Sumner County

The Detention Center

Sumner County Detention Facility (the Sheriff's Office's own site calls it "the Detention Facility"; a public 'Jail Roster' page is also published)

• Operated bySumner County Sheriff's Office
• Address610 E. Hillside, Wellington, KS 67152
• Bed capacity185-bed detention facility (per the Sheriff's Office's own "About Us" page)
• Population housedAdult male and female arrestees; the public jail roster showed 88 people in custody at the time fetched, including entries marked "US Marshals Housing" with $0 bonds, indicating federal prisoners are held there — no contract terms or rate are published
• PREAThe site states the office is "committed to the National Prison [Rape] Elimination Act" with a stated zero-tolerance policy — a policy statement, not a published audit result
• BondThe facility accepts cash bonds for the full bond amount; families select their own bondsman and staff do not recommend one
• FeesVideo visitation costs $5.70 plus tax per 15 minutes and must be scheduled 24 hours in advance; medical and dental co-pays are charged when inmates receive care
• Annual budget, year built, original cost, inspections, deaths in custodyNot found on either sumnersheriff.net or co.sumner.ks.us

Source: Sumner County, KS — Sheriff Office, Detentions / About Us · checked 2026-09-17

• ✓The jail is named
• ✓Who is in custody
• ✓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
• ✓Phone, video and commissary rates

This rates disclosure, not conduct — what Sumner County publishes about a jail its taxpayers own, checked 2026-09-17. 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 builtNot found
• Original costNot found
• Paid for byNot found
• Beds185

The Sheriff

Sheriff Darren Chambers

• TitleSumner County Sheriff
• Office address610 Hillside, Wellington, KS 67152 / 610 E. Hillside per the Sheriff's Office's own site
• Phone620-326-8941
• Fax620-326-2977
• Kansas Sheriffs' Association roleBoard Position District #7 (per KSA profile officer-position field)
• Confirmed on the Sheriff's Office's own siteReferred to there as "Sheriff Chambers," described as chief executive of the Sheriff's Office
• Staffing (Sheriff's Office's own site)51 full-time and 4 part-time employees, including 26 sheriff's deputies, 20 detention deputies, and 5 civilian employees; patrol coverage of roughly 1,188 square miles
• Statutory jail dutyK.S.A. 19-811 makes the elected sheriff the charge and custody officer of the county jail and all prisoners in it

Source: Kansas Sheriffs' Association — Sumner County profile · checked 2026-09-17

The Judges

Kansas decides judicial selection district by district under Kan. Const. Art. 3 §6 and K.S.A. 20-2901. In most rural Kansas counties the district magistrate judge sets bail (K.S.A. 20-302b). The 30th Judicial District has adopted the nonpartisan method: a local nominating commission of lawyers and non-lawyers sends the Governor a list of names, the Governor appoints, and the judge then faces retention votes. Kansas districts choose this by ballot under K.S.A. 20-2901; partisan election is the default they opted out of.

Source: the state judiciary · checked 2026-09-17

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 →