Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer Remote Inmate Video Visits

Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer

Address:
1822 2nd Avenue North
Bessemer, AL 35020

Phone:

205-481-4160

Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer - Remote Video Visitation with your Inmate

Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer uses GettingOut for their Remote Video Visitation and/or Visit Scheduling. 



There are three ways to remotely visit your inmate:

1.  Using the GettingOut/GTL Kiosk at the jail.
2. Using your computer from home.
3. Using your phone on the GettingOut or GTL apps.

How it Works with GettingOut
1.  Register an account.
2. Select Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer
3. Choose either an INMATE ACCOUNT or FRIENDS & FAMILY ACCOUNT.   

  • **NOTE** Friends and Family must have funds in their "Friends & Family Account" to respond to inmate messages. 
  • If you deposit money online in the INMATE ACCOUNT, than they have the freedom to spend the money on visits or phone calls to anyone, or any other communications services available at Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer.
  • With the FRIENDS & FAMILY ACCOUNT, you control all communication services such as phone calls, video visits and messaging. Your inmate can only call the phone number you want.

4. You will then receive prompts to validate both your identity and phone number .
5. Again, choose your inmate's facility, then type their name and select your inmate.

GettingOut will then guide you through the steps needed to arrange your remote visit.

Customer Service for GettingOut
If you have any questions, you can call them at 866-516-0115.
GettingOut online contact form
Frequently Asked Questions
The GettingOut App is available on Google Play and Apple Store.

Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer REMOTE (at home) VIDEO VISITATION SCHEDULE

  • All visits must be scheduled at least 24 hours in advance.
  • Visitation Schedule subject to change.
DAY TIME
SUNDAY 9:00 AM - 8:30PM
MONDAY 9:00 AM - 8:30PM
TUESDAY 9:00 AM - 8:30PM
WEDNESDAY 9:00 AM - 8:30PM
THURSDAY 9:00 AM - 8:30PM
FRIDAY 9:00 AM - 8:30PM
SATURDAY 9:00 AM - 8:30PM

 

What is a video visit?

Video visitation, also known as remote visitation, is quickly becoming the preferred method for visiting an inmate in jail or prison for the following reasons:

•    It requires little to no staff, versus the staff required to move inmates to and from the visit and watch over the visit. It saves the Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer money.
•    It removes any opportunity for contraband (drugs) to enter the facility.
•    It can become a profit center for the facility, given that the revenue generated by visits is shared with the jail.
•    While inmates prefer to see family and friends in person, video visitation allows them to visit with them more often, and on a whim.
•    Video visitation gives the inmates and their visitors the feeling of more privacy.

Video visitation from the perspective of the visitor allows them to visit from their home, their car, at work, and even allows them to take their device to a family or religious gathering. It allows them to give their inmate the feeling of belonging and not being forgotten.

Video visitation can take place on a computer, a tablet or a phone. 

Video visitation saves time. Instead of spending hours driving to the jail, checking in, filling out paperwork, potentially being searched, waiting, and then having a 15–30-minute visit, if it isn’t cancelled at the last minute, the visit can be done from anywhere during a short break in the visitor’s day.

If the visitor does not have access to a phone or computer, they can make an appointment ahead of time and use terminals in the lobby of the jail.

You must also be on the inmate's approved list, even for a video visit.

What are the companies that work with the jails and prisons that allow video visits?

There are several different companies that contract with all the jails and prisons that allow video visitation:

These are the companies in alphabetical order:

CIDNET
City Tele Coin
Correct Solutions Group
Correct Pay
Ctel
Gettingout
GTL
Homewav
IC Solutions
Inmate Canteen
Inmate Sales
iwebvisits
JailATM
Jpay
Gettingintouch (netvisit)
NCIC
Prodigy Sales
Reliance
Securus
Smart Communications
Tiger Services
Visitel
In addition, some jails use Microsoft Meeting and Zoom.

Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer Inmate Mail Policies and Address - What Can You Send, and Where?

For inmates receiving mail in the Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer there are different addresses and policies depending on the inmate's status, as well as what type of mail they are receiving; personal mail, legal mail, subscriptions or books sent from a third-party such as Amazon.

All mail is to be shipped to the Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer:
Inmate's Full Name & Subject Number
Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer
1822 2nd Avenue North
Bessemer, AL 35020


For complete information on mail policies, what you can send an inmate and what address to send them, check out our Inmate Mail page.


 

How Inmates Can Use a Tablet to Access Services at Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer

To find out how to get access to a tablet for inmate read the following:

1.  First, Register or Sign In to GettingOut/GTL

2.  Purchase the services you want for your Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer inmate.
3. All inmates have free access to the tablets to read their letters from family & friends, but there are many other services available to keep your inmate busy while incarcerated... such as Games, Books, Music and Movies. These other services come with fees that you can pay for when you pay for phone service.

To learn more about Tablet Rentals for inmates, including the cost, all the services available and everything else you need to know, check out our Tablet Rental Page.


 

How Do I put Money on an Inmate's Commissary Account in the Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer to Purchase Phone Cards?

There are FOUR options for putting money on an inmate's books:

Option 1 - Dropping Money at the Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer
Bring money to the jail in person. 
Either the jail personnel will process the Inmate Account payment or you will use the NCIC self-serve kiosk in the lobbies that accepts cash, debit or credit cards.

Option 2 - Deposit Inmate Money Online
Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer uses NCIC to process all online deposits to an inmate's account. NCIC charges you a small fee for doing so, but the fee probably isn't as much as gas and parking would cost to take it to the jail in person.



