Buncombe County Detention Center

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The Buncombe County Detention Center is located at 20 Davidson Street in Asheville, NC and is a medium security county jail operated by the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Department.

This site tells you information about anything you might want to know about the Buncombe County Detention Center, such as how to find out who’s in jail at the Buncombe County Detention Center, the jail’s phone number and address, booking and intake procedures, court information, and much, much more.

Top 10 Searches for Buncombe County Detention Center

1. Buncombe County Detention Center Information
2. Buncombe County Detention Center Inmate Search
3. Buncombe County Inmate Search in Asheville, NC
4. Buncombe County Detention Center Visitation Rules
5. Buncombe County Detention Center Visitation Hours
6. Discount Buncombe County Detention Center Inmate Calls
7. How to Send Inmate Care Packages to Buncombe County Detention Center
8. What is Inmate Commissary?
9. How to Send Money to an Inmate at Buncombe County Detention Center
10. How to Search Buncombe County Arrest Records

Introduction

This guide is meant to give information that you need to make going to jail a lot easier. If you have specific questions, please feel free to ask it, and also any comments or tips that would be a benefit to other people in the same situation is welcome.

Buncombe County Detention Center Inmate Search

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Who’s In Jail

The Buncombe County Detention Center Inmate Locator has information about people who were arrested and are now in jail, including status, and visiting schedule. Also, you can get information on anyone arrested and processed or released in the past 24 hour period. Prisoners are listed alphabetically by their last name. You can locate their inmate information faster if you enter your friend or family member’s full name, birth date, or inmate ID.

Buncombe County Detention Center Policies and Procedures

Intake Procedures

The jail intake procedure at the Buncombe County Detention Center is made up of the following steps:

They’ll put you in a holding cell. If there are a lot of arrests, you may not be processed immediately.

The first thing you will have to to is you will have to answer a bunch of questions, such as what is your full name, home address, birthdate and a contact person, and they’ll also ask about your psychological and medical history. Next, you’ll be given an inmate number and you will get fingerprinted. Then, any personal property you have will be taken away from you and stored until you get discharged from jail.

You will get to use the phone so you can contact a member of your family, friend, or somebody else who can help you get out.

If they expect that you will make bail and be released quickly, you might be able to keep wearing street clothes, if not you will be issued a jail jumpsuit.

Discharge Procedures

When you finally post bail, you will get discharged from jail. This process will take anywhere between 10 minutes to all day long. Or, simply, the faster you can post bail, the sooner you will be freed. It also will depend on whether you have a bond amount or if a judge needs to figure out the bail amount. For lesser charges, you will get booked and then released on your recognizance without having to pay bail. When you have served out your jail sentence and are given a discharge date, plan to get discharged at any time that day – but usually in the morning.

Buncombe County Detention Center Visitation

In order to have visitors, inmates need to give each visitor’s name and date of birth to the Buncombe County Detention Center in advance of any visit. Your visitor’s names will be put in a Visiting log as an authorized visitor. Each and every visitor will have to provide identification. Anyone that gets to visitation or any visitors that are not approved to visit will not be able to attend visitation.

Visitation procedures at Buncombe County Detention Center change often, so it would be wise to call the jail at (828) 250-4550 before you go to the jail to visit.

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Visitation Rules

To visit someone at the Buncombe County Detention Center you have to have your name on their approved visitation list.

Be sure to take your valid driver’s license or government issued ID with you to visitation or you will not be allowed to enter.

No mobile phones are allowed at Buncombe County Detention Center, and you will be searched before you can visit. No personal belongings. Persons currently on must get the permission of both the superintendent and their individual supervising officer before they can visit. This kind of visitation is not normally 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 the visitor is younger than 18 years of age 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 about sending letters, photos, postcards, greeting cards and magazines to an inmate at the Buncombe County Detention Center. Incoming and outgoing inmate mail at the Buncombe County Detention Center 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 Buncombe County Detention Center. 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 Buncombe County Detention Center 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 for your arrest, you can check the arrest warrants on the Buncombe County court website or call the jail. You have to have their first and last name. Or, you can just go down to the jail and inquire at the information desk. You should be clear that if there is a warrant for your arrest, they will take you into custody immediately.

Arrest Record Search

If you know the person’s first and last name, and possibly an arrest date, contact the jail, either by phone, in person, or find out online. An arrest is public record and this is freely available.

Court Records

Court Records are considered public records, so they are accessible to anyone who requests them. These records include a court case file containing a court docket and any documents filed in the court case. You can access your court records on their website, or at Clerk of Court where the case was filed.

Criminal Records

Every state keeps a record of a person’s criminal background. These databases are all linked so you are able to track criminal backgrounds from any other state. You can go to the Buncombe County Courthouse and make an inquiry, or you can check online. You must know which county the crime occured in, and in the event that the crime was in a totally different state, you may have to pay a fee for a more comprehensive search.

When you look up a person’s crminal records you can get a listing of all the arrests, charges, or convictions for DWI or DUI, drug crimes like possession or trafficking, kidnapping, rape or other sexual assault, violent crimes including assault, battery and murder, or theft, breaking and entering.

Money & Commissary

The process for sending funds to Buncombe County Detention Center inmates can change at any time, so you should double check the Buncombe County Detention Center website before you send funds to an inmate.

How To Send Money to an Inmate at Buncombe County Detention Center

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 Buncombe County Detention Center uses changes frequently, so it is best to call them at (828) 250-4550 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 Buncombe County Detention Center store. You can buy a number of things here, like toiletries, snacks and writing supplies. Keep in mind that you will most likely want to use the commissary daily, and any infractions will get that privilege taken away from you.

The Commissary will sell an assortment of different items that inmates can buy if they have enough money in their trust account. These items include clothes, shoes, small snacks and other food items, in addition to hygiene products including 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 Buncombe County Detention Center are made through a jail approved pre-paid phone account or phone card . These phone calls are typically pricier than regular phone calls. There are certain restrictions about when you can make phone calls, how long you can talk, and how often you can make calls, but you should keep in mind that there are a limited number of phones, so all the inmates must share phone time. If you break the jail rules, an inmate’s ability to use the phone may be limited or eliminated altogether.

Phone Number: (828) 250-4550

How To Save Money on Inmate Calls

Correctional facility phone service companies have exclusive contracts at each facility that they have a contract with, which means that they they control the prices. The money these phone service providers make from all inmate phone calls 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 Buncombe County Detention Center. The rates are posted and there are at least two pricing tiers based on where the inmate is calling. The following three factors will determine the cost of an inmate phone call: 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 state prisons and local jails figuring out how to lower your inmates phone charges is 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 won’t be able to save you any money, and in these cases we will not offer you an inmate calling number. In these cases, the jail has set their phone rates so high that nobody can save you money.

For more detailed information on how to save on inmate calls at Buncombe County Detention Center, click the link below.

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