Meade County Jail Custody Role
Clark County Sheriff's Office describes the Meade County Jail as the place where Clark County inmates are housed, and the official Clark County jail page says all arrested persons taken into custody are transported to Meade County Jail for booking and incarceration. That makes the jail in Meade the primary detention facility for a person arrested in Ashland, Minneola, Englewood, or elsewhere in Clark County. The facility is operated by the Meade County Sheriff's Office, not by the Clark County courthouse.
For record access, that arrangement matters. The Clark County Sheriff remains the local arresting and law enforcement agency for Clark County events. Meade County Jail handles the jail intake, confinement, and many day-to-day custody questions after transport. Formal court charges then move through Clark County District Court and the Clark County Attorney. A booking entry, a custody notice, and a filed court charge are related, but they are not the same record.
The jail holds county-jail detainees, including people held before trial, people serving local sentences after conviction, and people waiting for transport to the Kansas Department of Corrections. A sentenced state prisoner is no longer searched the same way as a fresh Clark County booking. Once KDOC custody applies, the lookup moves to KASPER instead of the county jail custody path.
Meade County Jail Population Data
No current official Meade County page publishes a rated jail capacity, current jail count, annual bookings, average daily population, or demographic table for Meade County Jail. The only facility-specific number available here is a historical benchmark from the Prison Policy Initiative Kansas correctional populations table, which uses BJS local jail data dated December 31, 2013. That table lists Meade Co. Jail with 34 prisoners. It should be read as historical context, not as a current bed count or current population report.
Clark County and Meade County official pages also did not publish a current Clark County jail census. Older data lists a Clark Co. Jail historical figure, but Clark County now says its inmates are housed at Meade County Jail. For that reason, old Clark County jail counts should not be treated as a current custody picture. For a real-time custody question, use the jail or VINE path. For a historical or policy question, cite the source year and keep the limits clear.
| Measure | Published Status | Use on This Page |
|---|---|---|
| Current rated capacity | Not found in accessible official local text | Do not state a current number |
| Current average daily population | Not found in accessible official local text | Verify with jail administration |
| Meade Co. Jail prisoners | 34 in 2013 local jail data | Historical benchmark only |
Search Meade County Jail Inmates
The official Meade County inmate search page routes the public to Kansas VINE rather than a county-hosted jail roster table. Kansas VINE is used for county jail custody status and notification. The statewide Kansas Attorney General VINE page describes VINE as a free and confidential notification service with phone, internet, and mobile access. The public portal is Kansas VINELink.
The phone number needs extra care. The Attorney General page gives the statewide VINE number as 1-866-574-7463. The Meade County inmate search page prints 866-574-8463. Because those numbers differ by one digit, verify the number on the current official page or with Meade County Jail before relying on it for a time-sensitive release notice.
- For a recent Clark County arrest, call Clark County Sheriff to confirm the person was processed locally and transported for booking.
- Use Kansas VINELink for county-jail custody status, or call the VINE phone line after checking the current official number.
- Call Meade County Jail if the search does not return the person, the name may be misspelled, or the booking is too recent for a notification system.
- Use KASPER only after sentencing or transfer to Kansas Department of Corrections custody.
- Use federal or immigration locators only when a federal hold, U.S. Marshals custody, or ICE custody is part of the case.
The Meade County inmate search page shows the official county route for jail custody searches.
That official routing supports a VINE-first jail lookup, while KASPER remains the separate state prison search for sentenced KDOC inmates.
Meade County Jail Contacts
Meade County Jail and the Meade County Sheriff's Office are listed at the same physical location in Meade. The City of Meade emergency services page confirms the address, dispatcher number, toll-free number, emergency number, and fax. The Meade County sheriff staff page identifies Douglas Ritter as sheriff, Derrek Berg as jail administrator, and Linnea Brainard as records. Those staff roles are useful when deciding whether a question is about jail administration, records, dispatch, or court filings.
Meade County Jail / Sheriff's Office
223 N. Meade Center
Meade, KS 67864
620-873-8765
Dispatch phone; toll free 800-590-8294; fax 620-873-8778; emergency 911
Clark County Sheriff's Office
221 W. 9th Ave.
Ashland, KS 67831
620-635-2802
Administration hours 8:00 am to 5:00 pm
For Clark County arrest confirmation, property left at the Clark office, or local law enforcement records, start with Sheriff Heath Heston's office in Ashland. For current jail custody, booking, jail rules, visitation, or records held by the receiving jail, contact Meade County Jail. For filed charges and hearing dates, use Clark County District Court rather than either sheriff's office.
The City of Meade emergency services page publishes the local sheriff office address and dispatch contact listing.
The address and dispatch details shown there match the facility contact path used for Clark County jail custody questions.
