Brown County Inmate Population
The Brown County inmate population is reported through a small set of official sources rather than a live public dashboard. Local custody is held at the Brown County Jail, a county jail and Law Enforcement Center operated by the Brown County Sheriff's Office. Sheriff Jason S. Seidl is identified in county forms as the sheriff, and Jail Administrator Steve Appel is identified in the jail guide as the daily jail contact. The jail is the county facility for adults charged in Brown County, people awaiting sentence, people serving less than one year, and people held for another agency or warrant.
That local jail count is not the same as the Minnesota prison population. Once a person is committed to the Minnesota Department of Corrections, the correct lookup route becomes the MNDOC public locator. Federal custody and immigration custody are also separate systems. No official source in the research located a Minnesota DOC prison, Bureau of Prisons facility, ICE detention center, or separate city jail physically in Brown County, Minnesota.
Brown County Inmate Population Statistics
Brown County inmate population data is strongest where Minnesota DOC reports the jail's capacity, average daily population, and facility-condition figures. The county jail page and 2024 DOC inspection both identify 56 approved secure coed beds. The inspection also applies an 80 percent operating capacity figure, which gives the jail an operational capacity of 44.80 beds for inspection purposes. The FY25 MNDOC Performance Report lists Brown County's jail average daily population at 12.90, while the roster PDF inspected on June 18, 2026 showed 7 listed detainees.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Year |
|---|---|---|
| Approved capacity | 56 secure coed beds | Brown County Jail page and MNDOC 2024 inspection |
| Operational capacity | 44.80 at 80 percent operating capacity | MNDOC 2024 inspection |
| Average daily population | 12.90 | MNDOC FY25 Performance Report |
| Current roster count inspected | 7 listed detainees | Brown County Jail Roster PDF, June 18, 2026 |
| Total jail expenditures | $1,079,255.00 | MNDOC FY25 Performance Report |
| Per diem based on ADP | $229.21 | MNDOC FY25 Performance Report |
Brown County Jail Population Trends
The official research did not locate a full three-to-five-year Brown County ADP series, annual booking total, average length of stay, or demographic report. The available trend points still show a clear capacity picture. FY25 ADP of 12.90 is about 23 percent of the 56-bed approved capacity and about 29 percent of the 44.80 operational capacity used in the 2024 inspection. The June 18, 2026 roster count was lower than the FY25 average, but a one-day PDF is not a substitute for a real-time population dashboard.
| Year / Date | Population or Capacity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 inspection period | 56 approved beds / 44.80 operational | Authority effective July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2026 |
| FY25 | 12.90 ADP | MNDOC Performance Report jail per diem table |
| June 18, 2026 | 7 listed current detainees | Brown County Jail Roster PDF report timestamp |
The official Brown County Jail overview is a useful source for capacity and service context.
The jail overview supports the population data because it identifies the local facility, the 56-bed description, and the services attached to the custody operation.
Brown County Inmate Custody Mix
Brown County's public jail roster does not publish a full demographic profile. It shows age, but not sex, race, ethnicity, height, weight, housing unit, DOB, or a separate pretrial-versus-sentenced field. The custody mix can still be read from the local jail purpose and the roster's status and agency fields. Brown County says people may be held because they are awaiting trial, awaiting sentence, serving less than one year, waiting for transfer to MNDOC after a longer sentence, or held on another jurisdiction's warrant.
- Local arrests: Brown County Sheriff and New Ulm Police Department entries can appear in the county jail roster.
- Outside holds: The inspected roster showed agencies such as Watonwan County, Douglas County, McLeod County, and Iowa warrant entries.
- DOC-related custody: A person can be held locally while awaiting Minnesota DOC transfer after sentencing.
- Status labels: Observed examples included Sentenced, Bail Set, Hold Placed, No Bail, and OPR.
Those labels matter because a person may appear in the Brown County inmate population even when the arresting agency or future custody route is not Brown County alone.
