Philadelphia Prison System

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The Philadelphia Prison System is located at 7901 State Road in Philadelphia, PA and is a medium security county jail operated by the Philadelphia County Sheriff’s Department.

This page tells you info about everything you might want to know about the Philadelphia Prison System, such as how to do a jail inmate search, the jail’s address and phone number, intake procedures and booking, court information, and more.

Top 10 Searches for Philadelphia Prison System

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

Introduction

This guide is meant to give you info that you’ll need to make helping someone get out of jail a little less stressful. If you have questions, feel free to ask them, and also any tips or comments that could be beneficial to others is much appreciated.

Philadelphia Prison System Inmate Search

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Who’s In Jail

The Philadelphia Prison System Inmate Locator is an online list of individuals who are in jail, which includes current status, and schedule for visitation. Also, you can get information for anyone booked or released in the past 24 hour period. Jail inmates are shown in alphabetical order by their last name. You’ll be able to locate the information faster if you have your friend or family member’s name, date of birth, or inmate ID Number.

Philadelphia Prison System Policies and Procedures

Intake Procedures

The jail intake process at the Philadelphia Prison System includes these steps:

You will be placed in a waiting area or cell. If there are a lot of arrests, it will take a while to get processed.

First, you have to answer some questions, such as what is your full legal name, address, date of birth and an emergency contact, and they’ll also ask about your psychological and medical history. Next, you’ll be given an inmate ID and you will be fingerprinted. Then, any personal property you have will be taken away from you and stored until you get released from jail.

You will then be allowed to make a phone call so you can get in touch with family, friends, or loved one.

If they expect that you will make bail and be released quickly, you will be allowed to wear your street clothes, but if you are not expected to make bail quickly you you will have to wear a jumpsuit.

Discharge Procedures

Once you are able to post bail, you will be allowed to go home after you get discharged. This process will take from 30 minutes to all day. In other words the faster you can post bail, the sooner you will get out of jail. Also, it can depend on if you’ve got a bond amount or if a magistrate has to decide on how much your bail will be. For minor charges, you will simply be booked and get released without having to post bail. When you have served out your jail sentence and know the release date, you should expect to get discharged that morning.

Philadelphia Prison System Visitation

Inmates have to list the name and date of birth of each visitor to the Philadelphia Prison System in advance of the visit. Your visitor’s names will go in the log as an Authorized visit. Every visitor will be required to provide identification. Visitors that gets to visitation or that is not an approved visitor will be turned away.

Visitation procedures at Philadelphia Prison System frequently change, so call the jail at (215) 685-8395 before go to the jail to visit an inmate.

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Visitation Rules

To visit an inmate at the Philadelphia Prison System you have to be on the inmate’s visitation list.

Be 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 phones at Philadelphia Prison System, and you will be searched before visiting. Personal belongings are not allowed. Anyone parole, probation, or other corrections supervision must get the permission of both their individual supervising officer and the superintendent before they can visit. This kind of visitation is not normally 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 a 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 about sending letters, photos, postcards, greeting cards and magazines to an inmate at the Philadelphia Prison System. Incoming and outgoing inmate mail at the Philadelphia Prison System 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 Philadelphia Prison System. 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 Philadelphia Prison System 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 have an outstanding warrant, you can check arrest warrants inquiry on the Philadelphia County jail website or you can call the court. You have to have their first and last name. Or, you can just go down to the jail and ask them. Keep in mind 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 their arrest date, contact the Philadelphia County jail, by phone, in person, or you can check online. An arrest is a matter of 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 court docket and any documents filed in your case. You can access the court records online, or at the clerk’s office of the court where the case was filed.

Criminal Records

Every state maintains a record of a person’s criminal history. These state databases are connected so you can track criminal histories from another state. You are able to go to courthouse and inquire, or you can check online. It is helpful to know the county, and if it was in a totally different state, you may have to pay for a more comprehensive search.

When you look up a person’s crminal records you can get a report detailing any arrests, charges, or convictions that may be on a person’s record for any crimes they may have committed, which could include DUI or DWI, drug Possession of drug trafficking, kidnapping, sexual offenses including rape, assault, violent crimes like assault or murder, or breaking and entering, theft, larceny.

Money & Commissary

The process for sending money to people in jail might change, so we suggest that you review the Philadelphia Prison System site when send money to someone in jail there.

How To Send Money to an Inmate at Philadelphia Prison System

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 Philadelphia Prison System uses changes frequently, so it is best to call them at (215) 685-8395 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 Philadelphia Prison System store. You can purchase different things here, such as personal items, food, and things for writing. Bear in mind that you will probably need to use the commissary on a daily basis, and any infractions will cause you to lose commissary privileges.

The Commissary will sell a selection of different products that inmates can purchase if they have sufficient funds in their commissary account. These items include clothes, shoes, small snacks and other food items, as well as personal 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

Phone calls that inmates are allowed to make from the Philadelphia Prison System are with a pre-paid phone card or account, or are collect calls . Calls made in jail are usually pricier than regular phone calls. There are certain restrictions about when and how often you can use the phone, but inmates should keep in mind lots of people want to use the phone – so you have to share. If you break the rules and are disciplined, phone calls might get reduced or cut altogether.

The Philadelphia Prison System phone number is: (215) 685-8395

How To Save Money on Inmate Calls

Correctional facility phone service companies have exclusive contracts at every facility that they have a contract with, 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 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 Philadelphia Prison System. 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 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 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 a lot of money on how much it costs you to call your inmate. There are some prisons or jails where we will not 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 or prison has set their inmate calling prices in a way that nobody will be able to save you money.

For more detailed information on how to save on inmate calls at Philadelphia Prison System, click the link below.

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