Address:
651 "I" Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone:
916-874-6752
Things to know about emailing an inmate:
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 Sacramento County Main Jail 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The electronic messaging system used by Sacramento County Main Jail, 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 916-874-6752 to confirm.
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
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.
There is no limit to the amount of texting and email that an inmate can have with their family and friends.
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.
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.
To set up a phone account so that your inmate can call you from Sacramento County do the following:
1. Enroll in an account with Securus Technologies.
2. Choose one of three account types, Securus Debit, Advance Connect or Direct Bill.
3. Choose [facility_name_1}, then connect with your inmate.
4. If you have any questions, call Securus: 972-734-1111 or 800-844-6591.
To find out fees, how to's, calling times, limits on phone calls and other systems Securus has do that you can communicate with your Sacramento County inmate, check out our Inmate Phone Page.
NOTE: All of your inmate's phone calls are recorded and stored. It is advised not to discuss their pending case.
There are five ways to deposit money in an inmate's account in the Sacramento County Jail system:
To use any of these methods, you need:
- Main Jail Facility Location Number: 257501
- Inmate’s name
- Inmate’s X-reference number
1. Mailing a Payment
Sending an inmate a Money Order or Cashiers Check by mail... no government checks, personal checks, etc.
**Important Notes**
The money order must be payable to the Inmate's Name AND X-Reference Number. It must have this number!
The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department reserves the right to decline or return deposits that violate Department Policies.
Mailing Address:
Inmate’s Name, X-Reference number, Housing Location
Sacramento County Main Jail
651 "I" Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
2. Dropping off a payment - Depositing money in the Jail Lobby Kiosk
When dropping off an inmate's money in person, the Sacramento County Main Jail kiosk will only accept:
Location to drop off inmate money:
Sacramento Main Jail Lobby
651 I Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
3. Online Deposit Using Touchpay - Visa, Mastercard only.
4. Deposit over the phone using Touchpay by calling 866-232-1899 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
5. Depositing Money in a Touchpay Retail Machine (Machine Locator)
For inmates receiving mail in the Sacramento County Main Jail 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 Sacramento County Main Jail:
Inmate’s Name, X-Reference number, Housing Location
Sacramento County Main Jail
651 "I" Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
For complete information on mail policies, what you can send an inmate and what address to send them, check out our Inmate Mail page.
For more complete instructions on how to email, what to expect, how long it takes for your inmate to receive your email, and more... check out our Inmate Email page.
To deposit money into the account of an inmate in Sacramento County, follow these instructions:
For all the information you need regarding making an inmate deposit, what it costs, how much you can send, how long it takes for your inmate to receive funds and more, and to get the Facility Locator Number, check out our Send Money Page.
To send a commissary carepack (food, snacks and goods) directly to an inmate in Sacramento County Main Jail follow these steps:
For all information, tips and available items for shipping Commissary packages to an inmate in Sacramento County Main Jail, as well as sending money to the inmate so that they can purchase their own items, check out our Commissary Instructions Page for Sacramento County.
