Address:
441 Bauchet Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone:
213-974-4082
Men's Central Jail provides tablets for inmates to use for phone and visitation communication, as well as for sending and receiving electronic messaging.
The tablets are provided by GTL / Viapath.
The tablets are not connected directly to the internet, but instead to a server controlled by the Men's Central Jail. This allows all communication between inmates and their contacts to monitored during calls and visits, as well as delays while written communication is reviewed.
Please note that while the jail may provide the tablet for free, there will be a cost for ongoing use of it for entertainment and educational purposes.
Scroll down for a complete section outlining Frequently Asked Questions and Answers regarding renting tablets for Men's Central Jail Inmates.
Follow the instructions below to get a tablet for your inmate at Men's Central Jail
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 Men's Central Jail, such as:
Free services are already available for use on the device at Men's Central Jail.
Subscription services are funded separately by family and friends with deposits made into an inmate’s Debit Link account.
Men's Central Jail Inmates will then be able to purchase subscription services and premium content to enjoy.
What It Costs
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), but the following gives you a general idea.
Game Center:
30-Day Subscription: $4.99, with an additional $1.00 service infrastructure charge ($5.99)
Fourteen-Day Subscription: $2.99, with an additional $0.75 service infrastructure charge ($3.74)
Seven-Day Subscription: $1.99, with an additional $0.50 service infrastructure charge ($2.49)
Unlimited eBooks:
Thirty-Day Subscription: $1.99, with an additional $1.00 service infrastructure charge ($2.99)
Fourteen-Day Subscription: $0.99, with an additional $0.75 service infrastructure charge ($1.74)
Seven-Day Subscription: $0.49, with an additional $0.50 service infrastructure charge ($0.99)
Streaming Music:
Thirty-Day Subscription: $8.99, with an additional $16.00 service infrastructure charge ($24.99)
Fourteen-Day Subscription: $5.99, with an additional $9.00 service infrastructure charge ($14.99)
Seven-Day Subscription: $2.99, with an additional $5.00 service infrastructure charge ($7.99)
Newsfeed
Thirty-Day Subscription: $3.99, with an additional $6.00 service infrastructure charge ($9.99)
Fourteen-Day Subscription: $1.99, with an additional $5.00 service infrastructure charge ($6.99)
Seven-Day Subscription: $0.99, with an additional $3.00 service infrastructure charge ($3.99)
Same Day Subscription Services
Game Center: $0.99, with an additional $0.50 service infrastructure charge ($1.49)
Unlimited eBooks: $0.25, (Total = 0.25)
Newsfeed: $0.24, with an additional $0.75 service infrastructure charge ($0.99)
FM Radio: $0.24, with an additional $0.25 service infrastructure charge ($0.49)
All Subscription and message credit pricing is subject to state and local taxes.
Replacement Components - should your inmate break it...
Tablet: $249.99 per each
Charger: $8.99 per each
Earbuds: $2.99 per each
You can find information about the Men's Central Jail’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 213-974-4082 to confirm.
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.
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.
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.
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.
CIDNET
City Tele Coin
Gettingout
GTL
Homewav
IC Solutions
Inmate Sales
JailATM
J Pay
NCIC
Oasis
Paytel
Reliance
Securus
Smart Communications
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.
There are two ways to deposit money in an inmate's account in the Los Angeles County Jail system:
1. Mailing a Payment - $200 maximum
Mailing Address:
Inmate's Full Name & Booking Number
PO BOX 86164
Terminal Annex
Los Angeles, CA 90086-0164
2. Dropping off a payment - $200 maximum
When dropping off an inmate's money in person, the Men's Central Jail will only accept:
Locations to drop off inmate money:
Inmate Reception Center
450 Bauchet Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
or
Century Regional Detention Facility
11705 S. Alameda Street
Lynwood, CA 90262
For complete information and guidelines for sending an inmate money including: the maximum you can send, what form the payment has to be, the maximum an inmate can have in their account and more, check out our Inmate Money page.
Men's Central Jail Inmates are allowed mail in envelopes and on postcards. They are also allowed to receive photos.
They are also allowed to receive books, magazine and newspapers directly from trusted publishers and businesses.
Mailing Address:
Inmate's Full Name & Booking Number
PO BOX 86164
Terminal Annex
Los Angeles, CA 90086-0164
To learn all the rules, policies and guidelines, and they are extensive, for sending anything in the mail to an inmate at any of the Los Angeles County Jails, check out our Inmate Mail Page.
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.
Follow these instructions on how to open an account with GTL Connect Network (aka Viapath Technologies)
For full instructions on the Men's Central Jail 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.
As of January 2023, LA County Jails do not yet contract with a service that allows email or messaging services. For the time being the only communication with inmates by US Mail, By Phone or by Visiting them at the facility.
For more information on how jails across America are using third-party email services to allow communication between inmates and their loved ones, check out our Inmate Email page.
Follow these instructions to register, schedule and then visit an inmate using GTL.
Inmate Visitation times in Men's Central Jail vary based on many considerations.
After you select your inmate, you will be given the option of available time slots.
| DAY | TIME |
| SUNDAY | 8:00AM - 9:00PM |
| MONDAY | 8:00AM - 9:00PM |
| TUESDAY | 8:00AM - 9:00PM |
| WEDNESDAY | 8:00AM - 9:00PM |
| THURSDAY | 8:00AM - 9:00PM |
| FRIDAY | 8:00AM - 9:00PM |
| SATURDAY | 8:00AM - 9:00PM |
For all the information you need to know regarding scheduling, times, cost, rules, tips and guidelines of inmate visits at the Men's Central Jail, check out our Visit Inmate Page.
To send a commissary carepack (food, snacks and goods) directly to an inmate in Men's Central Jail follow these steps:
For all information, tips and available items for shipping Commissary packages to an inmate in Men's Central Jail check out our Commissary Instructions Page for Los Angeles County.
