Suzanne Lee Kays Detention Facility Overview
Suzanne Lee Kays Detention Facility is operated by the Dallas County Sheriff's Office at 111 W. Commerce St., Dallas, TX 75202. Dallas County also refers to it as South Tower. The county says it was completed in spring 2008 and was the county's first direct-supervision facility. It is part of Lew Sterrett, not a separate municipal jail or state prison.
The facility holds Dallas County jail detainees, including people awaiting court, people who have not posted bond, and people being held under county court or transfer processes. Use the Dallas County Jail Lookup for custody status. Do not use TDCJ unless the person has entered state prison, and do not use BOP unless the person is in federal custody.
The Dallas County Sheriff detention-center page provides the official South Tower description and capacity.
That county source is useful when older search results use South Tower terminology instead of the full Suzanne Lee Kays Detention Facility name.
Suzanne Lee Kays Detention Facility Capacity and Population
Dallas County lists Suzanne Lee Kays Detention Facility capacity at 2,304 inmates. A separate current South Tower-only population count was not extracted from the public sources, so systemwide Dallas County jail statistics should not be presented as a South Tower count. TCJS listed the full county jail system at 7,003 inmates on June 1, 2026, and Dallas County population packets show the system stayed close to rated capacity in early 2026.
How to Look Up an Inmate at Suzanne Lee Kays Detention Facility
Suzanne Lee Kays does not publish a separate South Tower roster. Search the Dallas County Jail Lookup and review the jail location and tank location fields. If the person was recently arrested by a city agency, check city custody paths when the county lookup has not updated yet.
- Open the Dallas County Jail Lookup search page.
- Search by the available name fields, book-in number, or case number when known.
- Open the matching profile and confirm the book-in number, date of birth, jail location, and tank location.
- Use the jail information line if the profile is missing, stale, or inconsistent with a recent arrest.
If a recent city arrest is not visible, check the municipal channel as well. Dallas, Garland, Irving, and Mesquite each have city custody paths that may show short-term custody before transfer to Dallas County.
Suzanne Lee Kays Detention Facility Address and Contact
Use the county jail information line for South Tower questions. Because Dallas County can move detainees between towers after classification, court movement, or medical review, confirm the location shown on the roster before traveling.
Suzanne Lee Kays Detention Facility
111 W. Commerce St.
Dallas, TX 75202
Jail/Inmate Information: 214-761-9025
Bond/Warrant Information: 214-761-9026
Visiting Someone at Suzanne Lee Kays Detention Facility
Dallas County in-person visitation is scheduled by the inmate's last name. Visits are 20 minutes, each inmate is limited to one visit per day and two per week, and a visit may include up to four visitors with no more than two adults and two minors. Cellphones are prohibited during in-person visits. Video visitation uses Smart Communications and SmartInmate, must be scheduled at least 72 hours ahead, and has a separate on-site schedule with no Wednesday video visitation.
| Day | Hours | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. | In-person A-L |
| Tuesday | 7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. | In-person M-Z |
| Thursday | 7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. | In-person A-L |
| Friday | 7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. | In-person M-Z |
| Saturday-Sunday | 8:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. | All inmates |
Mail, Phone, and Money at Suzanne Lee Kays Detention Facility
Regular Dallas County inmate mail must include the inmate's name and book-in number and is sent to the Mail Processing Center in Seminole, Florida. Attorney and legal mail uses the Dallas legal-mail address or SmartInmate for confidential secure legal delivery. Money deposits are separate from bond payments; commissary deposits can be made through jail kiosks, CashPayToday, Access Corrections, or the phone deposit line.
| Service | Provider / Detail |
|---|---|
| Regular Mail | Inmate name and book-in number, c/o Mail Processing Center, P.O. Box 9226, Seminole, FL 33775-9226 |
| Phone / Video | Smart Communications / SmartInmate for video visitation and secure legal delivery |
| Money Deposit | Access Corrections from $2.95 online, CashPayToday $5.00, phone 1-866-345-1884 from $3.95, or jail kiosk |
Booking and Intake at Suzanne Lee Kays Detention Facility
County booking happens through the Dallas County jail operation before a person is assigned to South Tower housing. The public profile may lag during booking, magistrate processing, or transfer from a municipal jail. Once the book-in number appears, use it consistently for mail, deposits, and questions.
Direct-supervision housing does not change the basic county jail lookup path. It changes how Dallas County manages custody inside the tower, while the public access channel remains the same county roster and jail information line.
About Suzanne Lee Kays Detention Facility
Suzanne Lee Kays is locally important because many people still call it South Tower. The full name should be used on facility pages, while South Tower can be noted as an alias. It is one of the active Lew Sterrett towers, unlike the closed Old Jail or depopulated George Allen Jail, and it should not be confused with municipal custody or state prison custody.
Note: Confirm current custody, housing, and visitation status with Dallas County before traveling, scheduling video visitation, or sending money.
Dallas County Custody Routing
This facility should be read within the larger Dallas County custody map. The county jail roster, city detention lists, TDCJ locator, BOP locator, ICE locator, court records, and public-information request channels each answer a different question. A missing result in one system is not proof that the person is not in custody. It often means the arrest is still at a city detention center, the person has moved from county jail to state or federal custody, the record has not refreshed, or the searcher is using a county roster for a non-county custody status.
For Dallas County jail custody, the practical fallback is the Dallas County Jail Lookup, then the jail information line at 214-761-9025, then the sheriff public-information request path or Records Division at 214-653-2677 for records that are not online. For a recent municipal arrest, Dallas city detention, Garland, Irving, and Mesquite custody channels can matter before a county transfer. For sentenced state prisoners, use TDCJ inmate search and IVSS. For federal custody, use the BOP inmate locator. For immigration detention, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator and confirm whether the person is under the Dallas Field Office context or at a regional facility outside Dallas County.
Record details also change as the case moves. A jail profile may show book-in number, tank location, charges, warrant number, magistrate, and bond, while the later court record may show the formal complaint, information, indictment, amended charge, dismissal, plea, conviction, or disposition. Dallas County research did not confirm a universal release-retention period for the jail roster, a separate city-to-county transfer clock, or a facility-specific public update time for every custody channel. When timing matters, verify through the agency that controls the current custody record before visiting, sending money, relying on a bond amount, or assuming release.