Location: Stockton, Kansas
Year Completed: 2016
Size: 10,800 SF

The citizens of Rooks County, Kansas took the first step to replace their jail by passing their sales tax referendum on November 4, 2014. It was one of the only Kansas sales tax vote that passed in 2014 for this kind of a facility. The existing jail was located on the top floor of the Rooks County Courthouse, a historical gem built in the 1920s. The historic jail is a glimpse of what was state-of-the-art design in the last century.

The new facility houses the sheriff’s office and operations as well as a 20-bed jail divided into four dayrooms. The dayrooms will allow the sheriff to separate the inmates into groups that minimizes conflicts. It will feature touch screen security electronics to minimize staff disruptions. That technology is state-of-the-art for 2014.

The design also maximizes the views into the dayrooms so fewer staff are required to manage the jail. The intake and booking will provide an additional three-beds for holding inmates while they are being processed. A new area for dispatch, emergency operations, inmate property hold, secured evidence storage and a cooking kitchen round out the major design elements housed under a sloped single-ply roof and a low maintenance EIFS and brick exterior.