Ames Police Jail

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The Ames Police Jail is located at 515 Clark Avenue in Ames, IA and is a medium security police department jail operated by the Ames Police Department.

This site will tell you information about anything you might need to know about the Ames Police Jail, such as how to locate an inmate, the jail’s address and phone number, intake procedures and booking, how to find your court records, and more.

Top 10 Searches for Ames Police Jail

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

Introduction

The purpose of this guide is to give information and tips that you’ll need to make helping someone get out of jail easier. If you have specific questions, please feel free to ask it, and any comments or tips that would be a benefit to other people in the same situation will be welcome.

Ames Police Jail Inmate Search

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Who’s In Jail

The Ames Police Jail Inmate Search is an online list of people currently in custody, which includes current status, and visiting hours. Also, you can get info for anybody who has been arrested or discharged in the past 24 hours. Jail inmates are listed in alphabetical order by last name. You’ll be able to locate the information fast if you have their name, birth date, or inmate ID.

Ames Police Jail Policies and Procedures

Intake Procedures

The intake procedure at the Ames Police Jail includes each of the following steps:

You will be placed in a holding cell. If the jail is busy, you will have to wait, sometimes for many hours, before you get processed.

You will answer a bunch of questions, such as your legal name, your address, date of birth and a contact person, and you will also be asked about your medical and psychological history. Next, you’ll be given an inmate ID number and your fingerprints will be taken. Then, any personal property you have will be taken from you and stored until you are discharged.

You will then be allowed to use the phone to call family, friends, or loved one.

If you think you will get released quickly, you might get to skip the jumpsuit and keep wearing your own clothes, otherwise you you will be given a jail jumpsuit.

Discharge Procedures

When you pay your bail, you will get discharged from jail. The discharge process may take anywhere between 30 minutes to all day. In simple terms, the quicker you post bail, the sooner you can get out of jail. How quickly you get discharged depends on whether you’ve got a cash bond or if the magistrate must decide on the amount of bail to be set. For minor offenses, you will be booked and released on your own recognizance. When you have completed your jail sentence and are given a discharge date, plan to be discharged anywhere between the hours of 9am and 12pm.

Ames Police Jail Visitation

In order to have visitors, inmates must list each visitor’s name to the Ames Police Jail before you can visit. Your visitors will be entered in a log of approved visitors for the requesting inmate. Every visitor will have to provide identification. Any visitors that gets to visitation or without a visiting order will not be able to attend visitation.

Jail visitation policies change often, so make sure that you call the jail at 515-239-5133 before you visit an inmate.

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Visitation Rules

To visit someone at the Ames Police Jail you have to first be on the inmate’s visitation list.

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

No cellphones at Ames Police Jail, and you will be searched before you can visit. Personal belongings are not allowed. Anyone under must obtain the permission of both the superintendent and their individual supervising officer before they can visit. Such visitation is not going to be approved.

If the visitor is under the age of 18 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 the visitor is under the age of 18 and is not related to the inmate, this 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 even magazines to an inmate at the Ames Police Jail. Incoming and outgoing inmate mail at the Ames 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 Ames 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 Ames 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 believe you have an outstanding warrant, you are able to check the arrest warrants online or you can call the court directly. This requires a first and last name. Or, you can just go down to the jail and ask the officer in charge. You should be clear that if there is a warrant for your arrest, you will be taken into custody immediately.

Arrest Record Search

If you know a person’s name, and their arrest date, contact the jail, on the phone, in person, or you can check online. Arrest records are public record and this information is freely available.

Court Records

Court Records are considered public records, so they are accessible to anyone who requests them. They include a case file containing a docket and all filings and documents filed in your case. You can access court records via the internet service ‘Public Access to Court Electronic Records’, or at Clerk of Court in the jurisdiction where the case was filed.

Criminal Records

Each state keeps a record of a person’s criminal background. These state databases are linked together so you can track criminal histories from other states. Go to courthouse and inquire, or check the website. It is helpful to know the county, and in the event that the crime was in a completely different state, you may have to pay for a more complete search.

A criminal history search you will be able to get a listing of all the arrests, charges, or convictions for any crimes they may have committed, which could include DUI or DWI, drug Possession of drug trafficking, kidnapping, sex offenses which could include rape, and sexual assault, violent crimes, or breaking and entering, theft, larceny.

Money & Commissary

The procedure to send money to people in jail can change at any time, so it would be best to visit the Ames Police Jail site when you send funds to an inmate.

How To Send Money to an Inmate at Ames 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 Ames Police Jail uses changes frequently, so it is best to call them at 515-239-5133 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 Ames 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 want to buy things from the commissary daily, 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 enough money in their trust account. These products include clothes, shoes, small snacks and other food items, in addition to hygiene products like 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

The only phone calls that Ames Police Jail inmates are allowed to make are made through a jail approved pre-paid phone account or phone card . Calls made in jail are typically more expensive than phone calls made outside of jail. There are certain restrictions about when you can make phone calls, how long you can talk, and how often you can make calls, but inmates should keep in mind lots of people want to use the phone – so you have to share. If you break the jail rules, an inmate’s phone privileges might get reduced or cut altogether.

Phone Number: 515-239-5133

How To Save Money on Inmate Calls

Correctional facility phone service companies have exclusive contracts at each 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 off of all of the 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 Ames Police Jail. The prices are posted and there are at least two different prices based on where the inmate is calling. These three things 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 learning 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 significantly on how much it costs you to call your inmate. There are some circumstances where we won’t be able to save you any money, and therefore we will not offer you an inmate calling number. In cases like this, the facility has set their calling prices in a way that nobody can save you money.

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

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