Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention Inmate Tablet Rental

Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention

Address:
5325 Broder Blvd.
Dublin, CA 94568

Phone:

925-551-6500

How Does an Inmate Rent a Tablet at Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention

Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention either allows, or may soon be allowing inmates access to tablets to use for the services provided by GTL (aka Viapath Technologies)

Follow the instructions below to get a tablet for your inmate at Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention

The devices are similar to common handheld tablets, but are made exclusively by GTL and Viapath.
Tablets offer specialized content and services for inmates to use during their stay at Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention, such as:

  • Music
  • Books
  • Games
  • Education
  • News
  • Radio
  • Television
  • Read mail and messages
  • Video visits

Free services are already available for use on the device at Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention.
Subscription services are funded separately by family and friends with deposits made into an inmate’s Debit Link account.
Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention Inmates will then be able to purchase subscription services and premium content to enjoy.

What It Costs
Tablet devices include some services and the content is free.
The subscription services require additional funding.
There may be multiple options such as 7-day or 30-day subscriptions.
Costs are dependent upon the available services and what the Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention charges.

To estimate costs for tablets and other services such as phone calls, sign in to your account and click “Rate & Fees Calculator” in the footer (bottom of the page).

Does Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention have tablets for the inmates to use?

You can find information about the Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention’s tablet program at the top of this page. If there is no information about it, it is because they either have recently changed companies or are not yet providing this service for inmates. Call 925-551-6500 to confirm.

What can the inmates use the tablets for?

Inmates in jails and prisons are using tablets for all the communication services available such as video visitation, video phone calls, regular phone calls, and electronic messaging – which is like texting and email.

Tablets are also used for entertainment, such as watching movies, television shows, listening to music and reading e-books. It is also used for education, self-help information, and legal research.

Are the jail’s tablets connected to the internet?

No, they are not connected to the internet. All the messages, visits and programming goes through a system controlled by the company that provides the tablets, and through the jail. They control what each inmate sees. All messages are carefully screened and not delivered if the sender or the inmate violates jail policy.

How much do the tablets cost to use?

For accessing visits and messages, the tablets are free to us. Each unit has many of them, all provided by the company that has contracted with the jail. Of course, the video visits and messages have a fee and those are paid for by the inmate’s family and friends who use the service.

If inmates are supposedly being punished, why do they get access to tablets?

That’s the question a lot of people ask and don’t fully understand.

The way the jail staff looks at it, is that if they can keep the inmates busy and distracted, it makes it safer for them. 

Tablets also give them a certain power over controller an inmate’s behavior. For example, if an inmate knows that they will lose the privilege of having access to a tablet if they get into a fight or violate another rule or policy, they will be better behaved. 

Tablets are one of the few things that make an inmate feel as though they are free, and they don’t want to lose the privilege of having access to one.

What companies have tablets for jail and inmate use?

CIDNET
City Tele Coin
Gettingout
GTL
Homewav
IC Solutions
Inmate Sales
JailATM
J Pay
NCIC
Oasis
Paytel
Reliance
Securus
Smart Communications

What if an inmate breaks a tablet, do they have to pay for it?

Yes, if an inmate breaks a tablet, then they are responsible for paying for it. The money will come out of their commissary funds, so not only do they lose access to having a tablet as punishment, but they also won’t be able to purchase snacks on commissary.
 

Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention Inmate Mail Guidelines

Postcards
The Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention allows inmates to receive pre-metered postcards like the type purchased from the post office. They may also allow certain photo postcards as long as they have not been tampered with or contain images that may be considered to be obscene or violent in nature.

Envelopes
The Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention also allows envelopes to be mailed to inmates.

Postcards and envelopes MUST be mailed to the following address:
Inmate's Full Name & Inmate PFN#
Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention
5325 Broder Blvd.
Dublin, CA 94568



Legal Mail

Send all legal Mail to this Address:
Inmate's Full Name & Inmate PFN#
Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention
5325 Broder Blvd.
Dublin, CA 94568



Newspapers
Local or national newspapers may also be mailed to the inmate as long as they are mailed directly from the newspaper publisher.

Magazines
News, special interest or sports magazines may also be mailed to an inmate as long as they are shipped directly from the publisher. Any magazines that contain profanity, weapons, pornography or other content that is adult in nature will be confiscated by the jail staff and will NOT be delivered to the inmate.

Books
The Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention allows books to be mailed directly to the jail from a reputable source such as AmazonBarnes & Noble or Books-A-Million. You can order them directly from your computer and have them shipped to the inmate at the address below.
Books must NOT contain images or content that are considered excessively violent, pornographic or obscene. Any book that does not meet the Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention standards will be disposed of. No more than three books may be shipped at any one time.
Hard cover books will not be accepted by the jail due to their potential to be used as a weapon.


