Bay County Jail

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The Bay County Jail is located at 503 Third Street in Bay City, MI and is a medium security county jail operated by the Bay County Sheriff’s Department.

This page tells you info about anything a person needs to know about the Bay County Jail, such as how to do a jail inmate search, the jail’s phone number and address, intake procedures, how to find your court records, and lots more.

Top 10 Searches for Bay County Jail

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

Introduction

This guide is meant to offer information and advice you need to make helping a friend or family member get out of jail a lot easier. If you have a question, just ask them, and also any tips or comments that could be a benefit to others would be appreciated.

Bay County Jail Inmate Search

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Who’s In Jail

The Bay County Jail Inmate List has information about people who have been arrested and are in custody, which includes status, and visiting schedule. You can find info about anyone who has been arrested or discharged in the past 24 hours. Jail inmates are shown in alphabetical order by their last name. You can find their arrest information more quickly if you have the arrestee’s first and last name, date of birth, or inmate ID.

Bay County Jail Policies and Procedures

Intake Procedures

The jail intake process at the Bay County Jail takes you through each of these steps:

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

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

You will get to use the telephone in order to call a member of your family, friend, or loved one.

If you think you will get released quickly, you might be allowed to wear your own clothes, otherwise you you will have to change into a jail uniform.

Discharge Procedures

Once bail has been posted, you will get released from jail. The discharge process will take anywhere between 10 minutes to all day long. In other words the quicker you post bail, the sooner you can get out of jail. Also, how fast you get released might depend on whether or not you’ve got a cash bond amount or if a magistrate must decide on the amount of bail to be set. For minor offenses, you will simply be booked and then released on your recognizance without having to pay bail. When you have completed your jail sentence and know the release date, you should plan to get discharged between 9am and noon.

Bay County Jail Visitation

In order to have visitors, inmates have to give the name and date of birth of each visitor to the Bay County Jail in advance of any visit. Your visitor’s names will be put in a log of approved visitors for the inmate that requested the visitor. All visitors will have to provide proof of identification. Anyone arriving late or any visitors that are not approved to visit will not be allowed to visit the inmate.

Visitation procedures at Bay County Jail frequently change, so you should call the facility at (989) 895-4067 before you visit an inmate.

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Visitation Rules

In order to visit an inmate at the Bay County Jail you have to have your name on the inmate’s approved visitation list.

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

No cellphones at Bay County Jail, and you will be searched. Personal belongings are not allowed. Anybody on must obtain the permission of both the superintendent and their individual supervising officer before visiting. Usually is not normally approved.

If the 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 a family member of 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 even magazines to an inmate at the Bay County Jail. Incoming and outgoing inmate mail at the Bay 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 Bay 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 Bay 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, you can check arrest warrants inquiry on the Bay County jail website or call the court directly. You have to have their first and last name. Or, you can just go the jail in person and ask them. Bear in mind that if there is an arrest warrant out for you, you will be taken into custody immediately.

Arrest Record Search

If you know a person’s name, as well as the date of their arrest, contact the jail, by phone, in person, or look online. Arrest records are in the 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 docket sheet and all documents and filings filed in the court case. You are able to access your court records on the website, or at Clerk of Court where the case was filed.

Criminal Records

Each and every state maintains a record of their state citizen’s criminal history. These online databases are linked together and you can track criminal backgrounds from another state. You are able to go to county courthouse and check in person, or check the website. It is helpful to know the county the crime was committed in, and in the event that the crime was in a completely different state, you may have to pay for a more intensive search.

When you look up someone’s criminal record you will be able to get a listing of all the arrests, charges, or convictions for DUI, drug Possession, kidnapping, rape or other sexual assault, violent crimes like assault or murder, or theft, breaking and entering.

Money & Commissary

The rules for sending money to people in jail is likely to change, so you should visit the Bay County Jail site when you send any funds.

How To Send Money to an Inmate at Bay 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 Bay County Jail uses changes frequently, so it is best to call them at (989) 895-4067 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 Bay County Jail store. An inmate can buy a number of things here, like personal items, food, and things for writing. Keep in mind that you will most likely want to use the commissary daily, and any infractions will cause you to lose commissary privileges.

The Commissary will sell a selection of different products that inmates can buy if they have sufficient funds in their trust 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

All phone calls from the Bay County Jail are made through a jail approved pre-paid phone account or phone card . Jail phone calls are a lot more costly than phone calls made at home. Phone calls are restricted on how often you can use the phone, but you should keep in mind lots of people want to use the phone – so you have to share. If you are disciplined for an infraction, phone calls might get reduced or eliminated completely.

The Bay County Jail phone number is: (989) 895-4067

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 profits these phone service providers make off of all 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 Bay County Jail. The prices are posted and there are at least two types of prices based on where the inmate is calling. These three things 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 figuring out how to decrease 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 how much it costs you to call your inmate. In some cases, we will not be able to save you money on your inmate calls, and in these cases we will not offer you an inmate calling number. In cases like this, the facility has set their phone call rates in a way that nobody can save you money.

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

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