The Detention Center
Park County Detention Center
- Operated byPark County Sheriff's Office, under the authority of the sheriff as directed by Wyoming statute
- SizeThe sheriff's office describes a 106-bed short-term facility holding adults and juveniles, male and female.
- AddressThe detention page gives none; the Cody Law Enforcement Center is at 1402 River View Drive, Cody, WY 82414.
Source: Park County detention · checked August 21, 2026
Transparency rating
5/10Partial- ✓The jail is named
- ✓Who is in custody
- ✓Beds and daily population
- ✓What it costs taxpayers
- ✗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 — not published
The Building
You paid for it. Here is what the record says it cost.
- Year builtNot found
- Original costNot found
- Paid for byNot found
- Beds106, with 2025 monthly average populations between 26 and 40
Since then
- Budgeted for FY2026–27: $500,000 to replace detention security electronics and $180,000 for intercom and door controls, inside a $1,395,000 sheriff's capital line
The Sheriff
Sheriff Darrell Steward
- Took officeThe sheriff's office states he was seated January 3, 2023.
- Careful hereHis predecessor was Scott A. Steward — two different men, same surname. Any source naming Sheriff Scott Steward is describing the previous officeholder.
- Detention budget requested vs. approved, by year
- Jail staffing levels and vacancy rate
- Lawsuits and settlements involving the jail
Source: Park County Sheriff's Office staff · checked August 21, 2026
The Judges
Wyoming splits the bench. Circuit Court handles initial appearances — the first place bond is set. District Court takes felonies after bindover.
Circuit Court, 5th Judicial District
- Hon. S. Joseph Darrah — appointed December 2021; term expires January 2029 (sits in both Cody and Powell)
Cody: 1002 Sheridan Avenue, Room 206 · Powell: 109 West 14th Street
District Court, 5th Judicial District
- Hon. William L. Simpson — appointed August 2017; term expires January 2031
1002 Sheridan Avenue, Cody, WY 82414
- The county's bond schedule
- Share of the jail population held pretrial
- Median time from booking to first appearance
Source: the state judiciary · checked August 21, 2026
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 →
- Where the jail money is decidedAgendas and minutes →
Notes on the record
- The detention center holds juveniles as well as adults.
- The sheriff posts monthly detention statistics and annual reports — none covering deaths, audits or inspections.
- The county's budget PDFs are scanned images with no searchable text.
- Minutes are archived by year, but the agenda is a single file overwritten each cycle — past agendas are not kept.
These three offices decide who sits in a cell in Park County and what it costs the people who live here. Nationally, almost 77% of the people who died in local jails in 2019 had not been convicted of anything, and suicide was the leading single cause of those deaths (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Local Jails, 2000–2019).
How much is your sheriff — and your judge — costing you?
Your VOTE is POWERFUL.
The sheriff who runs this jail is elected. So are the commissioners who pay for it.
- Find your polling place — Wyoming Polling Place Locator →
- Your county clerk — the office that runs the election (PDF) →
- Register to vote in Wyoming →
In Wyoming the county clerk runs the election in Park County and prints the ballot the sheriff’s name is on. Links from the Wyoming Secretary of State and vote.gov.
Names verified August 21, 2026 · dollars and outcomes still being gathered