Jackson County Detention Center
The Jackson County Detention Center (JCDC) houses adult inmates being held on state charges. In 2019, the daily average population is 872 inmates.
Visit the Jackson County Detention Center page to search for an inmate, schedule visitations, and get bonding information:
Jackson County Detention Center
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Priority Number 1: Safety
The Department of Corrections, through managing the Jackson County Detention Center, plays a crucial public safety role in our community.
The Department seeks to detain individuals - all of whom have been arrested for a crime, but most of whom have not yet been convicted of committing that crime - in a way that provides for maximum safety for the community, Corrections staff and the inmates, themselves.
That entails maintaining the facility to ensure safety and security, through locks, cameras and other security and communication systems. But it also includes health care to meet the physical and mental illness needs of inmates.
Inmate Services
The Center's inmate populations are made up primarily of individuals from Jackson County and Kansas City. Those detained are under the custody of the Jackson County Department of Corrections, and the Department is legally bound to provide adequate housing, food, healthcare and a safe living environment.
The Department of Corrections operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, with just over 350 employees. The 2019 adopted budget was just over $31 million. Facilities are located one block from the Jackson County Courthouse in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.
Presumption of Innocence
The American criminal justice systems presume an individual charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. A jail is not the same as a prison. Prisons are utilized for convicted felons – those who have been found guilty in a court of law. A county jail is utilized for the following:
- confinement while an individual is going through the trial process,
- for those convicted and given short-term (12 months or less) sentences
- probation violators
- individuals being held on warrants for other jurisdiction
In 2018, the vast majority (81.2%) of inmates confined at the JCDC were involved in the trial process and, therefore, presumed innocent.