Erie County Prison

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The Erie County Prison is located at 1618 Ash Street in Erie, PA and is a medium security county jail operated by the Erie County Sheriff’s Department.

This site will tell you all the information about everything a person needs to know about the Erie County Prison, like how to locate an inmate at the Erie County Prison, the jail’s phone number and address, intake procedures, how to find Erie County court records, and lots more.

Top 10 Searches for Erie County Prison

1. Erie County Prison Information
2. Erie County Prison Inmate Search
3. Erie County Inmate Search in Erie, PA
4. What Are the Visitation Rules for Erie County Prison
5. Erie County Prison Visitation Hours
6. How To Save Money on Inmate Calls at Erie County Prison
7. Erie County Prison Care Packages
8. What is Inmate Commissary?
9. How to Send Money to an Inmate at Erie County Prison
10. How to Search Erie County Arrest Records

Introduction

The purpose of this guide is to give you advice and information that you’ll need to make going to jail easier. If you have a specific question, just ask it in the comment section below, and any comments or feedback that would help other people in the same situation is welcome.

Erie County Prison Inmate Search

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Who’s In Jail

The Erie County Prison Inmate Roster has information about people who were arrested and are now in jail, including current status, and times you can visit. Also, you can find information for anyone who has been arrested or discharged within the past 24 hours. Inmates are listed alphabetically by last name. You can get the information more quickly if you’ve got their name, birth date, or inmate ID Number.

Erie County Prison Policies and Procedures

Intake Procedures

The intake process at the Erie County Prison is made up of each of the following steps:

You will be placed in a holding cell. If there are a lot of arrests, you may not be processed immediately.

The first step is that you must answer a number of questions, like what is your full legal name, street address, birthdate and a contact person, and they’ll also ask you about your psychological and medical history. Next, you will be issued an inmate ID number and your fingerprints will be taken. Then, all personal property will be taken from you and stored until you get discharged from jail.

You will be allowed to use the phone to 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 get to skip the jumpsuit and keep wearing your own clothes, if not you will be issued a jail uniform.

Discharge Procedures

When you pay your bail, you will be discharged from jail. Getting discharged from jail takes from 10 minutes to hours or even all day long. In simple terms, the faster bail is posted, the quicker you will be released. How quickly you get discharged can depend on whether or not you’ve been given a bond amount or if a magistrate needs to decide on how much your bail will be. For minor charges, you will be booked and get released without having to post bail. When you have served your sentence and have a date of your release, you should plan to be released at any time that day – but usually in the morning.

Erie County Prison Visitation

The inmate have to provide each visitor’s name and date of birth to the Erie County Prison in advance. Your visitor’s names will go in the log as an approved visitor. Every visitor will be required to provide acceptable photo identification. Any visitors showing up late or that does not have a visting order will not be allowed to visit the inmate.

Visitation procedures are always changing, so it would be wise to call the facility at (814) 451-7500 before you go.

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Visitation Rules

Before you can visit an inmate at the Erie County Prison you have to be added to the inmate’s approved visitation list.

Be sure to take your up to date government issued ID or valid driver’s license with you to visitation or you will not be allowed to enter without it.

No phones at Erie County Prison, and you will be searched before entering. No personal belongings. Anyone currently on must get the permission of both the superintendent and their individual supervising officer prior to a visit. Such visitation is not going to be approved.

If a visitor is younger than 18 years of age is related to the inmate, they will have to 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 Erie County Prison. Incoming and outgoing inmate mail at the Erie County Prison 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 Erie County Prison. 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 Erie County Prison 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 think you might have an outstanding warrant for your arrest, you can check the arrest warrants inquiry on the website or you are able to call the court. This requires a first and last name. Or, you can just go down to the jail and ask them. Keep in mind that there is an outstanding warrant for your arrest, you should be prepared to get taken into custody immediately.

Arrest Record Search

If you have a first and last name, as well as their arrest date, contact the Erie County jail, by phone, in person, or find out online. Records of arrests are a matter of public record and this is available to anyone.

Court Records

Court Records are considered public records, so they are accessible to anyone who requests them. Court Records include a case file that contains a court docket and all of the documents filed in your court case. You can access court records on the internet, or at the clerk’s office of the court where the case was filed.

Criminal Records

Each state keeps a record of their state citizen’s criminal history. These state databases are linked together so you can track criminal backgrounds from other states. You are able to go to county courthouse and make an inquiry, or check online. You must know which county the crime occured in, and in the event that the crime was in a different state, you might have to pay a fee for a more comprehensive search.

A criminal history search you will be able to find out if someone has been arrested, charged, or convicted for the following crimes, drug crimes like possession or trafficking, kidnapping, rape or other sexual assault, violent crimes, or theft.

Money & Commissary

The process for sending funds to someone in jail change frequently, so we suggest that you double check the Erie County Prison website before you send any funds.

How To Send Money to an Inmate at Erie County Prison

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 Erie County Prison uses changes frequently, so it is best to call them at (814) 451-7500 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 Erie County Prison store. You can purchase different things here, like personal items, food, and things for writing. Keep in mind that you will probably want to buy things from the commissary daily, and any infractions will cause you to lose commissary privileges.

The Commissary will sell an assortment of different items that inmates can purchase if they have sufficient funds in their account. These products include clothes, shoes, small snacks and other food items, in addition to personal 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

Phone calls that inmates are allowed to make from the Erie County Prison are made through a jail approved pre-paid phone account or phone card . Calls made in jail are much more expensive than phone calls made outside of jail. There is no limit to when and how often you can use the phone, 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, your ability to use the phone could be reduced or forbidden completely.

The Erie County Prison phone number is: (814) 451-7500

How To Save Money on Inmate Calls

Correctional facility phone service providers have exclusive contracts at every facility that they operate the phone services for, which means that they they control the prices. The profits off of all inmate phone calls are split 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 Erie County Prison. The rates are posted and there are at least two different prices 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 finding out how to decrease your inmates phone charges is more difficult. ArrestedResources.com keeps up to date with all of the changes that affect your inmate’s rate and in most cases is able to offer you an inmate calling number that will save you significantly 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 cases like this, the jail 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 Erie County Prison, click the link below.

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