The Decatur County Inmate Population
The Decatur County inmate population is centered on one local jail: the Decatur County Jail, operated by the Decatur County Sheriff's Office. Research located no separate city jail, regional jail, work-release annex, state prison, federal prison, or ICE detention center inside the county. That makes the local map simple, but it also means every current custody check has to be routed with care. A person arrested by the sheriff, Oberlin Police Department, Kansas Highway Patrol, or another local agency may be booked into the courthouse jail if the sheriff accepts the hold.
The jail side and the court side are separate. Jail staff track booking, custody, release, transfer, and visitation access. The Decatur County District Court tracks prosecutor-filed charges, bond orders, warrants, and case events after filing. Sentenced felony prisoners from Decatur County leave the county jail count after transfer and become part of the Kansas Department of Corrections population. Federal and immigration custody use still different systems.
Decatur County Inmate Population Statistics
The strongest local population figure is capacity, not a live jail count. The Kansas Sheriffs' Association Decatur County directory lists the jail size as 12 beds. It also gives the female-bed detail: 2 dedicated female beds, with 2 additional female beds depending on the male population count. Official Decatur sources did not publish a current daily population, average daily population, annual booking total, race or age split, or charge-level breakdown.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Year |
|---|---|---|
| Decatur County Jail rated capacity | 12 beds | Kansas Sheriffs' Association directory, accessed June 13, 2026 |
| Female beds | 2 dedicated; 2 additional depending on male count | Kansas Sheriffs' Association directory, accessed June 13, 2026 |
| Sworn staff | 4 full-time, 2 part-time | Kansas Sheriffs' Association directory |
| Current jail population | Not published in official sources located | Decatur sheriff and county sources reviewed |
| Kansas prison population | 9,849 adult correctional residents out of 10,674 capacity | KDOC homepage population snapshot, updated 9-18-2025 |
Decatur County Inmate Population Trends
No official Decatur County jail dashboard or annual jail report was located for recent years. That limits trend claims. The county jail population may change with arrests, bond decisions, court holds, sex-separation needs in a small jail, and transfers to another agency. Because the county does not publish a live roster or annual average daily population table, readers should not treat third-party count estimates as official Decatur County inmate population data.
| Year | Decatur ADP / Count | Research Note |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Not published | No official roster or jail dashboard located |
| 2025 | Not published | No official annual jail population report located |
| 2024 | Not published | No county jail ADP located in official sources |
| 2023 | Not published locally | BJS gives national jail context, not a Decatur count |
National and state sources help frame the scale but cannot replace a local jail count. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reported 664,200 local jail inmates nationally at midyear 2023. The Prison Policy Initiative Kansas profile reports statewide incarceration context, while KDOC reports state prison capacity and resident numbers. Those figures do not tell who is in the Decatur County Jail today.
Decatur County Jail Capacity
The Decatur County Jail is a small courthouse jail, not a large pod-based detention campus. The official county sheriff page places the sheriff and jail on the 4th floor of the Decatur County Courthouse. The 12-bed capacity matters because housing decisions in a small jail can be affected by sex separation, medical needs, security classification, and outside holds. Research did not locate a published housing-unit map, accreditation report, average daily population, or construction plan.
The sheriff's page names David Wachendorfer as sheriff, Ed Temmel as undersheriff, and Amber Carfield as jail administrator/deputy. The Decatur County Dispatch page confirms the same 24-hour phone contact used for jail and dispatch questions. That phone channel is more important in Decatur than in a county with a live inmate search page.
Important: A small jail can have custody changes that never appear online, so confirm current status with dispatch before travel, bond, or visitation.
Laws Governing Decatur County Inmates
Kansas law sets the public-record framework for Decatur County jail information, but it does not require every law-enforcement record to appear online. The sheriff is the local jail operator, and the Kansas Open Records Act controls many records requests. Some booking facts may be available, while criminal-investigation records, sealed records, expunged records, juvenile material, medical information, and security-sensitive details may be withheld or redacted.
Key Statutes:
K.S.A. 45-218 gives the general right to inspect public records and requires agency action by the end of the third business day after receipt.
K.S.A. 45-221 lists records agencies are not required to disclose, including several criminal-investigation and privacy categories.
K.S.A. 19-811 places charge and custody of the county jail and prisoners with the sheriff.
K.S.A. 19-1930 allows county jails to receive prisoners committed by federal, city, or KDOC authority.
Search Decatur County Inmate Custody
No official Decatur County online jail roster, inmate search portal, booking report, recent-release list, or public inmate-profile page was located on the county or sheriff website. The sheriff page includes jail information for visiting, but not a searchable roster. That changes the search path. Start with the jail and dispatch line, then use the court and state systems based on what the booking or sentence status shows.
- Call the Decatur County Sheriff's Office or Dispatch at 785-475-8100 and ask whether the person is currently in custody.
- Have the person's full name, date of birth if known, arrest date, and arresting agency ready.