Option 3 - Mail the Inmate Deposit to the Jail
Mailing a deposit takes more time to process than the other methods but can be done if you live too far away to bring it in person and you don't have a debit/credit card for online deposits. Never send cash. Always send a Money Order from the US Post Office, a reputable bank or Western Union.
Make the Money Order out to the inmate's name and put their Inmate ID# in memo section of the Money Order.  Mail it to the Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer address on this page, or to the address below if it is different than the facility address.
Inmate's Full Name & Subject Number
Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer
1822 2nd Avenue North
Bessemer, AL 35020

Option 4 - Make an Inmate Deposit over the Phone by calling 800-943-2189

For more information about sending an inmate money for phone cards or other commissary sundries, check out our Inmate Money Page.


 

How to Communicate with an Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer Inmate by Mail and by Email

To mail or email an inmate in Jefferson County follow these steps:

When mailing a letter or postcard to an inmate, please follow these instructions:

  • All mail sent to an inmate at the Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer must include the sender's name and mailing address in the top left corner of the envelope or postcard.
  • All mail must include the facility's address, as well as the inmate's name and assigned number.
  • Failure to include your return address will most likely result in your mail NOT being delivered and your letter destroyed.
  • The Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer has a zero-tolerance policy regarding mail violations. 
  • All the information you need to understand mail and email policies can be found on our Inmate Mail Page and our Text/Email an Inmate Page.

Emailing Messages & Photos

Facility_name_1} contracts with GTL GettingOut, the same service that handles iInmate Phone Systems and Video Visitation, for sending secure messages and photos between you and your inmate.
 
If you are not already registered, do so here, or Log in.

Then use the Facility Finder to:
1.  Select Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer,
2. Add your inmate to your list of contacts,
3. Add a credit or debit card to cover your costs.

  • Messages can be up to 500 characters long, including punctuation. At the bottom of your message there is a 'character countdown' feature.  
  • After you click the “CONTINUE” button, you can review the cost to send your message to your inmate. You can also attach credits for your inmate to reply to your message.  Be sure to accept the Terms and Conditions and click the “SEND” button for your message to be successfully delivered to your inmate.
  • You can also send your Jefferson County inmate photos and videos.

Customer Service Questions
'Online' Contact Form, or
Call   866-516-0115

Go here to this FAQ to get answers to how the transition to ViaPath from GTL and gettingout will affect your account.

All the information you need to understand mail and email policies for Jefferson County can be found on our Inmate Mail Page and our Text/Email an Inmate Page.


 

How Do You Visit an Inmate in Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer?

To visit an inmate in Jefferson County, whether by video or in person 'at the jail', follow these steps:

Other than 'at the jail' visits between you and your inmate, which is explained and outlined in detail on our Visit Inmate Page, Jefferson County remote video inmate visitation can be done using the services of GettingOut

There are three ways to remotely visit your inmate in Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer:
1.  Using the GettingOut Kiosk at the jail.
2. Using your computer from home.
3. Using your phone on the GettingOut apps.

To remotely visit an inmate in Jefferson County follow these steps:
1.  Start by confirming that Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer's Video Visitation is working correctly by looking up Jefferson County here.

2.  The next step is to create an account here for GettingOut.
3. Then add funds to your account.
4. Last, select Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer, and then the inmate you wish to communicate with.

Other Jefferson County Services provided by GettingOut:
 - Phone Calls & Voicemail 
 - Email, Photo & Video Sharing
-  Inmate Tablet Rental
-  Deposits

Customer Service
If you have any questions about the Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer Visitation Services you can call them at 866-516-0115.
Frequently Asked Questions

* All the information you need to have complete knowledge about inmate visitation; policies, rules, fees, schedules, tips, dress codes, and children, lawyers and clergy visitation in Jefferson County, can be found on our Visit Inmate Page.

Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer Phone: 205-481-4160


 

How Does an Inmate Make Phone Calls in Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer?

To receive phone calls from an inmate in Jefferson County follow these instructions:

Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer uses the services of NCIC for inmate phone calling. It is called a ‘friends & family account”.

In order to receive phone calls from your inmate, you need to do the following:

  • Register here, or by phone 800-943-2189
  • Choose Alabama.
  • Choose Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer
  • Select your Inmate.
  • Enter the phone number your Inmate will be calling.
  • Fund your Account. ($10-$100 at a time)

NOTE:
1.   You cannot receive any calls to your phone number from your inmate until both you and your phone number are registered.
2.  When you do receive a call, the number you will view on your phone from the incoming call is: 800-943-2189.
3.  When allowed by Jefferson County Jail – Bessemer, families can also leave secure voicemails for inmates to listen to.

Fees

  • Adding funds to your account - $3.00 
  • Cost of phone call of a Prepaid Collect Account - $0.21 per minute
  • Cost of an interstate (ex. Alabama to a different state) phone call NOT Prepaid - $0.25 per minute
  • Cost of an intrastate (ex. Alabama to Alabama) phone call NOT Prepaid - $0.25 per minute
  • Cost if you set up your account (or fund it) by phone using a live agent, you will be charged a one-time fee of $5.95.

NCIC Customer Service
Phone - 800-943-2189 or 903-247-0069
Email – [email protected]
Full list of participating jails.

For all the information regarding phone calls with Jefferson County inmates; rules, policies, phone calling times, fees, limits and more visit our Inmate Phone Page.


 

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