Brown County Jail Population Laws
Minnesota law controls how Brown County jail records are classified, how detention facilities are regulated, and how jail safety routines are set. The public record starting point is the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. The jail standards source is Minnesota Rules Chapter 2911, which applies to adult detention facilities used for detention and confinement. These laws do not make every jail detail public, but they explain why roster data, arrest data, and many booking details can be released while active investigative data can be restricted.
Key Statutes:
Minn. Stat. § 13.03 treats government data as public unless another law classifies it otherwise.
Minn. Stat. § 13.82 governs law-enforcement data, including arrest data and booking photographs, with limits for active investigations.
Minn. Rules Chapter 2911 sets minimum standards for Minnesota detention facilities, including local jails.
Minn. Rules 2911.5000 requires formal counts and personal well-being observations at least once every 30 minutes.
Brown County records requests should follow the county's Data Practices Inventory when a detail is not published in the roster PDF.
Brown County Jail Conditions Data
Population data is more useful when paired with jail conditions and programs. Brown County says the jail provides three balanced meals each day, access to medical staff, a public health nurse, a doctor, and mental-health professionals. Correctional officers are trained as medical first responders. The jail also lists mail service, commissary, inmate banking, phone service, GED and substance-abuse educational support, religious services, Huber Work Release, Sentenced to Service, in-house work, and Parenting Inside Out.
Minnesota DOC's 2025 Health and Safety report gives Brown County licensed-facility counts of 0 suicide attempts, 6 medical transports, and 92 restrictive-housing placements or persons under the report's statewide definitions. Those numbers are condition measures, not a demographic breakdown. They do show that Brown County Jail is part of Minnesota's licensed local correctional facility system, even though it is operated by the county sheriff rather than MNDOC.
Search Brown County Inmate Population
The first current-custody source is the official Brown County Jail Roster PDF. Brown County's roster is not a searchable web database. It is a generated PDF report linked from county jail pages, and the inspected version displayed a "Current as of" timestamp. Use the PDF viewer's find function for a name, then read the full entry for booking time, age, bail, arresting agency, charges, status, and projected release date when shown.
- Open the official jail roster PDF from the Brown County site.
- Check the report timestamp before relying on a custody entry.
- Use browser or PDF find to search a last name, since there is no official roster search box.
- Read the full entry for charge text, status, bail, arresting agency, and projected release date.
- Call the County Jail at 507-233-6775 or the Sheriff's Office at 507-233-6700 if the person is not listed.
- Use MNDOC, BOP, ICE, MCRO, VINE, or a data-practices request when the county PDF does not fit the custody question.
Because the roster is a PDF, spelling and timing matter. A released person, a person booked under another name, or a person transferred after sentencing may not appear there.
Brown County Jail Roster Fields
The Brown County inmate record is lean. It confirms current jail custody and broad charge or hold information, but it does not provide a full booking profile. It does not show mugshots, booking numbers, DOB, housing units, court dates, charge statute numbers, judges, or release history. That makes the county jail phone line and records-request process important when a person needs details beyond the current PDF.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search field | None | n/a | The roster is a PDF report, so use PDF find for a name. |
| Current as of | Report timestamp | n/a | The inspected example was current as of June 18, 2026. |
| Name | Roster text | n/a | Names may wrap across lines; no booking number field is shown. |
| Date and Time of Booking | Roster text | n/a | Useful for matching a recent arrest. |
| Age | Roster text | n/a | Age appears, but full DOB does not. |
| Bail, charges, status | Roster columns | n/a | Read together to understand release and hold limits. |
The Brown County jail information and forms page links several custody resources, including the roster, family guide, PREA, phone card, and deposit options.
That county page helps explain why current custody, family rules, deposits, and phone-card information are handled through separate official links.
Past Brown County Inmate Records
A released or transferred person may not remain on the Brown County roster PDF. For past jail records, the practical route is the county's data-practices process, the jail phone line, or court search when formal charges have been filed. Brown County's Data Practices Inventory includes public-data and data-subject request forms and department inventories. The sheriff inventory cites Minnesota law-enforcement data classifications, which means active investigations, juvenile information, victim-safety limits, and court orders can affect what is released.
