Howard County Jail

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The Howard County Jail is located at 124 South Park Place in Cresco, IA and is a medium security county jail operated by the Howard County Sheriff’s Department.

This guide will tell you all the information about everything a person needs to know about the Howard County Jail, such as how to locate an inmate, the jail’s address and phone number, intake procedures and booking, how to find your court records, and everything else.

Top 10 Searches for Howard County Jail

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

Introduction

The purpose of this guide is to offer information you need to make getting locked up a lot easier. If you have questions, feel free to ask it, and also any tips or comments that would help other people in the same situation would be much appreciated.

Howard County Jail Inmate Search

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Who’s In Jail

The Howard County Jail Inmate Search is an online list of individuals who have been arrested and are in jail, which includes custody status, and times the inmate can have visitors. Also, you can find the same information on anyone who has been arrested or discharged within the last 24 hours. Prisoners are listed in alphabetical order by their last name. You will be able to get the information fast if you have their first and last name, birth date, or inmate ID.

Howard County Jail Policies and Procedures

Intake Procedures

The intake procedure at the Howard County Jail takes you through each of these steps:

You will be placed in a holding cell. If the jail is really busy, you may not be processed immediately.

The first step is that you will answer some simple questions, such as your full name, street address, date of birth and a contact person, and you will also be asked about your mental and medical history. Next, you’ll be given an inmate ID and you will be fingerprinted. Then, any personal property you have will get taken away from you and will be stored until you are released.

You will get to use the phone so you can contact family, friends, or loved one.

If they expect that you will make bail and be released quickly, you might be allowed to keep wearing your own clothes, otherwise you will be issued a jumpsuit.

Discharge Procedures

When you finally post bail, you will be allowed to leave jail. Getting discharged from jail will take anywhere between 30 minutes to hours or even all day long. In other words the faster bail is posted, the sooner you will get let go. It also depends on whether you’ve got a bond amount or if the magistrate still needs to decide on your bail amount. For a minor charge, you will simply be booked and released on your own recognizance. When you have completed your jail sentence and are given a release date, expect to get discharged that morning.

Howard County Jail Visitation

In order to have visitors, inmates have to provide each visitor’s full name to the Howard County Jail in advance of any visit. Your visitors will be entered into the visitation log as an Authorized visit. Each and every visitor has to provide acceptable photo identification. Anyone that gets to visitation or that is not on the visitation list will be turned away.

Jail visitation policies frequently change, so call the jail at (563) 547-3535 before go to the jail to visit an inmate.

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Visitation Rules

To visit someone at the Howard County Jail you must have your name on their visitation list.

Make sure to bring your up to date government issued ID or driver’s license when you go to visitation because you will not be allowed to enter without it.

No mobile phones are allowed at Howard County Jail, and you will be searched before visiting. Personal belongings are not allowed. Anybody under must get the permission of both their individual supervising officer and the superintendent prior to a visit. Usually is not going to be approved.

If the 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 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 magazines to an inmate at the Howard County Jail. Incoming and outgoing inmate mail at the Howard 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 Howard 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 Howard 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 have a warrant out for your arrest, you are able to check the arrest warrants online or you are able to call the jail. You have to have their first and last name. You can also go to the local jail and ask them. You should be clear that if there is a 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, and the date of their arrest, contact the Howard County jail, by phone, in person, or find out online. Arrest records are a matter of public record and this information is available to anyone.

Court Records

Court Records are public, and are accessible by anyone. These records include a case file containing a docket and any of the documents and filings filed in the case. You can access your court records on their website, or at the Howard County Clerk of Court in the jurisdiction where the case was filed.

Criminal Records

Every state keeps a record of someone’s criminal background. These databases are all linked so you can track criminal histories from another state. Go to the Howard 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 it was in a different state entirely, you might have to pay for a more comprehensive search.

When you look up someone’s criminal record you will find out if someone has been arrested, charged, or convicted for DWI or DUI, drug crimes like possession or trafficking, kidnapping, rape or other sexual assault, violent crimes including assault, battery and murder, or property crimes like theft or larceny.

Money & Commissary

The process for sending funds to someone in jail at the Howard County Jail could change, so we suggest that you review the Howard County Jail site when you send any money.

How To Send Money to an Inmate at Howard 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 Howard County Jail uses changes frequently, so it is best to call them at (563) 547-3535 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 Howard County Jail store. An inmate can buy a number of things here, like toiletries, snacks and writing supplies. Remember that you will probably need to buy things from the commissary on a daily basis, and any infractions will get that privilege taken away from you.

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

The only phone calls that Howard County Jail inmates are allowed to make are with a pre-paid phone card or account, or are collect calls . These phone calls are a lot more costly than regular phone calls. There is no limit to how often you can use the phone, 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 jail rules, your ability to use the phone could be reduced or eliminated completely, as part of the punishment.

Phone Number: (563) 547-3535

How To Save Money on Inmate Calls

Correctional facility phone service providers have a monopoly at every facility that they operate the phone services for, which means that they they control the prices. 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 Howard County Jail. The rates are posted and there are at least two different prices based on where the inmate is calling. The following three things 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 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 inmate phone calls. In some cases, 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 facility has set their inmate calling prices in a way that nobody can save you money.

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

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