Wayne County Sheriff, Nebraska and County Jail Information

Wayne County Sheriff

Updated on: February 9, 2024

Wayne County is an outstanding county in the State of Nebraska. According to the 2010 U.S census, Wayne's population was approximately 6,600 citizens. Currently, the population has risen to about 9,595 citizens. One unique feature about this county is the fact that has the 27th largest number of registered vehicles in the Nebraska license plate system since the establishing the license plate system in 1922. The county also holds the County Seat and the Sheriff's office. The sheriff’s office comes in handy to offer a wide range of services to the citizens, with law enforcement being on top of the list.

Accident Reporting in Wayne County

Any person involved in a motor vehicle accident should contact 911 and request assistance from law enforcement and other necessary service providers. In all cases, the dispatcher requires the person's location, the extent of their injuries and the number of vehicles involved in the accident. Afterwards, the Sherriff requires every driver involved to complete the Driver's Motor Vehicle Accident Report Form for the Nebraska Department of Road within ten days after the accident. In most cases, filling these forms is mandatory whenever the damage exceeds $500 or on the occasion that there is an injured person. The officer should complete the report within ten days after the accident for insurance coverage. To get a copy of the general two-page report, one would have to pay $2, while any additional pages cost $1 per page. Sherriff's Sale of Levied Property The Sherriff, Jason Dwinell, holds a sale of every property levied by Wayne County. His staff place notices of the sale, including crucial information like the date and time of the sale, location and a brief description of the property. All notices appear four consecutive times in the legal notice section in Wayne Herald. Once open, the sale bids remain open for at least one hour. However, the sale might last longer if more bids are forthcoming. Upon completing the sale, the highest bidder receives instructions on obtaining the final confirmation of purchase from the issuing court. After receiving the court's confirmation of purchase, the bidder gets the Sherriff's Title or Deed. However, the Sherriff's Office does not guarantee that the deed will be unencumbered; it is the responsibility of the buyer to research the property before the purchase.

Child Passenger Restraint Law

Governor Johanns assigned the Child passenger legislative bill on July 20, 2002. This bill brought some restraint changes concerning child passengers, including:

Children under the age of sixteen years should ride using an occupant protection system under secondary enforcement law.
All children under six years should ride in a child passenger restraint system under primary enforcement law.
All passengers must ride using an occupant protection system if the driver holds a school permit or a provisional operator's permit.

Wayne County Jail

The Wayne County Jail is a medium-security detention center located in Nebraska. The County Sherriff's Office operates and maintains activities in this county jail and holds inmates awaiting trial or sentencing. This facility houses inmates from the surrounding towns, municipalities, Wayne Police Department and the US Marshal's Service. Wayne County Jail books new detainees every day. During intake, they lock them together in a large holding cell with the other inmates for intake. The correctional officers then put them under heightened observation, then separate the violent and out-of-control inmates from the rest. Most of the inmates stay there for not more than two years. Those serving for a longer time are usually transferred to the Nebraska State Prison System or the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Some inmates wait until the completion of their incarceration period, while others are released under different circumstances such as:

After posting bail
The facility releases some to a pretrial services caseload
The facility places some of the inmates under supervision by a probation agency
When other inmates sign an agreement with the Sherriff's department to appear in court

However, some inmates do not get a release warrant. In this case, they must wait for their court appearance. This facility has trustees for whom a small amount of money is paid for their time. They also give them a few days off their sentence in exchange for their work.

Vine Inmate Information

Wayne County jail alongside the sheriff’s department provides Victim Information and Notification Everyday services. This service is a free, anonymous and computer-based service that provides the victims of crimes with information and notification. This service offers friends and family members information about their inmates in custody. Through calling (877) 634-8463, the service provider quickly gives the caller information concerning the inmate's status as requested. Also, one can search for the information they need from the VINE website. Apart from information, this service notifies the callers of any change in an inmate's status as per the criminal justice system. They receive it through an automated telephone notification. However, callers have the option of registering for the service first to get the notification.

Sex Offender Registry

The Nebraska State Statute, under the Sex Offender Registration Act, states that sex offenders present a high risk of committing repeated offenses. However, the efforts of the law enforcement agencies to protect the community by apprehending the sex offenders' stands impaired. This is due to lack of available information about individuals who plead guilty or are found guilty of sex offenses. Due to this, the legislature decided that state policy should assist the local law enforcement agencies in protecting their communities. They would register the sex offenders with these agencies as provided by the Sex Offender Registration Act.