booking desk, visitation counter, and after-hours records procedures were not published in the official sources reviewed.
Monroe County Jail
114 19th Ave West
Albia, IA 52531
641-932-7815
Sheriff's Office hours: Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM-4:00 PM
The public-safety building is also described in city police materials as the Monroe County Law Enforcement Center. Albia Police materials use the same 114 19th Ave West address, but official research did not locate a separate Albia city jail. The Monroe County 911 page identifies the Law Center as the Public Safety Answering Point for police, fire, and medical dispatch.
The official sheriff source is shown here because it is the county source that ties the sheriff contact block to the jail capacity statement. The Monroe County Sheriff's Office page displays the jail operator details and the 26-bed jail statement.
That county page is the best matched local image source for Monroe County Jail because it identifies the sheriff's office that maintains the jail.
Monroe County Jail Visits
Monroe County does not publish detailed jail visitation rules, visitor hours, video visit options, visitor ID rules, dress code, child visitor rules, attorney visitation procedure, or suspended-visit notices on the official county pages reviewed. Do not assume that a statewide prison rule applies to Monroe County Jail. Iowa DOC prison visitation rules apply to state prisoners in DOC facilities, not to county jail detainees in Albia.
| Visit Topic | Published Monroe County Detail | Action Before Travel |
|---|---|---|
| In-person visits | Not published in official local sources | Confirm with the sheriff's office |
| Video visits | Vendor and schedule not published | Ask whether video visits are offered |
| Visitor ID | Specific rule not published | Bring government photo ID and verify rules |
| Dress code | Not published | Ask before arriving for a visit |
| Attorney visits | Local procedure not published | Call the jail to schedule or confirm access |
For any Monroe County Jail visit, call before traveling. Small jail operations can change due to court transports, staffing, medical issues, emergencies, lockdowns, or court schedules. Confirm whether the person is still held, whether visits are open, whether visits must be scheduled, and what items are barred from the lobby or visiting area.
Note: Confirm custody and visit rules with Monroe County Jail before travel because no official local visit schedule was located.
Monroe County Jail Mail and Money
Official Monroe County sources reviewed did not publish a jail mail format, inmate phone vendor, tablet provider, commissary vendor, deposit vendor, kiosk rule, fee schedule, or accepted payment methods. Because those facts are not published, the safe record is that each service must be confirmed with the sheriff's office before money is sent, mail is addressed, or a phone account is funded.
| Service | Official Detail Located | What to Confirm |
|---|---|---|
| Mail address format not published | Ask how to list the inmate name and what items are rejected | |
| Phone or video | Provider and pricing not published | Ask whether a vendor account is needed |
| Commissary | Vendor and order rules not published | Ask whether commissary is available and how orders work |
| Money deposits | Deposit method and fee not published | Confirm whether deposits are in person, online, by phone, or unavailable |
| Bond payment | Payment methods not published | Verify amount, case number, location, and hold status first |
Do not infer a vendor from another Iowa jail. No Monroe County source reviewed confirms a phone, video, commissary, or money-deposit company for the jail. A wrong vendor can send a family member to the wrong account path and can delay support for the person in custody.
Monroe County Jail Bond Release
Monroe County does not publish a local jail bond page or bond desk procedure in the official sources reviewed. Bond and release questions therefore start with custody verification at the jail, then move to the court record when charges have been filed. Iowa Code Chapter 811 governs pretrial and post-trial release and bail, while Iowa Code sections 804.21 and 804.22 address initial appearance after warrant and warrantless arrests.
Common release terms include cash bond, surety bond, personal recognizance, no-bond holds, and warrant bond schedule issues. Personal recognizance, often called PR bond, means release based on a promise to appear and obey court-set conditions. A hold means another court, agency, warrant, probation or parole matter, federal custodian, or immigration issue may block release even when one bond appears resolved.
- Call Monroe County Jail to confirm the person is still in local custody.
- Search Iowa Courts Online for filed charges, hearing dates, public financial entries, and case status.
- Contact the Monroe County Clerk of Court for court-file bond questions at 641-932-5212 when a case has been filed.
- Before bringing money, verify the exact amount, case number, payment location, accepted method, and any outside hold.
Iowa Courts Online help notes that some bond information may require a paid Online Search subscription or courthouse public-terminal access. That is another reason to verify release terms with the jail or clerk before assuming a visible docket entry is complete.
Monroe County Jail Public Records
Iowa Code Chapter 22 gives every person the right to examine and copy public records unless a legal exception applies. For Monroe County Jail records held by the sheriff, the lawful local custodian path starts with the sheriff's office at the jail address. Requests should be specific. Include the person's name, date of birth if known, booking date or rough date, arresting agency, case number, and the exact record type requested.
Public access is not the same as unlimited access. Iowa Code section 22.7(5) protects some peace-officer investigative reports, but the date, time, specific location, and immediate facts and circumstances of an incident generally cannot be withheld under that subsection unless release would seriously jeopardize an investigation or create a clear safety risk. Juvenile, medical, safety-sensitive, sealed, or confidential material may also be limited.
Iowa Code section 356.36 requires Iowa DOC to draw up minimum jail standards. Section 356.43 provides for periodic jail inspection, hearing, remedial action, and reporting. Iowa Administrative Code 201 Chapter 50 covers jail facilities, including inspection, training, operating procedures, admission, classification, security, medical services, communication, access to courts, and records. Those rules set the jail framework, while the sheriff remains the local starting point for Monroe County Jail records.
Monroe County Jail Booking Intake
Monroe County does not publish a local booking-process page. The known local custody point is Monroe County Jail at the sheriff's office and Law Enforcement Center. People may arrive after arrest by sheriff deputies, Albia Police, another officer, warrant arrest, court commitment, or transfer for local custody. Standard jail booking normally records identifying data, arresting agency, charges or commitment basis, date and time, property, fingerprints, and a booking photograph, but Monroe County does not publish a local field list.
After intake, a person may have an initial appearance, bond review, release conditions, court filing, transfer, or continued jail hold. Court data timing is separate from jail custody timing. Iowa Courts Online help says a case appears one business day after it is added to the case-management system and then updates in real time. A citation may take up to 14 days to post.
For Monroe County Jail custody status, the cleanest practical order is local jail first, IowaVINE for alerts, Iowa Courts Online for filed court records, Chapter 22 for public jail records not posted, and Iowa DOC or federal tools only when the person is no longer in local county jail custody.