Cape Girardeau County

The Detention Center

Cape Girardeau County Justice Center

• Operated byCape Girardeau County Sheriff's Office (Corrections division)
• Jail address216 N. Missouri Street, Jackson (the sheriff's office address; the history page says the Justice Center opened there in 2001)
• HistoryThe sheriff's history page: 1979, a 58-bed facility at 215 N. High Street, Jackson; 2001, the Cape Girardeau County Justice Center (152-bed facility with video arraignment) opened at 216 N. Missouri Street, Jackson
• Jail staff (sheriff's employees)Jail Administrator Richard Rushin (Commander of Jail Operations); Lieutenant J. Jurgens
• RosterCurrent inmates, 48-hour releases and people housed elsewhere, on the sheriff's own inmate roster
• CommunicationPhones, video visitation and e-messages through Securus; mail as postcards through the Securus Digital Mail Center, Tampa, FL. No prices published
• Earlier attempt (research agent)A Corrections division, an Inmate/Facility Information page, an Inmate Transportation page and an Inmate Roster link, but no facility name in the text that could be read
• Earlier attempt (research agent)https://www.capecountysheriff.org/ opened successfully. https://www.capecountysheriff.org/inmate-facility-information and https://www.capecountysheriff.org/corrections were both refused with PROVENANCE_REQUIRED and were not retried. Only search-returned URLs are fetchable in this environment and the one permitted search returned only the site root plus commercial inmate-lookup sites.

Source: Checked in the browser, 19 September 2026 · checked 2026-09-18

• ✓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 — not published
• ✗Phone, video and commissary rates — not published

This rates disclosure, not conduct — what Cape Girardeau County publishes about a jail its taxpayers own, checked 2026-09-18. 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 built2001
• Original costNot found
• Paid for byNot found
• Beds152

The Sheriff

Sheriff Ruth Ann Dickerson

• Runs the jailYes - RSMo 221.020 makes the sheriff the jailer; the office lists a Corrections division and inmate transportation
• How the office is filledElected county sheriff
• Office locationJackson, Missouri 63755 - the seat of Cape Girardeau County, not to be confused with Jackson County

Source: Cape Girardeau County MO Sheriff's Office · checked 2026-09-18

The Judges

Missouri's 1940 Nonpartisan Court Plan applies at circuit level in only six jurisdictions - Clay, Greene, Jackson, Platte, St. Louis County and the City of St. Louis. This county is not among them, so its circuit and associate circuit judges are elected on a partisan ballot. They are state judicial officers, not county officials. No judge names and no circuit number were confirmed from a county or court page that could be opened.

Source: the state judiciary · checked 2026-09-18

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