The Detention Center
Custer County Detention Center
- Operated byCuster County Sheriff's Office
- Address1010 Main Street, Miles City, MT 59301
- Year built2015 — the county's own site says "the modern Custer County jail was completed in 2015," replacing a jail that was 108 years old
- Cost / bedsNot found
- Bail paymentGOVPAYNET.com, using the inmate's agency number and bond amount
- CommissaryKiosk in the lobby, or JAILATM.com ($300 weekly deposit limit)
Source: Custer County Sheriff's Office · checked 2026-08-24
Transparency rating
3/10Closed- ✓The jail is named
- ✓Who is in custody
- ✗Beds and daily population — not published
- ✗What it costs taxpayers — not published
- ✗Deaths in custody — not published
- ✗PREA audits — not published
- ✗Independent inspection — not published
- ✗Who else it holds, and for how much — not published
- ✓How to post bond
- ✗Phone, video and commissary rates — not published
The Building
You paid for it. Here is what the record says it cost.
- Year built2015 (replacement facility)
- Original costNot found
- Paid for byNot found
- BedsNot found
Since then
- Old jail (built roughly 1907-08, described on the county site as 108 years old when replaced) was closed when the current detention center opened in 2015
The Sheriff
Sheriff Brandon Kelm
- Runs the jailYes — the Custer County Detention Center
- How the office is filledElected
- Took officeReported taking over as Custer County Sheriff in a Miles City Star article dated Feb. 2023
- Detention budget requested vs. approved, by year
- Jail staffing levels and vacancy rate
- Lawsuits and settlements involving the jail
Source: Custer County Sheriff's Office · checked 2026-08-24
The Judges
Montana District Court judges (16th Judicial District, covering Custer, Carter, Fallon, Garfield, Powder River, Rosebud and Treasure counties) and the Justice of the Peace are both elected and are not county officials. Both 16th District judges hear cases across all seven counties in the district.
16th Judicial District Court
- Hon. Michael B. Hayworth (headquartered in Custer County)
- Hon. Rennie L. Wittman (headquartered in Rosebud County)
Justice Court — Justice of the Peace
- Hon. Mark Hilderbrand
- The county's bond schedule
- Share of the jail population held pretrial
- Median time from booking to first appearance
Source: the state judiciary · checked 2026-08-24
The County Commissioners
They pay for the jail. The sheriff runs it.
- What they controlThe detention budget, the building itself, and the agreements that let other agencies rent its beds.
- What they don'tDay-to-day operations. The sheriff is separately elected and answers to voters, not to the board.
- The boardBoard of County Commissioners →
- Where the jail money is decidedAgendas and minutes →
Notes on the record
- Montana has no confirmed statutory adult jail inspection agency; state_inspection is left blank per the research brief.
- The sheriff's page names phone/video vendors (Reliance Telephone) and a commissary deposit limit but does not publish a specific per-minute or per-item rate schedule, so fees is marked no.
- Board of County Commissioners: Jason Strouf (Chairman, District 1), Jeff Faycosh (District 2), Kevin Krausz (District 3)
These three offices decide who sits in a cell in Custer County and what it costs the people who live here. Nationally, almost 77% of the people who died in local jails in 2019 had not been convicted of anything, and suicide was the leading single cause of those deaths (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Local Jails, 2000–2019).
How much is your sheriff — and your judge — costing you?
Your VOTE is POWERFUL.
The sheriff who runs this jail is elected. So are the commissioners who pay for it.
Names verified 2026-08-24 · dollars and outcomes still being gathered