Orange County Jail Intake Release Center Inmate Commissary

Orange County Jail Intake Release Center

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

Phone:

714-647-6085

Orange County Jail Intake Release Center Inmate Commissary

Orange County Jail Intake Release Center provides an in-house commissary service for inmates to use money in their account to purchase snacks, hygeine products, phone cards and stationary supplies.

  • Commissary purchases are allowed as often as three times per week.
  • There is a limit of $500 per month that any inmate can spend on these products.
  • Instructions on how to deposit money is listed below. 



How to Deposit Commissary Money for an Inmate in the Orange County Jail Intake Release Center

Depositing Money in an Inmate's Commissary Account at Orange County Jail Intake Release Center

  • Whatever cash the inmate has on their person when booked into the facility will automatically deposited and credited to their account.
  • When released any money left in the account will be returned to them in the form of a check from the Sheriff's Department or the Orange County Jail Intake Release Center Trust Account.
  • There may be circumstances where the inmate can give permission to have his money released to a family member or friend.

NOTE: $500.00 is the maximum amount inmates may have on their account at any time

Option 1 - Dropping Money at the Jail
You can drop money for all inmates in all of the jails to the Intake Release Center.

Address:
Intake Release Center
550 North Flower Street
Santa Ana, CA 92703

  • Either the jail personnel will process the Inmate Account payment or you will use a self-serve kiosk in the lobbies that accepts cash, debit or credit cards.
  • The Intake Release Center accepts deposits 24 hours a day for all inmates in every jail in the Orange County Jail System.
  • Deposits can also be accepted for all inmates, daily, at the Theo Lacey Facility from 8:00AM to 5:00PM.
    Theo Lacey Facility address:
    501 City Drive South
    Orange, Ca. 92868


Option 2 - 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.
  • Never send cash. Always send a Money Order, US Government Check (made payable to the inmate) or Cashier's Check from the US Post Office, a reputable bank or Western Union.
  • Money orders must be made payable to the “County of Orange – Sheriff’s Department.”  The inmate’s name and booking number must be shown on a memo line or a separate line of the money order.

Mail to:
Orange County Sheriff's Department
Jail Cashier
550 North Flower Street
Santa Ana, CA 92703

If you have any questions, call: 714-647-6085

Failure to do this properly will delay your inmate getting his account credited and may require you to have to resubmit a second money order.

What is an Inmate Commissary?

Commissary, also known as Canteen, is the ‘store’ within a jail or prison where inmates can purchase items that they want or need to make their stay in jail or prison less of a burden.

Snacks and comfort foods, branded hygiene products they are used to, sneakers and t-shirts, prayer blankets, radios, headphones, television sets, tablets, stationary products and art supplies; depending on the facility, there are thousands of products to choose from.

Some jail and prison systems run their own commissary store, others contract out to companies that serve dozens or hundreds of jails, where inmates and/or their friends and families can purchase products through a website from home, or a kiosk or tablet within their facility.

What items can inmates purchase in jail and prison?

Food
•    Cookies
•    Pastries
•    Candy
•    Tuna and mackerel
•    Coffee and Tea
•    Soft drinks
•    Energy drinks
•    Pizza
•    Hamburgers
•    Chicken fingers
•    Spices

Hygiene
•    Shampoo
•    Soap
•    Shaving supplies
•    Lotions
•    Deodorant
•    Oral care
•    Toilet paper
•    Nail care

Clothing
•    Sweats
•    Sneakers
•    Shorts
•    Underwear and bras
•    Socks
•    Jackets
•    Hats

Electronics
•    Televisions
•    Radios
•    Headphones
•    Tablets
•    Watches

Miscellaneous
•    Playing cards
•    Games
•    Bibles
•    Books
•    Art supplies
•    Stationery supplies
•    Vaping products (only some states)
•    Greeting cards

How much money can an inmate spend on commissary each month?

Generally, the maximum spend in jail is about $300 per month. Prisons allow a bit more as it is more of a permanent home, whereby jail is temporary. To find out how much an inmate in the Orange County Jail Intake Release Center can spend each month, call 714-647-6085.

How often can inmates purchase commissary?

Some jails it's twice a week, others once a week or every other week. A lot of the online stores care pack companies are once a month. To find out the exact schedule for Orange County Jail Intake Release Center, call 714-647-6085.

How can a friend or family member deposit money for an inmate in jail or prison?