For charges after a jail arrest, use Minnesota Court Records Online through Brown County District Court. For conviction-history summaries, use the BCA/DPS public criminal history system under Minn. Stat. § 13.87. For custody notification after jail release, use Minnesota VINE. Brown County MN did not have an official sheriff mobile app in the research, so there is no app-only jail roster or warrant search to check.
County Jail vs State Prison
The Brown County Jail roster and MNDOC locator answer different custody questions. The county PDF covers current local jail custody. MNDOC covers adults committed to the Commissioner of Corrections who are in prison or still under DOC supervision after release. DOC warns that newly sentenced people may take several business days to appear, so a person can leave the county roster before showing in the state locator.
| Question | Brown County Jail | Minnesota DOC |
|---|---|---|
| Who is held | Pretrial, presentenced, short local sentences, warrants, holds, and people awaiting transfer | Adults committed to MNDOC, in prison or still on DOC supervision |
| Operator | Brown County Sheriff's Office | Minnesota Department of Corrections |
| Lookup tool | Brown County Jail Roster PDF | MNDOC public locator |
| Search fields | No official search box; use PDF find | Name search or six-digit MNDOC Offender ID |
| Notification route | Minnesota VINE for county jail release | Minnesota Haven and DOC Victim Assistance for sentenced DOC custody |
State Federal ICE Search
The MNDOC locator is the state route for Brown County cases after a prison commitment. It searches by name or MNDOC Offender ID and links related public registrant and active fugitive searches. For federal sentenced custody, use the BOP inmate locator, which covers federal inmate records from 1982 to present. For federal pretrial custody, the U.S. Marshals District of Minnesota handles custody and transport routing, but no official source identified Brown County Jail as a USMS contract detention site.
For immigration custody, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator System. ICE searches by A-number or biographical information and does not use the Brown County jail roster as its public detainee locator. For county jail release notice, the Minnesota VINE portal is the notification route documented by Minnesota DOC.
Brown County Detention Facilities
The official facility map for Brown County has one local detention facility. City police agencies may make arrests, and outside agencies may place holds, but people in local custody are routed through the county jail rather than a separate New Ulm city jail. State prison, federal prison, and ICE custody are separate systems that are searched with their own locators.
- Brown County Jail - the county jail in New Ulm holding adult male and female pretrial detainees, short-sentence inmates, people awaiting DOC transfer, and warrant or hold populations.
Brown County Custody Terms
Several roster terms can change the way a Brown County inmate population search should be read. A charge entry is not the same as a conviction. A hold can keep a person in custody even when another bail amount appears. A projected release date is also not a promise of release, because warrants, holds, court orders, or sentence calculations can change the date.
- Booking
- Jail intake after arrest or transfer that creates the custody record.
- Pretrial
- Custody while the criminal case is still pending in court.
- Hold Placed
- A court, probation, DOC, or another agency has a hold that can block simple release.
- OPR
- Own-personal-recognizance style status shorthand; verify locally before relying on it.
- DOC transfer
- Movement from Brown County Jail to Minnesota DOC after commitment to prison.
Brown County Inmate Population FAQ
How large is the Brown County inmate population? The best sourced average is 12.90 ADP for FY25 from Minnesota DOC. The jail has 56 approved secure coed beds, and the June 18, 2026 roster inspected for the research listed 7 current detainees.
Who runs the Brown County Jail? The operator is the Brown County Sheriff's Office. County forms identify Jason S. Seidl as sheriff, and the jail guide identifies Steve Appel as jail administrator.
Does Brown County have a searchable jail database? No. The official roster is a PDF report. Use the PDF find tool, then call 507-233-6775 if the person is not listed or the entry is unclear.
Where are sentenced state prisoners searched? Use the MNDOC public locator. It is separate from the Brown County jail roster and may take several business days to show newly sentenced people.
Does Brown County have a sheriff app for inmates? No official Brown County MN sheriff app with an inmate, warrant, roster, or records feature was located. The county uses web pages, PDFs, VINE, and data-practices forms.