Palo Alto County Jail

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The Palo Alto County Jail is located at 2001 11th Street in Emmetsburg, IA and is a medium security county jail operated by the Palo Alto County Sheriff’s Department.

This guide tells you all the information about anything you might want to know about the Palo Alto County Jail, such as how to locate an inmate, the jail’s phone number and address, intake procedures, court information, and much more.

Top 10 Searches for Palo Alto County Jail

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

Introduction

This guide is designed to offer advice and information that you’ll need to make the process easier. If you have questions, feel free to ask them, and also any feedback or comments that could be beneficial to others will be much appreciated.

Palo Alto County Jail Inmate Search

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Who’s In Jail

The Palo Alto County Jail Inmate Locator is a list of individuals who have been arrested and are in custody, which includes current status, and schedule for visitation. Also, you can get the same information on anyone booked or released within the past 24 hours. Inmates are listed in alphabetical order by their last name. You can locate their arrest information quicker if you enter the arrestee’s first and last name, date of birth, or inmate ID Number.

Palo Alto County Jail Policies and Procedures

Intake Procedures

The jail intake procedure at the Palo Alto County Jail takes you through each of these steps:

They’ll put you in a holding cell. If there are a lot of arrests, you may not be processed immediately.

You will have to answer some questions, like your full name, your address, date of birth and an emergency contact person, and they’ll also ask about your mental and medical history. Next, you will be issued an inmate ID and you will be fingerprinted. Then, all personal property will be taken from you and stored until you are released.

You will then be allowed to use the telephone to get in touch with a member of your family, friend, or loved one.

If you are expected to be released quickly, you will be allowed to skip the jumpsuit and keep wearing your own clothes, but if you are not expected to make bail quickly you you will have to change into a jail uniform.

Discharge Procedures

When you pay your bail, you will be allowed to go home after you get discharged. Getting discharged from jail takes from 10 minutes to quite a few hours. In other words the faster you post bail, the sooner you will get let go. How quickly you get discharged might depend on whether you’ve been given a cash bond amount or if the magistrate still needs to decide on how much your bail will be. For minor offenses, you will be booked and released on your own recognizance. When you have completed your jail sentence and know the date of your release, expect to get discharged anywhere between the hours of 9am and 12pm.

Palo Alto County Jail Visitation

In order to have visitors, inmates have to provide each visitor’s full name to the Palo Alto County Jail in advance of the visit. This information will be entered in the visitors log for the requesting inmate. All visitors will be required to provide acceptable photo identification. Visitors showing up late or that does not have a visting order will not be able to attend visitation.

Jail visitation policies frequently change, so make sure that you call the facility at (712) 852-3535 before go to the jail to visit an inmate.

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Visitation Rules

In order to visit someone at the Palo Alto County Jail you have to first be on this person’s visitation list.

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

No phones are allowed at Palo Alto County Jail, and you will be searched before visiting. Personal belongings are not allowed. Anyone parole, probation, or other corrections supervision must obtain the permission of both their individual supervising officer and the superintendent prior to a visit. This kind of visitation is not going to be approved.

If a visitor is under the age of 18 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 a visitor is younger than 18 years of age and is not a family member of 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 magazines to an inmate at the Palo Alto County Jail. Incoming and outgoing inmate mail at the Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto 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 inquiry online or you are able to call the jail. You have to have the person’s first and last name. Or, you can just go down to the jail and inquire at the information desk. You should be clear that if there is an arrest warrant out for you, they will take you into custody immediately.

Arrest Record Search

If you know the person’s name, as well as their arrest date, contact the Palo Alto County jail, either by phone, in person, or find out online. Records of arrests are a matter of public record and the information is accessible to anyone.

Court Records

Court Records are public, and are accessible by anyone. Court Records include a court case file that includes a docket and all documents and filings filed in your court case. You are able to access court records on the internet, or at Clerk of Court office in the jurisdiction where the case was filed.

Criminal Records

Every state keeps a record of a person’s criminal background. These state databases are connected and you can track criminal histories from other states. Go to courthouse and make an inquiry, or check online. It helps to know which county the crime occurred in, and if the crime was in a totally different state, you might have to pay for a more intensive search.

When you look up someone’s criminal record you can get a report detailing any arrests, charges, or convictions that may be on a person’s record for DWI or DUI, drug crimes, kidnapping, rape or other sexual assault, violent crimes including assault, battery and murder, or property crimes like theft or larceny.

Money & Commissary

The rules for sending money to someone in jail could change, so check the Palo Alto County Jail site before you send money to an inmate there.

How To Send Money to an Inmate at Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto County Jail uses changes frequently, so it is best to call them at (712) 852-3535 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 Palo Alto County Jail store. An inmate can buy a number of things here, like personal items, food, and things for writing. Remember 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 an assortment of different items that the inmate can purchase if they have money in their account. These products 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 Palo Alto County Jail are made through a jail approved pre-paid phone account or phone card . Calls made in jail are typically more costly than regular phone calls. Phone calls are restricted on how often you can use the phone, but inmates must keep in mind that you are just one of many people who want to talk to their loved ones. If you break the rules, an inmate’s phone privileges may be limited or forbidden.

The Palo Alto County Jail phone number is: (712) 852-3535

How To Save Money on Inmate Calls

Correctional facility phone service providers have a monopoly at every facility that they have a contract with, which means that they they control the prices. The profits off of all of the inmate phone calls 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 Palo Alto County Jail. The prices are posted and there are at least two types of prices based on where the inmate is calling. The following 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 learning how to lower your inmates phone charges can be more difficult. ArrestedResources.com is an expert in keeping up 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 inmate phone calls. There are some prisons or jails where we will not be able to save you any money, and therefore we will not offer you an inmate calling number. In these cases, the facility has set their calling prices in a way that nobody can save you money.

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

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