Otsego County Jail

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The Otsego County Jail is located at 172 County Highway 33 West in Cooperstown, NY and is a medium security county jail operated by the Otsego County Sheriff’s Department.

This guide tells you information about everything you might need to know about the Otsego County Jail, such as how to locate an inmate at the Otsego County Jail, the jail’s address and phone number, booking and intake procedures, court information and records, and more.

Top 10 Searches for Otsego County Jail

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

Introduction

The goal of this guide is to give you information you need to make going to jail less stressfull. If you have questions, please feel free to ask it, and any comments or tips that could help other people in the same situation would be much appreciated.

Otsego County Jail Inmate Search

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Who’s In Jail

The Otsego County Jail Inmate List is a roster of people who were arrested and are now in jail, including custody status, and times you can visit. You can find info on anybody arrested and booked or released in the past 24 hour period. Prisoners are listed in alphabetical order by last name. You will be able to locate the information quicker if you’ve got your friend or family member’s first and last name, birth date, or inmate ID.

Otsego County Jail Policies and Procedures

Intake Procedures

The jail intake process at the Otsego County Jail takes you through these steps:

You will be placed in a holding cell. If the jail is really busy, you will have to wait a while to get processed.

You have to answer a number of questions, like what is your legal name, home address, birthdate and contact person, and they’ll also ask about your medical and psychological history. Next, you’ll be given an inmate ID and your fingerprints will be taken. Then, all personal property will get taken away from you and will be stored until you are released.

You will then be allowed to use the telephone in order to contact a member of your family, friend, or somebody else who can help you get out.

If you are expected to be released quickly, you will be allowed to skip the jumpsuit and keep wearing your own clothes, if not you you will have to wear a jail uniform – the jumpsuit.

Discharge Procedures

Once bail has been posted, you will get released from jail. Getting discharged from jail will take anywhere between 15 minutes to hours or even all day long. Or, simply, the faster bail is posted, the quicker you can get out of jail. It also can depend on whether you’ve got a cash bond amount or if the magistrate still needs to determine your bail amount. For minor charges, you will get booked and get released without having to post bail. When you have completed your jail sentence and are given a release date, you should expect to get released between 9am and noon.

Otsego County Jail Visitation

In order to have visitors, inmates have to give each visitor’s name and date of birth to the Otsego County Jail in advance. Your visitor’s information will be put into a log of visitors for the inmate. Every visitor will be required to provide identification. Any visitors showing up late or any visitors that are not approved to visit will not be allowed to visit the inmate.

Jail visitation policies can change, so call the official Otsego County Jail at (607) 547-1611 before you visit an inmate.

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Visitation Rules

Before you can visit an inmate at the Otsego County Jail you have to have your name on this person’s visitation list.

Make sure to bring your up to date government issued ID or driver’s license when you go to visit or you will not be allowed to enter.

No cellphones at Otsego County Jail, and you will be searched. No personal belongings. Anybody on must obtain the permission of both the superintendent and their individual supervising officer before they can visit. Such visitation is not approved.

If a visitor is younger than 18 years of age is related to 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 old 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 Otsego County Jail. Incoming and outgoing inmate mail at the Otsego County 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 Otsego County 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 Otsego County 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 for your arrest, you can access arrest warrants on the Otsego County jail website or you can call the court. This requires a first and last name. Or, you can just go the jail in person and inquire at the information desk. You should know that there is an outstanding warrant for your arrest, you should be prepared to get taken into custody immediately.

Arrest Record Search

If you know the person’s first and last name, as well as the date of their arrest, contact the jail, on the phone, go there in person, or look online. Records of arrests are public record and these records are accessible by the public.

Court Records

Court Records are public records and available to anyone. They include a court case file that contains a docket sheet and all filings and documents filed in your court case. You are able to access the court records via the internet service ‘Public Access to Court Electronic Records’, or at the Otsego County Clerk of Court in the county where the case was filed.

Criminal Records

Each state maintains a record of a person’s criminal history. These online databases are linked together so you are able to track criminal convictions from any other state. You are able to go to county courthouse and make an inquiry, or check the website. It helps to know which county the crime occurred in, and if it was in a different state entirely, you may have to pay for a more comprehensive search.

When you look up someone’s criminal record you will get a report detailing any arrests, charges, or convictions that may be on a person’s record for any crimes, which can include, drug crimes, kidnapping, sexual offenses including rape, assault, violent crimes like assault or murder, or theft.

Money & Commissary

The rules for sending funds to people in jail can change at any time, so it would be best to review the Otsego County Jail website when send funds to someone in jail there.

How To Send Money to an Inmate at Otsego County 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 Otsego County Jail uses changes frequently, so it is best to call them at (607) 547-1611 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 Otsego County Jail store. You can buy several different 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 cause you to lose commissary privileges.

The Commissary will sell an assortment of different products that inmates can purchase if they have money in their account. These items include clothes, shoes, small snacks and other food items, as well as 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

The only phone calls that Otsego County Jail inmates are allowed to make are with a pre-paid phone card or account, or are collect calls . Jail phone calls are much pricier than phone calls made at home. There is no limit to when you can make phone calls, how long you can talk, and how often you can make calls, but bear in mind that every inmate wants to use the phone too, so they can call their family. If you break the rules, your ability to use the phone might get reduced or totally denied.

The Otsego County Jail phone number is: (607) 547-1611

How To Save Money on Inmate Calls

Correctional facility phone service providers have a monopoly at every facility that they operate, 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 Otsego County Jail. The prices are posted and there are at least two types of prices 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 state prisons and local jails learning 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 significantly on calling your inmate. There are some prisons or jails where we won’t be able to save you any money, and therefore we will not offer you an inmate calling number. In these cases, the jail or prison has set their inmate calling prices so high that nobody can save you money.

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

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