Columbia Police Jail

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The Columbia Police Jail is located at 204 South Main Street in Columbia, AL and is a medium security police department jail operated by the Columbia Police Department.

This guide tells you information about anything one might want to know about the Columbia Police Jail, like how to locate an inmate, the jail’s address and phone number, intake procedures and booking, court information, and much more.

Top 10 Searches for Columbia Police Jail

1. Columbia Police Jail Information
2. Columbia Police Jail Inmate Search
3. Houston County Inmate Search in Columbia, AL
4. Columbia Police Jail Visitation Rules
5. What Are the Visitation Hours for Columbia Police Jail
6. Discount Columbia Police Jail Inmate Calls
7. Columbia Police Jail Care Packages
8. What is Inmate Commissary?
9. How to Send Money to an Inmate at Columbia Police Jail
10. How to Search Houston County Arrest Records

Introduction

This guide is meant to give you all the information and advice you need to make helping a friend or family member get out of jail less stressfull. If you have a specific question, just ask them, and any tips or comments that would help others will be much appreciated.

Columbia Police Jail Inmate Search

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Who’s In Jail

The Columbia Police Jail Inmate Search is a list of people who were arrested and are now in jail, including current status, and visiting hours. You can also get info for anyone booked or discharged in the past 24 hour period. Jail inmates are listed in alphabetical order by their last name. You’ll be able to locate their arrest information more quickly if you enter the arrestee’s name, birth date, or inmate ID Number.

Columbia Police Jail Policies and Procedures

Intake Procedures

The intake procedure at the Columbia Police Jail takes you through each of these steps:

You will be placed in a waiting area or cell. If the jail is really busy, it will take a while to get processed.

First you will have to answer a bunch of questions, such as your legal name, street address, date of birth and an emergency contact person, and they’ll also ask about your medical and mental history. Next, you’ll be given an inmate number and your fingerprints will be taken. Then, all of your personal property will be taken from you and will be stored until you are released.

You will get to make a phone call so you can call a member of your family, friend, or loved one.

If you are expected to be released quickly, you might be able to keep wearing street clothes, if not you you will have to change into a jail issued jumpsuit.

Discharge Procedures

When you post bail, you will be allowed to go home after you get discharged. The discharge process will take between 10 minutes to quite a few hours. So, the faster you can pay your bail, the quicker you will get discharged. How quickly you get discharged can depend on if you’ve been given a bond amount or if a magistrate still needs to decide on the amount of bail to be set. For lesser charges, you will get booked and get released without having to post bail. When you get to the end of your sentence and have a date of your release, you should plan to be discharged at any time that day – but usually in the morning.

Columbia Police Jail Visitation

The inmate must provide information about each visitor to the Columbia Police Jail before you can visit. Your visitor’s information will go in the visitation log as an authorized visitor. Each visitor is required to provide a photo ID when visiting. Any visitors that arrives for visitation late or that is not on the visitation list will not be able to attend visitation.

Visitation procedures change often, so it would be wise to call the jail at 334-696-4444 before you go.

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Visitation Rules

Before you can visit someone at the Columbia Police Jail you have to be added to this person’s approved visitation list.

Make sure to bring your valid driver’s license or government issued ID with you to visitation because you will not be allowed to enter without it.

No mobile phones at Columbia Police Jail, and you will be searched before visiting. No personal belongings. Persons parole, probation, or other corrections supervision must obtain the permission of both their individual supervising officer and the superintendent before they can visit. This kind of visitation is not going to be approved.

If the visitor is younger than 18 years of age and is a family member of the inmate, they must be accompanied by an adult family member or guardian to include a member of the inmate’s extended family. If a visitor is younger than 18 years of age and is not related to the inmate, the minor visitor must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Sending Mail to Inmates

This is what you need to know in order to send letters, photos, postcards, greeting cards and magazines to an inmate at the Columbia Police Jail. Incoming and outgoing inmate mail at the Columbia Police Jail is always searched and inspected for contraband that might threaten the security, safety or well-being of the facility, its staff, and inmates. Inmates can only receive metered, unstamped, plain white postcards no larger than 4″ x 6″ as mail. The writing on the postcard has to be in pencil or blue or black ink. If it has a stamp on it, it will get returned. If you write in green ink, then it will get returned. If you send any other kind of mail will be returned to the sender. If there is no return address on it, then the unauthorized mail will be stored in the inmate’s locker until the inmate gets release.

Do not include any of these things in the mail that you send to an inmate: any kind of threat to jail order, any description of the manufacture of weapons, bombs, incendiary devices, or tools for escape; do not encourage or advocate any kind of violence, hate speech, or racial or ethnic supremacy. Inmates are not allowed to write to other inmates.

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Sending Other Things to an Inmate

There are strict procedures that you must follow to send anything to an inmate at the Columbia Police Jail. This includes sending money for to spend in the commissary, sending regular mail or photos, sending money for phone calls, and even postcards.

This page covers everthing you need to know about the Columbia Police Jail to help you follow these procedures and guidelines. If you have questions, or there is something that you were looking for, but did not find, please contact us using the contact link in the site menu.

Public Records

Warrant Inquiry

If you have an outstanding warrant, you can check the arrest warrants inquiry on the Houston County court website or you can call the jail directly. You have to have their first and last name. Or, you can just go down to the jail and ask the officer in charge. Keep in mind that if you do have an outstanding warrant, you should be prepared to get taken into custody immediately.

