If you have an Emergency call: 911

Law Enforcement Center

It was during Sheriff Kellie's second term in office that the county commissioners decided

It was during Sheriff Kellie's second term in office that the county commissioners decided to construct the Jefferson County Law Enforcement Center at its present location, 3rd and F Streets in Fairbury. It houses the Fairbury Police Department, Jefferson County Ambulance service, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, Jefferson County Jail, and the county-wide communications system. The building was built in 1978 for a cost of $550,000. Before this time, the sheriff was provided housing in the basement of the courthouse, along-side the county jail.

In December of 1978, under the direction of former sheriff, Rex Southwick, Jefferson County began its first 24-hour dispatch and jail operations in the new center, hiring four full-time dispatcher-jailers. This was brought, in part, about because of new jail standards in the state of Nebraska that required hourly checks on prisoners.

In 1979, Jefferson County started supplying the deputies with county-owned vehicles to perform their law enforcement functions. The sheriff's office provides 24-hour services to 11 small villages, and also provides back-up for the police department in Fairbury.

In 1993, Jefferson County started working to provide Enhanced 911 system on a county wide basis. This entailed not only new equipment for the dispatch center, but also brought about the first permanent rural address system, with street signs on every county intersection, to assist in emergency response anywhere in the county.

With the assistance of the County Commissioners, the sheriff's office has been able to provide the much needed services the citizens of Jefferson County have grown to expect.