Jail phone number: how to call a jail

For answers after an arrest, call the county detention center or the corrections division of the sheriff's office. The county jail is where city police stations move people after holding them only briefly.

Detention lines versus police numbers

It's easy to call the arresting police department by accident late at night. The county jail isn't run by patrol officers or police dispatchers. Within Illinois, the Cook County Sheriff's Office points out that the Chicago Police Department and Sheriff's Police are two separate organizations. The Cook County Department of Corrections manages Cook County Jail, and those patrol lines won't reach it.

What you need instead is the customer service line for the jail. For Cook County Corrections, that number is 773-674-1945. Questions can go to ccso.feedback@ccsheriff.org by email, while clerks staff the line daily, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. General questions about discharge, property recovery, and bonding go to the staff. Posting money so someone in custody can go home before court is called bonding.

Could you get booking updates by calling the jail?

If the county website does not list your relative yet, yes, you can phone the jail information desk. Start with the jail search steps online, because most sheriff's offices put up a roster for the public. Hours often pass before new arrivals appear on that screen.

When you phone, have the person's birth date and full legal name on hand. Get these 3 details from the clerk:

• If your family member has completed intake at the facility.
• What bail amount and release terms apply to their charges.
• The company operating that building's inmate phone system.

Many large jails have a single number for these questions. In Florida, the Broward Sheriff's Office answers questions on arrest procedures, bail, and visiting at 954-831-5900.

County detention numbers nationwide

Counties each run their own detention phone desks. A dedicated information line for families exists at some jails. Your call goes straight to the detention division at smaller facilities. A high-security jail like California's Lerdo Pre-Trial Facility has a direct line of its own. You avoid transfers between county offices when you call the right jail phone number. Put your county's main number into your phone contacts.

Family or friends cannot reach people in custody with incoming phone calls. Using the phones in their housing unit, they must place outgoing calls to you.

Free calls during intake

Your relative goes through booking at the jail right after an arrest. During this intake step, called booking, staff record the charges and fingerprint the person. During this step, many jails allow people to make a few free phone calls.

During booking, inmates get 3 free calls at Fresno County Jail in California. A bail agent, an attorney, or a relative can get the call. Once those 3 calls are used, they must place a collect call or pay through a prepaid account instead. With a collect call, the bill is paid by the person who answers.

Leave your phone's volume up and pick up calls from numbers you don't know. Inmate calls are monitored for evidence, the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office in Georgia warns. On a jail phone, never discuss the criminal case or the arrest.

How can you join an approved calling list?

At many facilities, an approved calling list controls which numbers inmates can dial. In North Carolina, per-minute rates apply to inmate calls to approved contacts from Henderson County Detention Center.

Strict rules for phone lists apply in state prison systems. People in custody cannot receive incoming calls, the Illinois Department of Corrections notes. Only people on their approved list can be called. You must first write to someone in an Illinois facility before you can get calls from them. Ask them to add you to their list, and write your phone number in your letter.

County short-stay jails often let inmates dial any number after an account is funded. To learn if an approved list is required at your local jail, ask the booking clerk.

Federal rules about call rates

Compared with normal calls, calls from a jail often cost much more. Incarcerated people cannot pick their own phone provider, the Federal Communications Commission notes. Instead, the authorities running each jail choose 1 company to serve the facility.

With few options, families often face unreasonably high call costs. The FCC consumer guide says regulators are working to end excessive rates and fees. Both phone calls and video calls fall under these rules.

Calls to another state or to a foreign country were the only ones covered by FCC efforts on rates until recently. In-state jail calls and video calls were previously outside the authority of regulators. These services are now governed by modified rate cap orders under federal communications rules.

Traditional collect calls from a jail can't be accepted on most cell phones. You must open a prepaid account through the jail's phone vendor to receive calls on your cell phone.

Prepaid phone account setup

To find out which phone company serves that building, go to the jail's website. A dedicated menu page for the Individual in Custody Phone Account is posted by Cook County. For Texas, the El Paso County Detention Bureau posts a link to ViaPath phone instructions. Phone funds at Lubbock County Detention Center go through ICSolutions, while messaging uses SmartInmate. State facilities in Illinois switched to ICSolutions too, and they publish setup instructions in Spanish and English.

There are usually 2 ways for families to fund phone calls. A Friends and Family Prepaid account means you cover the calls coming to your number. Families taking calls through the Baltimore Central Booking and Intake Center open an AdvancePay prepaid account. Sending call money straight to the inmate's phone balance is another option.

Phone provider	Example facility using this vendor	Payment phone number
GTL and ViaPath ConnectNetwork	Fresno County Jail in California	1-800-483-8314
ICSolutions	Lubbock County Detention Center in Texas	1-888-506-8407
NCIC Inmate Communications	Henderson County Detention Center in North Carolina	1-800-943-2189

Using Securus to pay for calls

Phone and video services at many county jails run through Securus Technologies. Your relative's Securus Debit account can receive money from you. Phone calls and eMessaging stamps are among the services that balance covers at their location.

You must register and add funds to an AdvanceConnect account before using pay-per-minute Video Connect.

Don't mix up phone accounts and jail commissary accounts. Inmates buy snacks, soap, and paper at the jail store, which is called commissary. Deposits to Securus Debit are not commissary account deposits, Securus warns. For food and supplies, use the jail's separate steps to add money to inmate books.

Is a refund possible when your account is inactive?

After your relative is released, you can ask for a refund of any prepaid money you didn't use. ConnectNetwork's rules say an AdvancePay account goes inactive after 180 consecutive days without use. That time limit can change under state law or the contract held by the jail.

The 180-day inactivity clock resets any time the account gets used. When you opt in and share your contact details, ViaPath sends a reminder by text or email. You get that notice 30 days or more ahead of the account expiring.

You have another 90 days to request a refund after the account goes inactive. Call customer service at 877-650-4249 to claim your balance. ViaPath's Free Calling Program turns money still unrefunded after 90 days into audio calling minutes. Save the refund number alongside the jail phone number so your deposit isn't lost.