Pottawattamie County Jail

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The Pottawattamie County Jail is located at 1400 Big Lake Road in Council Bluffs, IA and is a medium security county jail operated by the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Department.

This guide tells you information about everything you might need to know about the Pottawattamie County Jail, like how to do a jail inmate search, the jail’s phone number and address, booking and intake procedures, court information and records, and everything else.

Top 10 Searches for Pottawattamie County Jail

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

Introduction

The goal of this guide is to give you information and tips you need to make going to jail easier. If you have a question, just ask it in the comment section below, and please leave any feedback or comments that would be beneficial to others would be welcome.

Pottawattamie County Jail Inmate Search

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Who’s In Jail

The Pottawattamie County Jail Inmate Search is an online list of individuals who are in jail, including current status, and times you can visit. You can also find information about anybody arrested and booked or discharged within the last 24 hours. Inmates are shown in alphabetical order by their last name. You’ll be able to locate the information faster if you’ve got your friend or family member’s full name, date of birth, or inmate ID Number.

Pottawattamie County Jail Policies and Procedures

Intake Procedures

The intake process at the Pottawattamie County Jail includes each of the following steps:

You will be placed in a holding cell. If the jail is really busy, it will take a while to get processed.

The first step is that you must answer some simple questions, like what is your full legal name, address, date of birth and a contact person, and also, you will also be asked about your psychological and medical history. Next, you will be issued an inmate ID number and you will get fingerprinted. Then, any personal property you have will get taken away from you and stored until you are discharged.

You will be allowed to make a phone call to contact a member of your family, friend, or loved one.

If you think you will get released quickly, you might be allowed to keep wearing your own clothes, if not you you will have to wear a jail uniform – the jumpsuit.

Discharge Procedures

When you finally post bail, you will get discharged from jail. The discharge process may take anywhere from 30 minutes to quite a few hours. So, the quicker bail is posted, the sooner you can get released from jail. Also, it might depend on if you have a cash bond amount or if a judge needs to figure out how much your bail will be. For minor charges, you will get booked and then released on your recognizance without having to pay bail. When you have served out your jail sentence and have a discharge date, plan to get released anywhere between the hours of 9am and 12pm.

Pottawattamie County Jail Visitation

In order to have visitors, inmates have to list each visitor’s full name to the Pottawattamie County Jail before anyone can visit them. Your visitor’s names will go in a log of visitors for the inmate. All visitors is required to provide a photo ID when visiting. Anyone arriving late or that is not an approved visitor will not be able to attend visitation.

Visitation procedures at Pottawattamie County Jail frequently change, so it would be wise to call the jail at (712) 890-2260 before you go to the jail to visit.

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Visitation Rules

Before you can visit someone at the Pottawattamie County Jail you have to be added to the inmate’s approved visitation list.

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

No cellphones are allowed at Pottawattamie County Jail, and you will be searched. Personal belongings are not allowed. Persons currently on must get the permission of both the superintendent and their individual supervising officer before they can visit. Usually is not normally approved.

If a visitor is under the age of 18 is related to the inmate, they will have to 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 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 Pottawattamie County Jail. Incoming and outgoing inmate mail at the Pottawattamie 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 Pottawattamie 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 Pottawattamie 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 an outstanding warrant, you are able to check the court records on the website or call the jail directly. You have to have their first and last name. Or, you can just go down to the jail and ask them. Bear in mind that if you do have an outstanding warrant, they will take you into custody immediately.

Arrest Record Search

If you have a first and last name, and the date of their arrest, contact the Pottawattamie County jail, either by phone, in person, or find out online. An arrest is public record and the information is available to anyone.

Court Records

Court Records are considered public records, so they are accessible to anyone who requests them. They include a court case file that includes a court docket and any of the filings and documents filed in your court case. You can access the court records on their website, or at Clerk of Court in the county where the case was filed.

Criminal Records

Each and every state maintains records of their state citizen’s criminal background. These state databases are connected and you can track criminal convictions from another state. Go to county courthouse and check in person, or check the website. It helps to know the county, and if it was in a totally different state, you may have to pay a fee for a more intensive search.

When you look up a person’s crminal records you are able to find out if someone has been arrested, charged, or convicted for crimes, which include, drug crimes like possession or trafficking, kidnapping, sexual offenses including rape, assault, violent crimes like assault or murder, or theft.

Money & Commissary

The rules for sending funds to inmates change frequently, so you should double check the Pottawattamie County Jail website before you send money to an inmate there.

How To Send Money to an Inmate at Pottawattamie 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 Pottawattamie County Jail uses changes frequently, so it is best to call them at (712) 890-2260 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 Pottawattamie County Jail store. Inmates can purchase several different things here, like toiletries, snacks and writing supplies. Keep in mind that you will most likely want to use the commissary daily, and any infractions will get that privilege taken away from you.

The Commissary will sell an assortment 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 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 Pottawattamie County Jail inmates are allowed to make are with a pre-paid phone card or account, or are collect calls . Phone calls made in jail are usually more costly than phone calls made at home. Phone calls are restricted on when and how often you can use the phone, but you should keep in mind that a long line can form at the phones, because everyone wants to use the phone, too. If you break the rules, phone privileges might get reduced or forbidden completely.

Phone Number: (712) 890-2260

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 how much it costs to make phone calls. The money these phone service providers make off of all 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 Pottawattamie County Jail. The prices are posted and there are at least two pricing tiers based on where the inmate is calling. The following 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 is 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 how much it costs you to call your inmate. In some cases, we won’t be able to save you any money, and in these cases we will not offer you an inmate calling number. In these cases, the facility has set their phone call rates in a way that nobody will be able to save you money.

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

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