St Joseph County Jail

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The St Joseph County Jail is located at 401 West Sample Street in South Bend, IN and is a medium security county jail operated by the St Joseph County Sheriff’s Department.

This page tells you information about anything a person needs to know about the St Joseph 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 more.

Top 10 Searches for St Joseph County Jail

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

Introduction

This guide is designed to give you all the info that you need to make getting locked up a lot easier. If you have a question, just ask it in the comment section below, and any comments or tips that could be a benefit to others will be appreciated.

St Joseph County Jail Inmate Search

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Who’s In Jail

The St Joseph County Jail Inmate Lookup is a roster of people who were arrested and are now in jail, including status, and visiting hours. Also, you can find the same information on anybody booked or discharged in the last 24 hours. Jail inmates are listed in alphabetical order by last name. You will be able to get their arrest information fast if you have their full name, date of birth, or arrest number.

St Joseph County Jail Policies and Procedures

Intake Procedures

The intake procedure at the St Joseph County Jail includes each of the following steps:

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

You will answer a bunch of questions, such as what is your full legal name, street address, birth date and an emergency contact, and they’ll also ask you about your medical and mental history. Next, you will be issued an inmate ID and you will be fingerprinted. Then, all of your personal property will get taken away from you and stored until you get released from jail.

You will get to use the phone in order 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 keep wearing street clothes, but if you are not expected to make bail quickly you you will have to change into a jail jumpsuit.

Discharge Procedures

Once you are able to post bail, you will be discharged from jail. The discharge process may take anywhere from 15 minutes to hours or even all day long. In simple terms, the faster you post bail, the faster you will get let go. How quickly you get discharged depends on if you have a cash bond amount or if a judge needs to figure out the amount of bail to be set. For a minor offense, you will simply be booked and get released without having to post bail. When you have completed your jail sentence and have a discharge date, you should expect to be discharged in the morning.

St Joseph County Jail Visitation

In order to have visitors, inmates need to provide each visitor’s full name to the St Joseph County Jail before you can visit. Your visitor’s information will be entered in a Visiting log as an approved visitor. Each visitor will have to provide proof of identification. Any visitors arriving late or without a visiting order will not be allowed to attend visitation.

The St Joseph County Jail visitation procedures are always changing, so you should call the facility at (574) 245-6500 before you go.

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Visitation Rules

In order to visit someone at the St Joseph County Jail you have to have your name on their approved visitation list.

Be sure to take your valid driver’s license or government issued ID with you to visitation because you will not be allowed to enter without it.

No phones at St Joseph 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 the superintendent and their individual supervising officer before visiting. Usually is not going to be approved.

If the visitor is under the age of 18 and is a family member of 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 younger than 18 years of age 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 about sending letters, photos, postcards, greeting cards and magazines to an inmate at the St Joseph County Jail. Incoming and outgoing inmate mail at the St Joseph 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 St Joseph 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 St Joseph 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 the arrest warrants inquiry online or call the jail directly. This requires a first and last name. You can also go to the local jail and inquire at the information desk. Bear in mind that if you do have an outstanding warrant, you should be prepared to get taken into custody immediately.

Arrest Record Search

If you have a first and last name, and possibly an arrest date, contact the jail, on the phone, in person, or check online. Records of arrests are in the public record and the information is accessible to anyone.

Court Records

Court Records are public records and available to anyone. Court Records include a court case file containing a docket and any documents filed in your court case. You can access your court records via the internet service ‘Public Access to Court Electronic Records’, or at the St Joseph County Clerk of Court where the case was filed.

Criminal Records

Every state maintains records of someone’s criminal history. These state databases are connected so you can track criminal backgrounds from any other state. You can go to county courthouse and check in person, or check the website. It helps to know which county the crime occurred in, and if it was in a completely different state, you may have to pay a fee for a more complete search.

A criminal history search you are able to 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, kidnapping, sex offenses which could include rape, and sexual assault, violent crimes, or property crimes like theft or larceny.

Money & Commissary

The procedure to send money to inmates change frequently, so it would be best to double check the St Joseph County Jail website when you send any funds.

How To Send Money to an Inmate at St Joseph 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 St Joseph County Jail uses changes frequently, so it is best to call them at (574) 245-6500 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 St Joseph County Jail store. Inmates can buy several different things here, like personal items, food, and things for writing. Remember that you will probably want to buy things from the commissary every day, and any infractions will cause you to lose commissary privileges.

The Commissary will sell an assortment of different products that inmates can buy if they have enough money in their commissary account. These items 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

Phone calls that inmates are allowed to make from the St Joseph County Jail are with a pre-paid phone card or account, or are collect calls . These phone calls are a lot pricier than regular phone calls. There are certain restrictions about when and 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 under any sort of disciplinary procedure, an inmate’s ability to use the phone could be reduced or eliminated completely.

Phone Number: (574) 245-6500

How To Save Money on Inmate Calls

Correctional facility phone service providers have exclusive contracts at every facility that they operate the phone services for, 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 St Joseph 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 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 figuring out 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 circumstances where we won’t be able to save you money on your inmate calls, and therefore we will not offer you an inmate calling number. In these cases, the facility has set their calling prices so high that nobody can save you money.

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

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