Washington County

The Detention Center

Washington County Detention Center

• Operated byWashington County Sheriff (Indiana)
• Address801 S Jackson St., Salem, IN 47167
• Phone812-883-5999
• Capacity"The current jail has a 204 inmate capacity."
• In operation since1986
• Expansion2014 — "adding a modern tower feature and state-of-the-art surveillance capabilities"

Source: Washington County IN Sheriff — Washington County Detention Center · checked 2026-09-20

• ✓The jail is named
• ✗Who is in custody — not published
• ✓Beds and daily population
• ✗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 — not published
• ✗Phone, video and commissary rates — not published

This rates disclosure, not conduct — what Washington County publishes about a jail its taxpayers own, checked 2026-09-20. Nothing here says the jail is run well or badly. Every mark moves the moment the county posts the document.

The Building

You paid for it. Here is what the record says it cost.

• Year builtIn operation since 1986 (sheriff's site)
• Original costNot found
• Paid for byNot found
• Beds204 inmate capacity (sheriff's site)

The Sheriff

Not found

• Runs the jailYes — the Indiana sheriff keeps the county jail (IC 36-2-13-5)
• How the office is filledElected, four-year term; no more than eight years in any twelve
• Why not foundThe sheriff's 'Message From Sheriff' page and the county sheriff page could not be opened
• State directory listsBrent Miller — not confirmed on a county or sheriff page. The State of Indiana's sheriff directory (in.gov/sheriffs) was out of date for 4 of the 66 counties we could check against county pages, so this name is shown for reference only.

Source: Washington County IN Sheriff — Washington County Detention Center · checked 2026-09-20

The Judges

Indiana circuit and superior court judges are state judicial officers, not county officials. In most counties they are elected to six-year terms; a few counties choose some judges through a nominating commission followed by retention votes.

Source: the state judiciary · checked 2026-09-20

The Commissioners and County Council

They pay for the jail. The sheriff runs it.

• What they controlThe three county commissioners own and maintain the jail building and sign its contracts; the seven-member county council adopts the budget and appropriates the jail's money.
• What they don'tDay-to-day operations. The sheriff is separately elected and keeps the jail by state law (IC 36-2-13-5).
• NoteCounty site washingtoncounty.in.gov is blocked to fetching by robots.txt, so commissioners and the seven-member County Council could not be recorded.
• The boardWashington County Board of Commissioners
• Where the jail money is decidedNot found