The Finney County Sheriff's Office - Records Division

The Records Division consists of 4 Office Deputies and the Senior Office Deputy, Nora Shultz. It is under the general supervision of the Undersheriff John Andrews. Records personnel handle all records and reports generated throughout the entire Sheriff's Office during the normal course of action. They also serve as the reception point of the department handling incoming phone calls, faxes, teletypes and citizens who come into the office needing information or assistance.

Reports that are written by deputies on patrol or in investigations are routed to the Records Division where certain data is extracted and input in the computer system. The paperwork is then disseminated as necessary and filed. The paperwork includes criminal offense reports, traffic accident reports, and traffic citations among others. The data extracted includes the names of victims, suspects, stolen property descriptions, vehicle information, and others.

Two other functions performed by the Records Division is maintaining a full listing of all registered offenders living in Finney County and fingerprinting persons applying for a variety of civil employment to include substitute teachers.

In 1993 the Kansas Legislature passed the Habitual Sex Offender Registration Act that required persons convicted of certain sex offenses to register with the Sheriff in their county of residence. Registration consists of completing a personal information form, obtaining a photograph, fingerprints and now DNA. This act was modified nearly every legislative session thereafter and in 1997 was modified significantly and became known as the Kansas Offender Registration Act. It now includes persons not only convicted of sex crimes but violent crimes such as murder, manslaughter, drug violations and certain other crimes when the victim is less than 18 years of age. The law is Kansas Statutes Annotated (K.S.A.) 22-4901 through 22-4910 and can be found on the Information Network of Kansas website. Some registrations are open public record and others are closed records. A listing of open public record registered offenders may be found on the Kansas Bureau of Investigation website.

Fingerprint cards completed by jailers of persons lodged in jail are routed to the Records Division where they are checked for accuracy and then properly disseminated or filed. One fingerprint card is filed locally and others are sent electronically to the Kansas Bureau of Investigations in Topeka, Kansas with some being forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigations in Washington, D.C. Another fingerprint type document is forwarded to the Office of County Attorney.

Persons lodged or processed in jail have a photograph (mugshot) taken by the Jail Deputy using a studio grade still video camera with the image being stored on the server. Records personnel then move these photos to an optical imaging system and index them for permanent storage. These stored photos can later be printed in color or black and white. If another law enforcement agency needs a photo on a person it can be emailed directly to them. Photo line-ups can also be made and printed.
Some of the information and records maintained by the Sheriff's Office is public record and may be disclosed under the Open Records Act. However, there are many that are exempt and cannot be disclosed except by Order of the Court.

One Office Deputy is responsible for accounts payable along with other records duties. She makes the necessary purchases of equipment and supplies and ensures that the bills are submitted to the County Clerk for payment in a timely fashion.