Arrest Record Search

If you know a person’s name, and possibly an arrest date, contact the jail, either by phone, go there in person, or find out online. An arrest is in the public record and this information is accessible to anyone.

Court Records

Court Records are public, and are accessible by anyone. These records include a court case file that includes a docket and all filings and documents filed in your court case. You can access your court records online, or at Clerk of Court office in the jurisdiction where the case was filed.

Criminal Records

Each state maintains a record of their state citizen’s criminal history. These databases are linked together so you are able to track criminal backgrounds from any other state. Go to courthouse and check in person, or check online. It is helpful to know the county, and if it was in a completely different state, you may have to pay for a more comprehensive search.

When you look up someone’s criminal record you are able to find out if someone has been arrested, charged, or convicted for any of the following crimes, drug crimes, kidnapping, sex offenses which could include rape, and sexual assault, violent crimes including assault, battery and murder, or breaking and entering, theft, larceny.

Money & Commissary

The process for sending money to Columbia Police Jail inmates might change, so it would be best to check the Columbia Police Jail website when you send funds to an inmate there.

How To Send Money to an Inmate at Columbia Police Jail

You will have your own ‘bank account’ while in jail. This money is used to purchase items from the Commissary. Family and friends can deposit money into this account for you, and any money you earn while in prison will also be deposited into your account. Outside money can be paid in to your account via a money order, cash or check. If someone sends a check or money order, make sure that they write your inmate ID on it. The maximum amount you are allowed in your account is $290 per month.

Guidelines For Sending Money To An Inmate

Before you send any money you should find out what online money transfer companies the jail your inmate is incarcerated in uses. The exact method that the Columbia Police Jail uses changes frequently, so it is best to call them at 334-696-4444 to get the current payment method.

You may be required to be on the inmate’s visitation list in order to send them money, and be aware that they may have a limit on how much you deposit at one time, like $200-300 at a time, or a limit on how much money may be in the inmate’s account at one time.

Some of the money transfer firms being used by various facilities include JPay, MoneyGram, AccessCorrections, OffenderConnect, Touchpayonline, JailATM, WU, smartdeposit, and tigercommissary.

If an inmate has fines or are required to pay restitution then they will be subject to garnishment of their commissary/trust account. If the inmate has a garnishment, then money to pay them will be taken from the inmate’s bank account. In some cases it may be a percentage or the entire amount of the obligation, but the actual percentage depends on the circumstances. We recommend that inmates talk to the counselor at their facility and try to find out. You can also try to make an arrangement so that only a percentage of your commissary funds are taken, instead of all your funds take at one time.

Commissary

The commissary is the Columbia Police Jail store. An inmate can buy a number of things here, such as toiletries, snacks and writing supplies. Remember that you will most likely need to use the commissary on a daily basis, and any infractions will get that privilege taken away from you.

The Commissary will sell an assortment of different products that the inmate can buy if they have sufficient funds in their trust account. These items include clothes, shoes, small snacks and other food items, in addition to hygiene products such as soap, shampoo, and disposable razors for shaving. The commissary also sells other things like books and magazines, televisions and radios, playing cards, headphones, MP3 players, and electronic tablets. They also sell everything need to write home to family, friends, and loved ones: paper, envelopes, and stamps. If an inmate is indigent and cannot afford paper and stamps, the jail will provide these things to an inmate who has not had any money in their commissary account for at least 30 days.

Phone Calls & Phone Usage Policy

All phone calls from the Columbia Police Jail are collect calls or through a pre-paid phone account . Calls made in jail are typically more costly than phone calls made outside of jail. Phone calls are restricted on when and how often you can use the phone, but inmates must keep in mind that a long line can form at the phones, because everyone wants to use the phone, too. If you break the rules and are disciplined, an inmate’s ability to use the phone could be reduced or cut altogether.

Phone Number: 334-696-4444

How To Save Money on Inmate Calls

Correctional facility phone service companies have a monopoly at every facility that they are the exclusive phone provider for, which means that they they control how much it costs to make phone calls. The profits these phone service providers make off of all phone calls that inmates make are shared with the facility, so there is no incentive for the jail or the counselors at the facility to show inmates or their family how to save money on inmate phone calls at the Columbia Police Jail. The prices are posted and there are at least two pricing tiers based on where the inmate is calling. These three factors will determine how much an inmate phone call will cost: Where you are located; Where your inmate is located, What type of phone number you have.

For example, if your inmate is in federal prison, if you get a new local number then this will decrease your inmate’s phone call rate from $.21 per minute to only $.06 per minute.

For the other correctional facilities like state prisons, and local and county jails finding out how to lower your inmates phone charges can be more difficult. ArrestedResources.com keeps up to date with all of the changes that affect your inmate’s calling rate and in most cases is able to offer you an inmate calling number that will save you a lot of money on calling your inmate. There are some prisons or jails where we will not be able to save you money on your inmate calls, and therefore we will not offer you an inmate calling number. In cases like this, the jail or prison has set their inmate calling prices so high that nobody will be able to save you money.

For more detailed information on how to save on inmate calls at Columbia Police Jail, click the link below.

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