Montezuma County Sheriff's Office

About Us

The Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office has been serving its citizens and visitors since it was created by the Colorado Legislature in 1889.  Montezuma County is approximately 2,000 square miles in size, located in the southwest corner of Colorado where the San Juan Mountains meet the mesas and canyons of the high desert.

The county seat is Cortez where the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office and the Montezuma County Detention Center are located at 730 East Driscoll Street. The Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office substation is located at 420 Central Avenue in Dolores. The 72 members of the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office along with our civilian volunteers are dedicated public safety professionals who value the importance of public service and a duty to our citizens, communities, and visitors, by providing knowledgeable, responsible, respectful, caring, and professional service. The Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office provides enforcement, proactive crime prevention, and many other public safety services through our Patrol Division, Detective Division, Detentions Division, Judicial Security, Pre-Trial Services, Records Division, and Administrative Services Section. The Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office website is designed to provide public information and assistance when needed and is continually updated and expanded. Enjoy our great county safely and all it has to offer with the many outdoor recreational opportunities, communities, history, cultures, and yearly events. We are here to protect and serve.

Steven D. Nowlin,
Sheriff Montezuma County, Colorado

The Sheriff’s Office has (76) full-time and 1 part-time employees, as well as a number of Reserves and Volunteers which include, Search & Rescue, Sheriff’s Posse & Chaplains.  Montezuma County encompasses approximately, 2200 square miles of canyons, national forests, mountains, and high-altitude desert. The population of the county is about 27,000 people, with the cities of Cortez (7,000), Dolores (1,100), Mancos (1,300) and Towaoc (1200) included in the population total. Towaoc is on the UTE Mountain UTE Indian Reservation which is patrolled by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Montezuma County also encompasses Mesa Verde National Park as well as areas of Hovenweep National Monument and the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. Other agencies inside Montezuma County include the Cortez Police Department, Mancos Marshal’s Office, Colorado Division of Wildlife, National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Bureau of Indian Affairs, as well as the Colorado State Patrol.