Watauga County Detention Center

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The Watauga County Detention Center is located at 184 Hodges Gap Road in Boone, NC and is a medium security county jail operated by the Watauga County Sheriff’s Department.

This page will tell you info about anything a person needs to know about the Watauga County Detention Center, such as how to locate an inmate, the jail’s address and phone number, booking and intake procedures, court information and records, and lots more.

Top 10 Searches for Watauga County Detention Center

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

Introduction

The goal of this guide is to give you info that you’ll need to make the process less stressfull. If you have specific questions, just ask it, and also any comments or tips that might help others will be much appreciated.

Watauga County Detention Center Inmate Search

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Who’s In Jail

The Watauga County Detention Center Inmate Lookup has information about individuals who have been arrested, including current status, and times you can visit. Also, you are able to get information about anybody booked or discharged within the last 24 hours. Prisoners are listed alphabetically by their last name. You can locate their arrest information quicker if you have their name, birth date, or inmate ID Number.

Watauga County Detention Center Policies and Procedures

Intake Procedures

The jail intake procedure at the Watauga County Detention Center takes you through these steps:

You will be placed in a waiting area or cell. If there are a lot of arrests, it will take a while to get processed.

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

You will get to use the telephone in order to call a family member, friend, or loved-on.

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

Discharge Procedures

When you finally post bail, you will be discharged from jail. The discharge process will take anywhere between 10 minutes to quite a few hours. In simple terms, the faster bail is posted, the quicker you will get discharged from jail. Also, how fast you get released can depend on whether you’ve got a bond amount or if a magistrate must determine how much to set your bail at. For minor offenses, you will be booked and get released without having to post bail. If you have served a sentence in jail and have a date of your release, you should expect to be released in the morning.

Watauga County Detention Center Visitation

Inmates need to list the name and date of birth of each visitor to the Watauga County Detention Center in advance of any visit. Your visitor’s names will be entered in a Visiting log for the inmate. Every visitor will have to provide acceptable photo identification. Visitors showing up late or that is not an approved visitor will not be able to attend visitation.

The Watauga County Detention Center visitation procedures change often, so call the jail at (828) 264-3761 before you go to the jail to visit.

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Visitation Rules

To visit an inmate at the Watauga County Detention Center you have to first be on the inmate’s visitation list.

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

No phones at Watauga County Detention Center, and you will be searched. Personal belongings are not allowed. Persons currently on must obtain the permission of both their individual supervising officer and the superintendent prior to a visit. This kind of visitation is not normally approved.

If the visitor is younger than 18 years of age 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 the visitor is under the age of 18 and is not related to the inmate, this 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 Watauga County Detention Center. Incoming and outgoing inmate mail at the Watauga County Detention Center 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 Watauga County Detention Center. 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 Watauga County Detention Center 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 can access arrest warrants on the Watauga County court website or you can call the jail directly. You have to have their first and last name. Or, you can just go down to the jail and ask one of the officers. You should know that if you do have an outstanding warrant, they will take you into custody immediately.

Arrest Record Search

If you know the person’s name, and possibly an arrest date, contact the Watauga County jail, by phone, go there in person, or you can check online. An arrest is public record and this is accessible to anyone.

Court Records

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

Criminal Records

Each and every state maintains a record of their state citizen’s criminal history. These state databases are all linked so you are able to track criminal convictions from other states. You can go to the Watauga County Courthouse and make an inquiry, or check the website. You must know which county the crime occured in, and in the event that it was in a totally different state, you may have to pay a fee for a more complete search.

A criminal history search you can find out if someone has been arrested, charged, or convicted for DWI or DUI, drug Possession, kidnapping, sex offenses which could include rape, and sexual assault, violent crimes, or property crimes like theft or larceny.

Money & Commissary

The rules for sending money to Watauga County Detention Center inmates change frequently, so we suggest that you review the Watauga County Detention Center website before you send funds to an inmate.

How To Send Money to an Inmate at Watauga County Detention Center

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 Watauga County Detention Center uses changes frequently, so it is best to call them at (828) 264-3761 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 Watauga County Detention Center store. Inmates can buy several different things here, like toiletries, snacks and writing supplies. Remember that you will most likely need to use 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 products that the inmate can buy if they have money in their commissary 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

Phone calls that inmates are allowed to make from the Watauga County Detention Center are with a pre-paid phone card or account, or are collect calls . Phone calls made in jail are typically pricier than phone calls made outside of jail. There are certain restrictions about when you can make phone calls, how long you can talk, and how often you can make calls, but inmates 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 jail rules, phone privileges might get cut back or eliminated altogether.

The Watauga County Detention Center phone number is: (828) 264-3761

How To Save Money on Inmate Calls

Correctional facility phone service companies have exclusive contracts at each facility that they are the exclusive phone provider for, which means that they get to set the prices. The profits 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 Watauga County Detention Center. 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 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 calling rate and in most cases is able to offer you an inmate calling number that will save you significantly on how much it costs you to call your inmate. There are some circumstances where 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 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 Watauga County Detention Center, click the link below.

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