Appanoose County Sheriff's Office

The Appanoose County Sheriff's Office in Iowa runs the county jail, serves civil papers for the courts, handles sheriff's sales and offers crime prevention help, and its website keeps an office history, FAQs, forms and press releases. The current jail was finished in 2022 inside the Appanoose County Law Center in Centerville and holds people awaiting trial as well as people serving sentences. Its philosophy holds that the jail sentence is itself the penalty and that inmates are to be handled humanely and courteously. Sunday afternoon visits are open to immediate family and a short list of approved non-family visitors, who must return a visitor questionnaire ahead of time. Civil deputies serve small claims papers, notices, summonses, subpoenas and executions, charging the fees set by Iowa Code section 331.655 and payable in advance under Iowa Code section 70A.5, though staff cannot give legal advice. The office also collects fees for sex offender registration, weapons permits and permits to acquire. The old county jail and the attached sheriff's residence, built by the county in 1871 and fitted with steel cells in 1904, now belong to a local museum that opens the site to visitors on Pancake Day.