Visiting Meade County Jail Inmates
Meade County has an official Contact Inmates page, but accessible official text did not publish a detailed visit schedule, on-site visit hours, remote video rules, visitor approval steps, dress code, child visitor rules, or attorney visit instructions. The right practical rule is to call the jail before travel. A person driving from Clark County may be going to Meade rather than Ashland, so a failed visit can cost a long rural trip.
| Facility | On-site Visitation | Remote or Video Visits | Source Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meade County Jail | Not published in accessible official text | Not published in accessible official text | Call 620-873-8765 before travel |
Visitors should expect jail security screening even though the published text did not list each rule. Bring government identification, avoid unnecessary bags, and ask the jail whether phones, keys, food, drinks, or medication are allowed inside the visitor area. Do not assume a court date, release time, or VINE notice creates a visit appointment. Jail staff control visit eligibility and timing.
Note: Confirm custody, visit times, identification rules, and entry limits with Meade County Jail before driving from Clark County.
Mail and Money at Meade County Jail
Accessible Meade County text did not publish an official mail format, commissary vendor, deposit method, fee schedule, inmate phone vendor, or video provider. That gap should not be filled with third-party claims. Families should call Meade County Jail before mailing letters, sending photos, buying commissary, or trying to deposit funds. Ask whether the jail requires a full inmate name, booking number, sender return address, or a specific mail scanning format.
| Service | Published Detail | Action Before Use |
|---|---|---|
| Mail address format | Not published in accessible official text | Call before mailing |
| Legal mail rules | Not published in accessible official text | Ask jail records or administration |
| Phone or video provider | Not published in accessible official text | Confirm with jail staff |
| Money deposit methods | Not published in accessible official text | Do not use an unverified vendor |
| Deposit or commissary fees | Not published in accessible official text | Ask for current costs first |
When a person has already moved to KDOC, jail mail and commissary rules no longer apply. KDOC has its own resident banking, mail, visitation, and communication rules. KASPER can help confirm whether the person is now in state custody, but it is not a complete Kansas criminal history and does not replace jail records for a recent Clark County booking.
Meade County Jail Booking
For a Clark County arrest, the official flow starts with local law enforcement and then moves to Meade County Jail for booking and incarceration. Booking is the jail intake process. It may include identification, property collection, fingerprints, a booking photo if taken, classification, custody entry, bond routing, and first-appearance coordination. No official Meade County timeline was found for how fast a new booking appears in VINE or how long intake normally takes.
Clark County publishes one concrete property rule that can affect families after release. Personal items left at the Clark County Sheriff's Office facility are held for 30 days after the inmate has been released and then disposed of by staff. That rule refers to property left at the Clark office, not necessarily every item held at Meade County Jail. If property may be split between offices, call both agencies before the 30-day period passes.
- Booking
- Jail intake after arrest and transport.
- VINE
- Victim information and notification system for county jail custody status.
- KASPER
- Kansas Department of Corrections search for sentenced state custody and related KDOC programs.
- Detainer
- A hold from another agency that may affect release even when a bond exists.
Meade County Jail Transfers
Meade County Jail is the county jail path for Clark County arrests, but not every custody record stays there. A person sentenced to state custody may be transported to KDOC reception or another state facility. For that stage, use the Kansas Department of Corrections and KASPER, not VINE. KDOC says KASPER is updated each working day and covers people and cases tied to KDOC-funded or KDOC-operated programs.
Federal and immigration custody are separate systems. No BOP, ICE, or U.S. Marshals detention facility was found physically in Clark County. The BOP inmate locator is for federal inmates from 1982 to the present. The ICE detainee locator is for people in ICE custody or certain recent CBP custody. Those tools should not be used as the first stop for an ordinary Clark County pretrial detainee held at Meade County Jail.
| Custody Type | Best First Search | What It Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Clark County arrest at county jail | Kansas VINE and Meade County Jail phone | County-jail custody and notifications |
| Sentenced Kansas state custody | KASPER | KDOC inmate, parole, absconder, and related program records |
| Federal sentence | BOP inmate locator | Federal Bureau of Prisons records |
| Immigration custody | ICE detainee locator | Current ICE custody and covered recent CBP custody |
Meade County Jail Records
Records requests should go to the office that holds the record. Clark County arrest and offense records start with the Clark County Sheriff. Jail booking and custody records created at the receiving facility may need to go to Meade County Sheriff or Jail records. Court filings, warrants returned to court, hearings, and filed charges go through Clark County District Court. Kansas Open Records Act rules allow agencies to require a written request, proof of identity, and actual-cost fees. Agencies also are not required to create a record that does not already exist.
A narrow request is more useful than a broad one. Include the person's full name, date of birth if known, arrest date, booking date, arresting agency, and case number if one exists. Ask for the exact record type, such as booking sheet, custody confirmation, property record, arrest report, or jail release date. Mugshots are not guaranteed public records in Kansas. Kansas Attorney General guidance says mug shots and standard arrest reports may be discretionarily closed under K.S.A. 45-221(a).
For a broader Clark County custody workflow, the Clark County jail inmate records page explains how jail lookup, records requests, and state corrections searches fit together. The Clark County inmate population page gives the local detention map and the historical population context behind the Meade County Jail arrangement.