Butler County Detention Center Overview
The Butler County Sheriff's Office operates Butler County Detention Center in David City. County materials identify the sheriff's office as the agency responsible for jail management, patrol, emergency response, criminal investigations, communications center operations, community outreach, and sex offender registration. For custody searches, that local operating role matters because no separate county jail roster page, inmate handbook, commissary page, mail policy page, or visitation page was located on the official Butler County website.
The facility is the county jail for recent arrests, pretrial detainees, local sentenced jail inmates, and people housed under local arrangements when accepted. It should not be treated as a Nebraska state prison, a federal prison, or an ICE detention center. Those systems use different public lookup tools.
Important: No official public Butler County Detention Center roster was located, so current custody should be verified directly with the sheriff's office.
Butler County Detention Center Address and Contact
For an active Butler County Detention Center custody check, begin with the sheriff's main public phone line or an in-person inquiry. Ask whether the person is currently in custody, whether bond has been set, whether a release or transfer occurred, and which court or outside agency may control the next step. If a written jail record is needed, ask who currently receives public-records requests for sheriff or jail records before sending sensitive personal details.
Butler County Detention Center
451 N 5th Street
David City, NE 68632
402-367-7400
Fax: 402-367-3222
Operator: Butler County Sheriff's Office
The county public-records page is sparse and does not publish a jail-specific online request form. A focused written request should identify the person, approximate booking date, requested record type, and date range, while recognizing that juvenile, medical, sealed, security, or active investigation material may be withheld or redacted.
How to Look Up an Inmate at Butler County Detention Center
A Butler County Detention Center lookup starts locally because the official county site did not publish a current inmate list, booking report, or mugshot gallery. The sheriff page links to the state inmate population search, but that state link is not the same thing as a county jail roster. A person booked after a local arrest may still be in Butler County custody even if the state prison locator does not show a match.
- Call the Butler County Sheriff's Office at 402-367-7400 and request a current custody check for the booked name.
- Ask whether the person is held at Butler County Detention Center, has been released, or has been transferred to another agency.
- If the person has been sentenced to state prison, search NDCS Incarceration Records by last name or DCS ID.
- For court-filed charges after booking, use the Nebraska court system or contact the proper Butler County court office.
- If local and state searches do not match, use the federal and immigration tools only when those custody paths fit the case.
The Butler County jail inmate records guide explains current custody checks, state prison searches, public-records requests, and court routing in more detail.
Butler County Detention Center Lookup Channels
Butler County search results can split across several systems because the county jail, state prison system, courts, federal custody, immigration custody, and victim-notification tools do not all answer the same question. Use the tool that matches the custody stage, then confirm important release, bond, and visitation details with the office that holds the record.
| Need | Use This Channel | Butler County Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Current local custody | Sheriff phone or in-person check | No official public local roster was located. |
| State sentenced prisoner | NDCS locator | Use after transfer to Nebraska Department of Correctional Services custody. |
| Victim notice or release alerts | NEVCAP offender search | Verify locally because 2026 county minutes described a Central Square/Zuercher victim-reporting issue. |
| Federal sentenced custody | BOP inmate locator | No BOP prison was located in Butler County. |
| Immigration custody | ICE Online Detainee Locator | No ICE detention facility was located in Butler County. |
NEVCAP may be useful for victim notification, but February 2026 board minutes said victim reporting was not active through Central Square/Zuercher and correctional staff had to call victims manually.
Butler County Detention Center Population and Capacity
Butler County did not publish a current rated capacity, current average daily population, pod list, housing-unit map, or current head count in the official county pages reviewed. The only facility-specific population figure located for Butler County Detention Center is historical. Prison Policy Initiative's Census 2020 vintage Nebraska correctional population table lists Butler Co. Detention with 23 local prisoners on a 12/31/2013 survey date. That figure should be read as historical local jail population data, not current capacity.
The Nebraska Crime Commission Jail Data Query is useful for release statistics, but it is not a person search. Butler County release-count rows were found for 2016 through 2020, while recent 2021 through 2025 queries returned headers without count rows. The February 2026 jail evaluation discussion explains why recent state data may be missing.
