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County law-enforcement official reports 50 in jail, new patrol cars and Axon cameras coming in June
Summary
A county law-enforcement representative told McPherson County commissioners the jail population rose to 50, a deputy resignation is pending, three new patrol cars are in county custody awaiting upfitting, and a full Axon video system is scheduled for late June.
A law-enforcement representative told the McPherson County Board of Commissioners on May 12 that the jail population has risen and the county is replacing patrol equipment while awaiting new staffing.
"As of this morning, we were up to 50 in the jail," the law-enforcement representative said, adding that the department had a resignation effective May 15 and was recruiting for a new deputy. The representative described extra shifts by current staff and said there were no disruptions to operations tied to the vacancy.
The representative told commissioners the department received three new patrol cars but they will remain off the road for a few months while they are upfitted in Salina. "It's gonna be a while before they get on the street due to being not fitted, in Salina," the representative said. He noted some existing vehicles are approaching high mileage—"two of them that are approaching 110"—and that older 2019 models have been particularly problematic.
Commissioners asked technical and cost questions about equipment. The representative said the county will replace push bumpers and light bars as required, and that the department is expecting new body-worn cameras from Axon: "Our new axon cameras are coming June 24 ish, to get installed. And, of course, the new cars will just automatically get them ... but we'll have our whole new camera system come June 26 about."
The representative also reviewed traffic-enforcement numbers from a recent period, noting the county issued more tickets to out-of-state tags than to Kansas-registered vehicles during a multi-week operation.
No formal action was taken by the board on staffing or equipment during the meeting; commissioners asked questions and the representative provided operational details and timelines.
