The mission of the Harvey County Sheriff's Office is to protect our communities by providing service, which will ensure that our county is a safe place to live, work, play and visit.

It is essential that we hold ourselves accountable to the highest ethical standards being committed to and demanding nothing less than excellence from ourselves.

We will strive as an organization to obtain and preserve the trust of the citizens we serve through an open and honest administration that emphasizes service to the citizens.

We are committed to this mission and will conduct our responsibility with dedication to the citizens we proudly serve.

MISSION STATEMENT
DETENTION CENTER
HARVEY COUNTY KANSAS

The mission of the Harvey County Detention Center is to detain both pretrial and sentenced inmates from Harvey County, Kansas and its cities, and to enhance the public safety of its citizens. The facility is operated under the supervision of the Harvey County Sheriff, who shall manage the facility in accordance with the best interests of the county.

The primary purpose of the facility is to provide a safe and secure environment for the incarceration of persons lawfully admitted to the facility by local, state, or federal law enforcement agencies of competent jurisdiction, and as otherwise required by law. The facility may also accept, at the Sheriff's discretion, pretrial and sentenced offenders from other cities or counties, the state of Kansas, or the federal government.

From the desk of Sheriff A J Wuthnow. . .
	Welcome to the Harvey County Sheriff's Office. The office of Sheriff is a very old one. It dates back to England over 1,000 years ago, when the Sheriff was a member of the royal family. The word sheriff is a combination of "shire," meaning county, and "reeve," meaning keeper of; which means the sheriff is the keeper of the county. The office came to the American continent with the first settlers. Although the image has changed, many of the duties remain the same.
In Kansas, the office of Sheriff was established before Statehood was achieved. In some areas of the Kansas Territory, the Sheriff was the only law enforcement. In 1855, general statutes for the Territory of Kansas set procedures for electing a Sheriff. When Kansas became a state in 1861, the office of Sheriff was among the first established. The Sheriff is elected by the citizens of his/her county for a four-year term. The Harvey County Sheriff's office is a modern, full service law enforcement agency. It is the duty of the Sheriff to keep and preserve the peace in their respective counties, protect life and property, prevent crime and enforce all state and county laws and resolutions, arrest violators and assist citizens when aid is needed.

DUTIES OF THE SHERIFF
Shall have the charge and custody of the county jail, and all the prisoners in jail. Shall serve and execute, according to law, all process writs, precepts and orders issued by the District Court. Conduct investigations into all crimes and traffic accidents. Proper handling and security of criminal evidence. Transport prisoners to correctional facilities, state hospitals or elsewhere by order of the court. In charge of District Court security when requested by the Judge.
Assist all municipal, state and federal agencies when requested. Collect delinquent taxes. Conduct court ordered sales of property. Extradite persons wanted in the county from other states. Responsible for planning, research and budget preparation. Responsible for the hiring and supervision of Undersheriff and deputies. Responsible for the proper handling, care and maintenance of equipment assigned to him/her and his/her deputies.

SHERIFF'S OFFICE

Harvey County, which is located in south central Kansas, was formed in 1872. Since that time, 30 individuals have held the position of Sheriff. The county with a population of 34,200 people emcompasses 540 square miles, which includes 1,088 miles of roads. The county is more than 82 percent urban population, with 60.9 persons per square mile; nearly double the population density for Kansas as a whole. Of the 105 counties in Kansas, ony 11 have population densities greater than that of Harvey County. Sheriff's deputies drive approximately 350,000 miles per year. The office consists of the Sheriff, Undersheriff, 2 investigators, 10 road deputies, 19 detention deputies and 2 office deputies. In 2002 deputies responded to 9,868 calls for service, served 10,906 civil process papers, wrote 1,628 reports and booked 2,808 people into the jail.

Planning for the Detention Center was started in the fall of 1992 when the Board of Harvey County Commissioners authorized the formation of the jail planning committee. In June 1993 a contract was signed with jail architects, Gossen Livington of Wichita, KS. From that point on, monthly meetings were held and the plans for the new detention center moved forward.

In January 1994 the County Commissioners met with the Newton City Commissioners. As a result of that meeting, an agreement was signed for the city to give the county the former city administration building to be used as a joint law enforcement center for the Harvey County Sheriff's Office, Newton Police Department, Harvey County 9-1-1 and Harvey County Emergency Management.

The site and size of the detention center was chosen in March of 1994 . The detention center would be built on the current courthouse site with 108 beds. In November 1995 Walz, Harman & Huffman Construction Company was awarded the contract for the construction of the detention center and the remodeling of the law enforcement center. The detention center has 36,000 square feet and the law enforcement center has 26,000 square feet. The ground-breaking ceremony was held November 20, 1995.

The remodeling of the law enforcement center was completed in January 1997. Construction of the detention center was completed in June 1997. In 2003 more beds were added to increase capacity to 132.