Shelby County Jail

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The Shelby County Jail is located at 1104 9th Street in Harlan, IA and is a medium security county jail operated by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department.

This site will tell you information about everything related to the Shelby County Jail, such as how to find an inmate at the Shelby County Jail, the jail’s address and phone number, intake procedures, court information, and everything else.

Top 10 Searches for Shelby County Jail

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

Introduction

This guide is designed to give info that you need to make helping a friend or family member get out of jail a little less stressful. If you have a specific question, just ask it in the comment section below, and please leave any tips or comments that might help other people in the same situation will be much appreciated.

Shelby County Jail Inmate Search

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Who’s In Jail

The Shelby County Jail Inmate Search is a list of people who have been arrested, including current status, and times you can visit. You can get info about anybody arrested and processed or discharged within the last 24 hours. Inmates are listed alphabetically by last name. You’ll be able to locate the information more quickly if you have the arrestee’s full name, birth date, or inmate ID.

Shelby County Jail Policies and Procedures

Intake Procedures

The jail intake process at the Shelby County Jail takes you through each of the following steps:

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

The first thing you will have to to is you must answer a bunch of questions, such as what is your full name, your address, date of birth and an emergency contact person, and they’ll also ask you about your mental and medical history. Next, you’ll be given an inmate ID and your fingerprints will be taken. Then, all of your personal property will get taken away from you and stored until you get released.

They will let you use the telephone so you can talk to a member of your family, friend, or loved one.

If you think you will get released quickly, you might get to wear your street clothes, if not you will be issued a jail uniform.

Discharge Procedures

When you post bail, you will get released from jail. The discharge process may take between 10 minutes to hours or even all day long. In other words the faster you can post bail, the faster you will be freed. How quickly you get discharged can depend on if you have a bond amount or if the judge still needs to decide on how much your bail will be. For a minor offense, you will get booked and then released on your recognizance without having to pay bail. If you have served a sentence in jail and are given a discharge date, you should expect to be released at any time that day – but usually in the morning.

Shelby County Jail Visitation

To have visitors, you need to provide information about each visitor to the Shelby County Jail before anyone can visit them. Your visitor’s names will be entered into the visitation log as an approved visitor. Every visitor is required to provide identification. Anyone showing up late or that is not an approved visitor will be turned away.

The Shelby County Jail visitation procedures are always changing, so you should call the facility at (712) 755-2501 before you go to visitation.

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Visitation Rules

To visit an inmate at the Shelby County Jail you have to be added to this person’s approved visitation list.

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

No phones at Shelby County Jail, and you will be searched before you can visit. Personal belongings are not allowed. Anyone probation, parole, or other community corrections supervision must get the permission of both the superintendent and their individual supervising officer before visiting. Such visitation is not approved.

If a 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 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 in order to send letters, photos, postcards, greeting cards and even magazines to an inmate at the Shelby County Jail. Incoming and outgoing inmate mail at the Shelby 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 Shelby 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 Shelby 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 think you might have a warrant out for your arrest, you can find out by checking the arrest warrants inquiry online or you can 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. Bear in mind that if there is an arrest warrant out for you, they will take you into custody immediately.

Arrest Record Search

If you know a person’s name, and their arrest date, contact the jail, on the phone, go there in person, or check online. Records of arrests are public record and this information is available to anyone.

Court Records

Court Records are public records and available to anyone. Court Records include a court case file that contains a docket sheet and any of the filings and documents filed in your court case. You can access court records on the internet, or at Clerk of Court in the county where the case was filed.

Criminal Records

Each and every state keeps a record of their state citizen’s criminal history. These online databases are all connected and you can track criminal backgrounds from other states. You are able to go to the Shelby 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 it was in a different state entirely, you may have to pay for a more complete search.

When you look up a person’s crminal records you can find out if a person has ever been arrested, charged or convicted for any crimes they may have committed, which could include DUI or DWI, drug Possession of drug trafficking, kidnapping, rape or other sexual assault, violent crimes like assault or murder, or property crimes like theft or larceny.

Money & Commissary

The process for sending funds to people in jail is likely to change, so it would be best to check the Shelby County Jail site when you send money to an inmate.

How To Send Money to an Inmate at Shelby 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 Shelby County Jail uses changes frequently, so it is best to call them at (712) 755-2501 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 Shelby County Jail store. You can buy different things here, such as toiletries, snacks and writing supplies. Remember that you will probably need to buy things from the commissary every day, 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 money in their account. These products 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

Phone calls that inmates are allowed to make from the Shelby County Jail are made through a jail approved pre-paid phone account or phone card . Calls made in jail are much 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 inmates must keep in mind that every inmate wants to use the phone too, so they can call their family. If you break the rules, an inmate’s ability to use the phone might get cut back or forbidden.

The Shelby County Jail phone number is: (712) 755-2501

How To Save Money on Inmate Calls

Correctional facility phone service providers have a monopoly at each facility that they operate the phone services for, which means that they they control how much it costs to make phone calls. The profits these phone service providers make off of all of the 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 Shelby County Jail. The rates are posted and there are at least two pricing tiers 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 can be 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 a lot of money on calling your inmate. In some cases, we will not be able to save you any money, and therefore we will not offer you an inmate calling number. In cases like this, the jail or prison has set their 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 Shelby County Jail, click the link below.

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