Osceola County Jail Inmate Search

The Osceola County Jail, located in Sibley, Iowa, directly serves the five communities that make up the county: Sibley, Ocheyedan, Ashton, Melvin, and Harris. Although most of the inmates come from the immediate area, the jail will house inmates from other counties, on a case-by-case arrangement.

All inmates are charged fees for their housing. Inmates who are assigned to work release are also expected to pay for their housing. If an inmate is credited for time served, they are responsible for the full price of their incarceration. This means they are charged for the total number of days that they were sentenced.

The jail does have a commissary that can be funded online, by family or friends. Typical commissary items include hygiene supplies and/or snacks. Commissary is considered a privilege, as is access to the television and a radio. The jail has a list of rules that must be followed to continue to receive these privileges. Jail rules require that inmates do not 'roughhouse,' are not loud and keep their area neat. Inmates are not allowed to keep any bedding materials or their mattress on the floor, and they are expected to shower once a day. All inmates are expected to be on their bunk beds between 11:00pm and 7:00am each day.

Visitation occurs on Sundays. Male inmates can receive visitors from 1:00pm-3:00pm, whereas female inmates receive visitors from 3:00pm to 4:00pm. All visitors must bring a picture identification and are required to register when they arrive. No contraband is allowed in the jail and visitors are searched prior to their visit. Visitation is considered a privilege and it can be revoked if visitors or inmates do not abide by the rules.

Medical care is provided at the jail and all inmates have access to appropriate medical care, whether or not they can afford to pay. However, most services are charged directly to the inmates account and any monies deposited to their account will be used to address medical fees. Likewise, any medications provided to the inmate are charged to their account.

The jail does restrict all incoming calls, unless they are from an attorney or a bondsman. Inmates can 'call collect' to place an outgoing phone call or use a calling card. Some individuals are unable to receive those calls because of a block, so the jail encourages interested parties to call their phone service to see if they can accept a collect call. In addition, calling cards can be purchased online, through an intermediary service. Mail can be sent directly to the jail, but it should not contain food, clothing, or personal items. All mail is searched and whatever the inmate is not allowed to keep will be returned to the sender.

Veterans who are in the jail are encouraged to find out if they qualify for additional services by reaching out to the Veterans Justice Outreach Program (VJOP). The VJOP can help some veterans access legal assistance. In addition, the VJOP can work with inmates so that they can access treatment programs for substance abuse or mental health issues, once they are released. These inmates will need to contact the local VA Health Care System to determine eligibility for case management or outreach programs.

Finally, if an inmate has a grievance, they are encouraged to put that in writing and address it to the jail administrator. These are responded to within 72 hours. If the problem is not satisfactorily resolved, an inmate can reach out to the State of Iowa, Office of Citizens' Aide/Ombudsman Office for further assistance.