- Ask whether bond has been set, whether the person has been released, and whether a transfer or outside hold applies.
- If the jail cannot release the record by phone, ask for the custodian and the written KORA request process.
- Use Kansas Case Search for filed charges and KASPER for KDOC custody after sentencing.
The Decatur County inmate records page gives the longer custody-search path for current and released bookings.
Decatur County Roster Fields
Because no public Decatur County jail roster was located, there is no official local search form to inventory. A written request should describe the record sought instead of assuming online search fields exist. KASPER, BOP, and court portals do have their own fields, but each covers a different custody system.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decatur jail roster form | Not available | Not available | No official Decatur County online roster form was located |
| KASPER disclaimer | Confirmation | Yes | User must acknowledge the KDOC disclaimer before search |
| Kansas Case Search party name | Text | Optional | Used for court records after a case is filed |
| BOP name or number | Text | Varies | Federal custody only, not Decatur jail custody |
What Decatur County Records Show
A Decatur booking record is best treated as a request target, not an online profile. The sheriff may be able to confirm current custody, release, transfer, bond status, or visitation scheduling by phone. A fuller booking sheet, jail roster entry, or booking photo may require a written KORA request and review for exemptions.
| Field | What It May Show |
|---|---|
| Name and identifiers | Full name, date of birth, or other identifiers used to avoid confusing people with similar names. |
| Booking date/time | When the person was booked into the Decatur County Jail, if releasable. |
| Arresting agency | Sheriff, Oberlin Police Department, Kansas Highway Patrol, or another agency if shown on the booking record. |
| Booking charges | Initial allegations that may differ from charges filed later by the prosecutor. |
| Bond | Court-set or officer-set release terms, if available. |
| Custody status | In custody, released, transferred, held for another agency, or moved to KDOC or federal custody. |
County Jail vs State Prison
Decatur County jail custody and KDOC custody are not the same. The county jail handles local detention before court, short local sentences, and people held for hearings or transfer. KDOC handles sentenced felony prisoners and some supervised populations after the county court process moves beyond local jail custody. KASPER is useful for that later stage, but it is not a complete Kansas criminal history and should not be used as an arrest warrant source.
| Custody Type | Where to Look | What It Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Current local jail custody | Decatur County Sheriff's Office, 785-475-8100 | Pretrial detainees, local holds, local sentenced misdemeanants |
| Filed court case | Kansas Case Search or Decatur County District Court | Charges, bond orders, hearings, warrants, dispositions |
| State prison or supervision | KDOC KASPER | KDOC-operated or KDOC-funded custody and supervision data |
| Federal sentence | BOP Inmate Locator | Federal inmates from 1982 to present |
| Immigration detention | ICE Online Detainee Locator System | Immigration custody, separate from the county jail |
Official Decatur Jail Sources
The official Decatur County Sheriff page is the local source for staff, visitation, contact, and jail information.
The screenshot reflects why phone and KORA fallback channels are central here: the sheriff page gives jail information, but research did not locate an online roster.
The KASPER offender search is the correct Kansas Department of Corrections channel after a Decatur County case results in state custody.
KASPER belongs to the state-custody part of the search, not new Decatur County jail bookings.
Decatur County Detention Facility
The facility map has one Decatur County detention facility. Municipal arrests in Oberlin may still route to the county jail, since the City of Oberlin has described the sheriff's 12-bed courthouse jail as a facility the police department may use.
- Decatur County Jail - courthouse-based county jail for pretrial detainees, local sentenced misdemeanants, local agency arrests, and accepted holds for court or transfer.
Decatur County Custody Terms
Several terms come up often when checking the Decatur County inmate population. Plain meanings help separate jail status from court status.
- Booking
- Jail intake after arrest, including identity checks, property inventory, and initial custody record creation.
- Bond
- Release security or conditions set by a court or authorized officer under Kansas law.
- Detainer
- A hold request from another agency that can keep a person in custody even when a local case changes.
- PR bond
- Release on a promise to appear and obey conditions, without posting the full cash amount.
- Expungement
- A court order that limits public access to qualifying arrest, conviction, or diversion records.
Decatur County Inmate Population FAQ
How big is the Decatur County inmate population?
The official local capacity figure is 12 beds at the Decatur County Jail. A current Decatur County inmate population count was not published in official sources located during research.
How do I search the Decatur County inmate population?
Start with the Decatur County Sheriff's Office or Dispatch at 785-475-8100 because no official online jail roster was located. Use Kansas Case Search for filed court cases and KASPER for sentenced state custody.
Are Decatur County jail mugshots online?
No official Decatur County mugshot gallery or recent-booking page was located. Booking photos may be requested through the sheriff under KORA, with possible denial, delay, or redaction.
Where do court records after arrest appear?
Filed charges appear through Decatur County District Court and Kansas Case Search after the prosecutor files the case. Booking allegations can differ from court charges.
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