Swisher County Jail Custody Role
Swisher County Jail is operated by the Swisher County Sheriff's Office in Tulia. The official sheriff page lists Sheriff Kyle Schmalzried, the jail and sheriff office address, phone, fax, email, and a VINELink custody-status link. For Briscoe County inmate search work, Swisher matters because Briscoe County's own sheriff page states that the county has no jail, and Briscoe County Commissioners Court minutes approved a 2025-2026 jail contract with Swisher County. A person arrested by Briscoe County deputies can therefore move from Briscoe law enforcement custody into a Swisher County Jail booking record.
The key point is ownership. Swisher County Jail is not a Briscoe County jail, and it should not be treated as a Briscoe jail roster. It is a receiving county facility that may house local Swisher inmates plus Briscoe inmates accepted under the contract. The Briscoe sheriff or dispatch line is still the first source for routing questions after a Briscoe arrest. Once Swisher is named as the holding jail, Swisher's phone line and VINELink become the custody-status tools.
Custody point: Briscoe County has no local jail building, so a Briscoe arrest may create records at both Briscoe County and the receiving contract jail.
Swisher County Jail Population
The Texas Commission on Jail Standards current abbreviated county population report, with report date shown as August 1, 2019, lists Swisher County Jail with 27 beds and 11 total local inmates. The same report shows 0 contract inmates for Swisher on that report date, 40.74 percent of capacity used, and 13 available beds. Those figures are source-dated. They should not be read as a real-time head count for a Briscoe County inmate search.
Briscoe County's own population picture is different. TCJS treated Briscoe as a closed-jail county with no local jail capacity, and a separate housed-elsewhere report listed 3 Briscoe inmates housed elsewhere on the same August 1, 2019 report date. The later 2025 local minutes explain the current contract map by naming Garza, Childress, and Swisher as approved jail-contract counties. For Swisher County Jail, that means current custody should be verified by phone or through the custody notification system before travel, money deposits, or visit plans.
Swisher County Jail Lookup
The Swisher County Sheriff page links VINELink for offender custody status. Research did not locate a separate official Swisher County online jail roster with a public profile sample, booking-photo gallery, or field-by-field inmate record. A careful Swisher County Jail custody search should therefore use VINELink as a notification and status channel, backed by direct contact with the Swisher County Sheriff's Office.
- Call Briscoe County first if the arrest started in Briscoe County and the holding jail is unknown.
- If Swisher is named, open VINELink from the Swisher sheriff page or call Swisher County Jail.
- Search by the person's full name and compare age, agency, or custody status if the system returns similar names.
- Ask Swisher staff whether the person is booked there, released, transferred, or held for another agency.
- Use TDCJ only if the person has moved from county-jail custody into a state prison sentence.
The Briscoe County inmate population route can split after booking. A pretrial inmate or short-sentence county inmate may remain at Swisher County Jail. A sentenced state-prison inmate is searched through the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. A federal or immigration detainee is searched through the BOP or ICE systems, not through a county jail page.
Swisher County Jail Contact
Swisher County publishes direct sheriff office contact details. Use those details for current custody confirmation, jail records questions, and basic routing. For a Briscoe County arrest, it is still reasonable to call Briscoe dispatch or the Briscoe sheriff first when the receiving jail has not been confirmed. Briscoe's published dispatch number is 806-995-3555, which aligns with the Swisher-area custody route noted in the research.
Swisher County Jail
136 East Broadway
Tulia, TX 79088
806-995-3326
Fax: 806-995-3367
Email: so@swisher-tx.org
Briscoe County Sheriff Routing
P.O. Box 70
Silverton, TX 79257
806-823-2131
Dispatch: 806-995-3555
Business hours: Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Swisher County Jail Visits
No official Swisher County Jail visitation schedule was captured in the research sources. That does not mean visits are unavailable. It means the public source reviewed did not publish a day-by-day schedule, remote video vendor, dress code, minor-child rule, or appointment process. Families should confirm the jail, the inmate's housing status, and the current visiting rule before travel.
| Visit Item | Published Finding | Practical Step |
|---|---|---|
| Schedule | No official schedule located in research | Call 806-995-3326 before travel |
| Visit type | Not published in captured Swisher source | Ask whether visits are in person, on-site video, or remote video |
| Identification | Specific rule not captured | Ask what government ID is required |
| Children | Minor visitor rule not captured | Ask about guardian, age, and approval rules |
| Changes | County jail schedules can change with classification or staffing | Verify on the day of the visit |
Note: Office hours from a sheriff page are not the same thing as visitation hours, so do not rely on weekday business hours for a jail visit.
Swisher County Jail Mail Money
Research did not locate Swisher County Jail's public inmate mail format, commissary vendor, video vendor, or deposit fee schedule. The safe approach is to identify the inmate at Swisher first, then ask staff for the exact booking name, booking number if needed, mail rules, and approved deposit methods. Money sent to the wrong county jail or without the right inmate identifier may be delayed or rejected.
| Service | Published Detail | What to Confirm |
|---|---|---|
| No Swisher inmate mail format captured | Full name, booking number, return address, postcard or envelope limits | |
| Phone or video | No vendor captured | Provider name, account setup, call cost, visit scheduling |
| Commissary money | No fee table captured | Lobby kiosk, money order, online vendor, or phone deposit options |
| Legal mail | Separate procedure not captured | Ask how attorney mail is marked and delivered |
Swisher County Jail Source
The official Swisher County Sheriff page is the source used for the jail address, phone, email, and VINELink custody-status link.
The screenshot confirms why Swisher County Jail searches rely on the sheriff page and VINELink rather than a Briscoe County roster.
Swisher County Jail Records
A Briscoe County arrest can create several records in different offices. Briscoe County may hold the arrest report, offense report, transport note, or warrant-related paperwork. Swisher County Jail may hold the booking record, custody status, release record, jail ID, and housing information if the person was accepted there. After charges are filed, the Briscoe County/District Clerk and the prosecutor become the better sources for court case records.
The Texas Public Information Act, Texas Government Code Chapter 552, is the public-records framework for written requests to a government office that holds responsive records. Jail staff may not be able to answer court-outcome questions, and the clerk may not have booking details from the jail. Asking the right office saves time. For the broader closed-jail workflow, the Briscoe County inmate records page explains how to move from sheriff routing to contract-jail custody channels.
Swisher County Jail Conditions
Swisher County Jail is subject to Texas Commission on Jail Standards inspection and reporting. TCJS issued a June 7, 2024 Notice of Non-Compliance to Swisher County Jail after a June 5, 2024 inspection. The notice said two inmates were sleeping on inmate boats or temporary beds during the walk-through, tied to multiple-occupancy-cell standards. That is a source-dated condition item, not a statement that the same issue exists today.
For Briscoe County families, the practical lesson is to verify current rules and status with Swisher County before making plans. Capacity, classification, bed space, health restrictions, and staffing can affect visits, housing, and transfers. If a person is not found at Swisher, check Childress and Garza through the Briscoe custody route, then use TDCJ, BOP, or ICE only when the case has moved outside county-jail custody.
Note: Confirm custody and visit rules with Swisher County Jail before traveling, sending mail, or paying a deposit.