The Suzanne Lee Kays Detention Facility, known as the South Tower, is one of three jail buildings on the Lew Sterrett Justice Center campus in downtown Dallas. It holds 2,304 people, opened in spring 2008, and was the Sheriff's Department's first direct supervision facility, meaning officers work inside the housing units rather than watching from a secure post. This guide covers finding out which tower someone is in, the two cards you need before visiting, deposits, phone calls, and a mail system that scans letters and destroys the originals.
City
Dallas
County
Dallas County
State
TX
Facility Type
county jail
Gender
Male and Female
Capacity
2304
Operator
Dallas County Sheriff's Department
Address
111 West Commerce Street, Dallas, TX 75202
Phone
214-761-9025
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The lookup needs race and sex as required fields, and only the detail record names the tower.
View ArticleA visitor card from the person inside, and a $5 card you buy in person on a weekday.
View ArticleFour deposit routes from $2.95 to $5.00, plus one $75 package per week.
View ArticleSmart Communications is current. The Sheriff's FAQ still names a retired vendor.
View ArticleOne-sided 8.5 by 11 paper to Florida. Photos are not returned. Three addresses in total.
View ArticleSearch by name, booking number, or case number at dallascounty.org/jaillookup/. A name search requires race and sex as mandatory fields, which is unusual. The results list does not name the building, but opening a person's detail record shows the jail location and the housing unit.
See the full breakdownVisits are 20 minutes, twice a week, split by last name on weekday evenings with weekend mornings open to everyone and no visiting on Wednesdays. Two pieces of paperwork come first: the inmate's visitor authorization card, capped at five adults, and a $5.00 Jail Visitation Card bought in person on a weekday.
See the full breakdownFunds go to a single trust account accessed by a barcode on the person's wristband. Deposit online from $2.95, by phone from $3.95, at a lobby kiosk in cash, or through CashPayToday at a flat $5.00. Money orders and most check types have been refused since February 2022. Commissary packages come from Access Securepak, one a week and $75 maximum.
See the full breakdownSmart Communications holds the contract, per the handbook revised December 2025. Accounts are set up at smartinmate.com or 727-349-1561. Calls can be placed from wall phones or tablets. Per-minute rates are not published for Dallas County and appear only on the vendor's deposit screen.
See the full breakdownPersonal mail goes to a processing center in Seminole, Florida, is scanned to the tablet, and the paper is destroyed rather than returned. Paper must be 8.5 by 11 inches and written on one side only. Photos are capped at 8x10. Legal mail and government checks go to a Dallas PO Box instead, and physical books are not accepted at all.
See the full breakdown6 of 8 questions
Yes. The Dallas County Sheriff's Department calls it the Suzanne Lee Kays Detention Facility and states that it is also known as the South Tower. The county's inmate lookup returns it as Kays Tower on a person's detail record, and Facilities Management calls it the Kays South Tower Jail. Five official names, one building, and it sits on the Lew Sterrett Justice Center campus with the North and West Towers.
GeneralDeputy Suzanne Lee Kays was killed in the line of duty on January 4, 1989, six days after graduating from the sheriff's academy. Sheriff Jim Bowles dedicated the building to her in 1995, thirteen years before construction was completed.
GeneralUse the county lookup at dallascounty.org/jaillookup/ and open the person's individual record rather than stopping at the results list. The detail record carries a jail location field that names the building, and it also gives the housing unit. The results list alone will not tell you which tower someone is in.
Inmate SearchTwo separate things, and both take time. First, the person inside has to put you on their visitor authorization card, which holds up to five adults and can only be revised once every 90 days. Second, you need your own Jail Visitation Card, which costs $5.00 and is bought in person at the Lew Sterrett Justice Center, Monday to Friday 8:00 AM to 3:30 PM, with three original identity documents. Neither can be done on the day of a visit.
VisitationNo. Money orders have been refused since February 14, 2022, along with personal and payroll checks, tax refunds, stimulus checks, insurance checks, child support and Social Security checks. The one exception in the handbook is a verifiable check from the US Government or the State of Texas, mailed to PO Box 660334, Dallas, TX 75266, which is held until it clears.
Send MoneyNo. Personal mail goes to a processing center in Seminole, Florida, where it is scanned and delivered to the person's tablet electronically. The handbook states that sending mail there means agreeing to the items being destroyed, with nothing returned or reimbursed, and it names photos specifically. Do not send anything you would want back.
MailSmart Communications, at smartinmate.com or 727-349-1561. This matters because the Sheriff's own FAQ page still answers this question with a different vendor and a debitcalls.com address, which is contradicted by the December 2025 inmate handbook and by three other county pages. A family following the county's FAQ would fund an account with the wrong company.
Phone CallsYes. Dallas County does not publish a gender assignment for individual buildings, but records in the county's own inmate lookup return Kays Tower as the jail location for both men and women, while the North and West Towers returned men only. The West Tower is the system's mental health housing facility and holds men.
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All information on this page comes directly from official government and facility sources. How we verify information › Last verified September 7, 2026. Official source: dallascounty.org/departments/sheriff/detention-centers ›