Orange County Jail Intake Release Center Emailing An Inmate

Orange County Jail Intake Release Center

Address:
550 N. Flower Street
Santa Ana, CA 92703

Phone:

714-647-6085

Can inmates send and receive texts and emails?

Almost all jails and prisons have adopted a messaging system which allows inmates to communicate with their friends and family using an electronic messaging system. It’s neither email nor text, it’s something in between.

The inmate and their contacts do not use their regular email accounts or phone numbers, but account numbers that are set up with the company providing the service.
All communication goes through them. Think of them as a middleman.

Once a contact of the inmate is approved, like the approval process a visitor goes through, an account is set up, using a credit or debit card to fund the account. 

To start, the inmate’s contact can send a message that has a limit of so many characters, usually about one page of text. 

The message is then reviewed by a computer that scans the message for certain keywords or phrases that are not allowed, almost like a censoring service. If the machine scanner finds problems with the message it sends the message to the Orange County Jail Intake Release Center staff to review, and if they find no issues, will then forward it to the inmate’s account so that they can read it.

If there are problems with the message, it is possible the message will not be sent. The sender will be notified of the decision and will not get a refund.

Once the inmate receives the message, should the account holder have funded the account allowing replies, the inmate can respond with a similar length message.

How much does it cost for an inmate to use a text or email service?

The cost to use the electronic messaging service, which is like texting or emailing, costs between $0.50 and $1.00 per page; a page being about 500 characters.

Can inmates send and receive photos through their messaging system?

Photos can be sent by the inmate’s contact that is not incarcerated, but not by the inmate due to security concerns. There is an extra cost, usually about $0.50 for each photo attached. 

The photos must go through a security screening where nudity, violence and other things are checked before the photo can be delivered. If the photo is rejected, the sender will be notified, but no refund will be given.

The inmate does not have the ability to print out the photos that make it past the screening, but the photos will stay in their account so that they can view them at their leisure. 

Can I send an inmate a link to a video to watch?

No.  Because this is a closed system, the inmate has no access to the internet, thus the inmate will have no access to any links that you send them.

Can I send the inmate a video?

Yes, just as you can send text and photos, you can send a video message, or if not a message, then a video of your children or yourself. Every company has a limit on the length of the video, usually no more than one minute, and at a cost of approximately $2.00 to $3.00 per video.

The video will first be screened for any nudity, excessive vulgarity, violence, etc. If it is rejected on any of the grounds the sender will not be given a refund.

As with the policy of photos, the inmate cannot reciprocate. They cannot send videos of themselves or anything in jail.

What device does an inmate use for texting and emailing?

The jails that contract with the electronic messaging service is given a certain number of kiosks within each unit for inmate use. Inmates can log on as they might with a public computer terminal. 

In addition to the public terminal kiosks, inmates are given (or can rent) access to individual tablets like a bulky, almost indestructible ipad. These allow an inmate to use them to access your messages, photos and videos in a more private manner. 

Should the inmate damage the tablet, they will be responsible for replacing it. The money will be deducted from their commissary account.

What is the inmate text and email system in Orange County Jail Intake Release Center?

The electronic messaging system used by Orange County Jail Intake Release Center, if there is one, can be found at the top of this page. If there is no information about the ability to text or email with an inmate, it is possible that the facility has recently changed companies or does not have this service available. Call 714-647-6085 to confirm.

What are the companies that provide inmate electronic messaging services?

This is a list of all the companies in the United States that work with jails and prisons, providing text and email messaging between inmates and their friends and families:

Access Corrections
CIDNET
City Tele Coin
Correct Pay
Corrlinks
Ctel
Edevo
Express Account
Gettingout
GTL
Homewav
IC Solutions
Inmate Canteen
Inmate Sales
JailATM
J Pay
NCIC
Paytel
Pigeonly
Prodigy Sales
Reliance
Securus
Smart Communications
TBE
Visitel

How do I fund the inmate’s messaging system?

You fund the messaging service with credit and debit cards. All of them take Visa and MasterCard, most also take Discover, and just some take America Express.

How often can an inmate text and email?

There is no limit to the amount of texting and email that an inmate can have with their family and friends.

Can inmates’ text any time of the day or night?

If an inmate has their own tablet, then they can text any time of the day or night, however if the must use the wall mounted kiosk terminal in their unit, they are limited to using it only during the hours they are allowed off their bunks; usually 7:00AM to 10:00PM, excluding meals, head counts and shift changes.

Can inmates email other inmates in other jails or prisons?

No, inmates are not allowed to communicate with each other, nor with inmates in other institutions. There is always a way to get around it, for example if one of the inmates has access to a phone with an internet connection, but this would be the only way.

Orange County Jail Intake Release Center INMATE VISITATION SCHEDULE 
550 N. Flower Street
Santa Ana, CA 92703

  • Look up which facility your inmate is in. Retrieve their booking number.
  • Call 714-647-6085, or more specifically the Visitation Scheduling line to schedule an appointment Monday-Friday between 8:00AM and 5:00PM.
  • Visits are 30 minutes.
  • Visiting days are Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
  • Visiting is limited to two (2) visits for each inmate each week.
DAY TIME
FRIDAY 8:00AM - 5:00PM
SATURDAY 8:00AM - 5:00PM
SUNDAY 8:00AM - 5:00PM
MONDAY 8:00AM - 5:00PM

To find out court dates, court locations or an inmate's bail amount, call 714-935-6940.

To find out all the information; exact inmate visitation scheduling, policies, rules & guidelines, including how many people can come each visit, of the Orange County Jail Intake Release Center, check out our Inmate Visitation page.


 

How to Deposit Money in an Inmate's Commissary Account at Orange County Jail Intake Release Center

Inmates are allowed to have an account at the facility in order to purchase commissary items such as snacks, hygeine products, phone cards and stationary. These are the instructions on how to deposit money with them, pick up money they had with them when they were arrested, and how much money they need.


For complete information on inmate money and commissary issues, specifically where to drop or send deposits, what form the deposits must be in, maximum amounts the inmate can have, and more, check out our Inmate Money page.


 

Orange County Jail Intake Release Center Inmate Mail Guidelines

Postcards
The Orange County Jail Intake Release Center 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 Orange County Jail Intake Release Center also allows envelopes to be mailed to inmates.

Postcards and envelopes MUST be mailed to the following address:
Inmate name and booking number (required information)
Orange County Sheriff's Department
550 N. Flower St.
Santa Ana, CA 92703



Legal Mail

Send all legal Mail to this Address:
Inmate name and booking number (required information)
Orange County Sheriff's Department
550 N. Flower St.
Santa Ana, CA 92703



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 Orange County Jail Intake Release Center 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 Orange County Jail Intake Release Center 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 name and booking number (required information)
Orange County Sheriff's Department
550 N. Flower St.
Santa Ana, CA 92703


 

How Do You Communicate with an Inmate in the Orange County Jail Intake Release Center 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 Orange County Jail Intake Release Center, 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 Orange County Jail Intake Release Center 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.


 

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