Due to flooding, the Sheriff's Administrative Services and Civil Division Offices have temporarily relocated to Field Headquarters at 6023 NE 14th in Des Moines. Temporary Contact: 515-875-5597 and Fax 515-286-3410

The Office of Sheriff was instituted when the State of Iowa was granted statehood in 1846. Since that time, the Sheriff's Office has been host to 36 elected Officials. Our current Sheriff, Dennis W. Anderson, was elected by the citizens of Polk County in November of 2000 and re-elected in 2004.

The Polk County Sheriff is the chief executive officer of the largest Sheriff’s Office in Iowa with more than 350 employees and an annual budget of over $34 million. The Sheriff’s Office is a full service law enforcement agency with Patrol, Criminal Investigations, Civil and Jail Divisions. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office manages the largest jail in the State with a daily jail population of over 950 inmates in 2005. In March 2005, Polk County voters overwhelmingly approved the construction of a new jail facility. The early stages of construction are underway and completion is anticipated in the fall of 2008.