Orange County Jail Intake Release Center has its own methods for receiving money for inmates, and that information can be found above or by calling 714-647-6085 and asking, however all jails and prisons all receive money for an inmate’s trust and commissary account, as well as an account used for communications, pretty much the same way.

1.    Mailing an inmate a money order or cashier’s check from a trusted source such as the Post Office, a local bank, or Western Union. The Money order should be be made out to either the inmate or the facility, with the inmate’s name and ID# on the memo line of the check.  

When mailing a money order or cashier’s check, send it an envelope by itself.  Never send it with a letter or photos for your inmate.

Never send personal checks or cash either.

2.    Deposit cash or use a debit or credit card to send an inmate money using an ATM machine that is usually located in the lobby or visitation area of the facility.

3.    Some jails have a reception desk or booth that is open during certain hours that they will list on their website. They will accept cash, money orders or cashier checks. Other facilities that don’t have a human manning the desk will have mail drop where you can leave a money order or check. No cash can be left in these boxes.

4.    There are multiple companies that jails and prisons contract with which accept inmate deposits online, by mail or over the phone, or even in ATM machines you can find in check cashing stores and retail outlets across the country. 

If one of these companies (listed in the next question) works with Orange County Jail Intake Release Center, this information will be outlined above.

Who are the companies that jails use to send money to inmates?

There are many companies competing for the accounts of jail and prison inmates. Their intention is to alleviate the staffing and financial responsibility of handling inmate’s accounts. They usually charge a fee equal to 3-5% of the total deposit.

The companies, in alphabetical order, are:

Access Corrections
AllPaid (aka GovPayNet)
Care A Cell
Cash Bond Online
CIDNET
City Tele Coin
CommissaryDeposit.com
Correct Solutions Group
Correctpay
Ctel
Edevo
Express Account
gettingout
GTL
Inmate Canteen
InmateSales
JailATM
Jail Pack Store (McDaniel Supply)
Jailpayments.com
Jpay
NCIC
JailCanteen (Oasis)
Paytel
Pigeonly
Prodigy Sales
Reliance
Securus
Smart Communications
Tennessee Business Enterprise
Tiger
Touchpay

How do I send an inmate money by mail?

To send an inmate money by mail you first have to have the money converted to a money order, preferably from the US Post Office, or a Cashier’s Check. Never send cash, and never send a personal check.
To find the address for sending money to an inmate, call the jail at 714-647-6085.

Can I send an inmate money online?

Almost every facility contracts with a company that helps friends and families of inmates send them money. The list can be found above.
To find out who Orange County Jail Intake Release Center contracts with for inmate deposits, call them at 714-647-6085.

How expensive are items on commissary?

Items on commissary are no more expensive than they would be at a local Walmart store.

What is a Commissary deposit?

A commissary deposit is the money that a person on the outside deposits in an inmate’s trust account, so they can have money to spend on commissary and communication services.

How much money can inmate have in his commissary account?

The limit that an inmate can have in their commissary account is usually about $300.00. To find out what the limit is for Orange County Jail Intake Release Center, call 714-647-6085.

Can I send an inmate a package or care pack??

Many jails contract with companies that send food, hygiene products and/or clothing to inmates. These can be purchased and sent by friends and family on a weekly or monthly basis.

You can only send items from the one that your jail has a contract with. 

An inmate carepack is a pack of snacks and/or hygiene products that friends or family members of an inmate can purchase online and have shipped to an inmate. The carepack company needs to have a contract with the facility before it can be shipped to the inmate.

Check this page, the Money Page or the Commissary Page for further information, or call the jail at 714-647-6085 to see which one that the Orange County Jail Intake Release Center works with.

Here are the commissary package companies, in alphabetical order, that provide this service to jails in the United States:

Access Securepak
Care A Cell
Commissary order
Correct Pay
Express Account
icare
Inmate Canteen
Jail ATM
Jail Pack Store (McDaniel Supply)
My Care Pack
Oasis (jailcanteen)
Prodigy Solutions
Tiger
Union Supply Direct

Can an inmate buy gifts on commissary?

Not really. Other than the basic supplies mentioned above there are no gifts other than greeting cards that they can fill out and mail to a friend, family or loved one.

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.


 

Photos of this facility
1 / 4
Orange County Jail Intake Release Center located in Santa Ana CA (California) 1
2 / 4
Orange County Jail Intake Release Center located in Santa Ana CA (California) 2
3 / 4
Orange County Jail Intake Release Center located in Santa Ana CA (California) 3
4 / 4
Orange County Jail Intake Release Center located in Santa Ana CA (California) 4