All newspapers, magazines and books are to be shipped to:
Inmate's Full Name & Inmate PFN#
Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention
5325 Broder Blvd.
Dublin, CA 94568


 

How to Arrange Video Visitation with Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention Inmates

Follow these instructions to schedule and then visit an inmate using GTL.

  • Register yourself and all visitors.
  • Select Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention
  • Select your inmate.
  • Schedule your preferred time for the visit.

For all the information you need to know regarding scheduling, cost, rules, tips and guidelines of inmate visits at the Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention, check out our Visit Inmate Page.


 

How to use a Tablet to Access Services at Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention

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

1.  First, Register or Sign In to GTL / Viapath Services.

2.  In the top menu, click on 'Services', then on 'Inmate Devices & Content'.
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 to Send Money to an Inmate in Alameda County

To send commissary money to an inmate in Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention follow these steps:

  • Register with Access Corrections by creating an account.
  • Select California, then select Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention, and then the inmate you want to send money to.
  • Choose the amount of money you want to send, and input your payment method.

For all information on how to Send Money to an inmate's account check out our full money and commissary guide for Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention.


 

There are five choices for putting money on an inmate's books that may be used for paying an inmate's Bond or Bail.

Check with Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention by calling 925-551-6500 prior to paying a bond online as this is being rolled out to different facilities slowly.

1. Commissary money in the form of a money order may be mailed to:
AdvancePay Service Department
P.O. Box 911722
Denver, CO 80291-1722

2. You may use cash or credit/debit cards at any time by using the kiosk located in the front lobby.  The fee for the use of the ATM is generally $1.50 per transaction for cash and 10% fee for credit/debit cards.

3. Commissary money can also be added to an inmates account at any time using any of these methods online.

4Cash deposits to ConnectNetwork are now available at 26,000 retail locations nationwide including Walmart, ACE, Kmart, Kroger, and more. You’ll start the payment process online in your ConnectNetwork account, then complete your transaction with cash at a participating local retail store. Plus, many of these stores are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Find a retail store near you.

5. You can call customer service 24/7 at 877-650-4249 and get instructions for depositing money over the phone using a debit or credit card.


 

How to Deposit Money in an Inmate's Trust Account in Order to Purchase Prepaid Calling Cards, Phone Calling Time or Commissary

To Deposit Money in an inmate's account follow these steps:

  • Create a ConnectNetwork account 
  • Select your inmate, and add to them to your account,
  • Deposit money into his or her commissary account.

**NOTE** GTL is in a transition merging into a new company called ViaPath Technologies.


Features:

  • Deposit options available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via phone 877-650-4249, and online.
  • Mobile-friendly deposit options are available via their app.
  • Deposits and payments made through automated channels (ConnectNetwork Website, Mobile App, Toll Free Phone, or Kiosk at the jail) are transmitted to the facility within one business day.
  • Deposits that are mailed are processed the next business day after they are received by GTL.
  • Inmate can choose how to spend the funds you deposit.

All the information you need to understand depositing money into an inmate's trust fund, specifically for phone calls, but also for Commissary, in Alameda County, can be found on our Send Money Page.


 

How Do You Communicate with an Inmate in the Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention by Phone

Follow these instructions on how to open an account with GTL Connect Network (aka Viapath Technologies)

  • Advance Pay - This phone account allows you to prepay so that your inmate can call you (and only you) whenever he/she wants and the cost of each call is deducted from your balance. You can even be notified by text when your balance gets low. You still have the option of accepting or rejecting each call.
  • Pin Debit  -  This option allows you to fund an inmate's commissary account and lets him pay for phone calls to you and others with the money. You will have no control over who your inmate calls.
  • Voicemail  -  You can leave a secure voicemail without having to contact the facility. When you call the local phone number for a facility offering Inmate Voicemail (call Customer Service at 877-650-4249 to get the local voicemail number for Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention, you will be informed of the cost for leaving a message. To leave your message, simply select the inmate by ID number. Then, record your voicemail.

For full instructions on the Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention Inmate Phone System, what the costs are, how it works, and tips and guidelines on rules, regulations and saving money on calls, check out our Inmate Phones Page.


 

How to Send a Carepack Commissary Package Directly to an Inmate in Alameda County

To send a commissary carepack (food, snacks and goods) directly to an inmate in Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention follow these steps:

  • Select California, then select Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention, and then select the 'Send a Package Order' option.
  • Register and create an account with Access Securepak, for Alameda County.
  • Choose the inmate and the products you want shipped to them, and input your payment method. 
  • NOTE: There may be a limit on how much product you can send your inmate in Alameda County at any one time.

For all information, tips and available items for shipping Commissary packages to an inmate in Santa Rita Jail - Alameda County Detention check out our Commissary Instructions Page for Alameda County.


 

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