Visiting Someone at Butler County Detention Center
No official Butler County Detention Center visitation schedule, visitor rule sheet, video visitation link, attorney-visit policy, lobby hours, appointment process, or dress code was located on the county website. Before traveling to David City, call the jail and verify eligibility, visit type, identification, visitor entrance, child-visitor rules, and property limits.
| Visitation Item | Published Status | What to Verify by Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Public schedule | Not published in official county sources | Available days, times, appointment rules, and cancellation risk. |
| Visit type | Not published | Whether visits are in person, video, attorney-only, or temporarily limited. |
| Visitor ID | Not published | Bring government photo ID and ask about age or guardian rules. |
| Dress code | Not published | Confirm clothing limits before arrival. |
| Attorney visits | Not published | Attorneys should call the jail directly for current procedure. |
Note: Because no official schedule was located, confirm custody and visit approval before driving to the jail.
Mail, Phone, and Money at Butler County Detention Center
Butler County did not publish an inmate-mail format, commissary vendor, online deposit vendor, deposit fee table, phone vendor, tablet vendor, or video-call pricing page in the official sources reviewed. Ask the jail for the booked name, any booking number, the approved mailing format, and whether mail is delivered physically, scanned, or rejected by category.
| Service | Published Butler County Finding | Practical Step |
|---|---|---|
| Mail format | Not published | Call before sending letters, books, cards, photos, or legal mail. |
| Mail address | Jail mail format not confirmed | Verify whether 451 N 5th Street is accepted for inmate mail. |
| Commissary vendor | Not located | Ask if commissary deposits are accepted and how fees are charged. |
| Online deposits | Not located | Do not use an outside payment page unless the jail confirms it. |
| Phone or video provider | Not located | Ask about account setup, rates, blocks, and attorney-call handling. |
Butler County Detention Center Booking and Intake
Butler County does not publish a step-by-step booking page, so intake should be described conservatively. After a local arrest, an officer or deputy may take the person to Butler County Detention Center or to another appropriate facility if Butler County cannot accept the person. Typical jail intake can include identity confirmation, creation of a jail record, search, property inventory, booking photo, fingerprints when required, medical or safety screening, and housing classification.
If the person is not released by citation, bond, or court order, the jail may hold the person pending first appearance or later court action. Court-filed charges can differ from booking allegations because the prosecutor reviews the case before formal charges proceed.
Butler County board minutes add an important records caveat. The February 2026 annual jail evaluation discussion said admission and release documentation was not being reported according to Crime Commission specifications after Central Square/Zuercher went live in early 2024. That issue affects state statistical reporting and supports using the sheriff phone line for live custody facts.
Butler County Detention Center Oversight and Recent Updates
Recent official county materials show active local oversight, but they do not publish a complete inmate-services handbook. The February 2, 2026 board minutes describe review of the annual Jail Evaluation Report and say the evaluation was otherwise positive beyond the admission, release, and victim-reporting concerns tied to Central Square/Zuercher. July 21, 2025 board minutes record a quarterly jail inspection, which fits Nebraska Jail Standards oversight practices.
June 15, 2026 board agenda materials listed Jail Administrator Angie Siebken for possible action on a bid to replace the jail door control and intercom system, plus a detention equipment sinking fund resolution. February 17, 2026 minutes also show approval of an interlocal inmate-housing agreement with Colfax County. These updates help explain operations, but none creates an online inmate roster.
Butler County Detention Center, State Prison, Federal Custody, and ICE
The Butler County Detention Center is a local jail, not an NDCS prison. Once a person is sentenced to Nebraska state prison and transferred, the custody search moves to NDCS. NDCS records can be searched by last name or DCS ID, and NDCS public-records requests route to that agency rather than to the Butler County jail.
Federal and immigration custody also require separate searches. The BOP locator covers federal inmates incarcerated from 1982 to the present. ICE's Online Detainee Locator is for immigration detention and can be searched by A-number or by name, country of birth, and birth date. Neither system proves that a person is in Butler County Detention Center.
For a broader view of the local jail's place in the county system, the Butler County inmate population overview explains the detention map, state reporting limits, and how the local jail differs from state and federal custody.