Address:
4436 Calle Real
Santa Barbara, CA 93110
Phone:
805-681-4260
'gettingout' has an extensive website which explains all communication services.
- Phone Calls
- Video Visits (from home or jail lobby)
- Videograms
- Emailing & Photo Sharing
- Voicemail Messages
- Tablet Rental
- Bail
Phone & Voicemail Fees
1. GettingOut charges $0.25 per minute for all phone calls, prepaid or collect, within California.
2. Prepaid calls between California and other states costs $0.21 per minute. International calls are $0.95 per minute.
3. There is a fee of $3.00 every time you add money to your account online, and it costs $5.95 if you add funds over the phone with a live agent.
4. You can also leave an inmate a short voice message (aka voicemail) for a flat fee of $1.25.
Note: Rates are subject to change.
Types of Phone Calls
Collect Calls
Collect calls allow you to accept and pay for calls to your land line (only) phone account. This means that if you accept your call from your inmate, all the charges for that call will then be billed to your land line phone account and will show up and be listed on your next local phone bill. Additional fees, costs, restrictions may apply.
Prepaid calls (Direct Calls)
With Prepaid Calls you can set up your account so that the inmate can only call you and/or you can just deposit money in their account and they can purchase prepaid phone cards through their commissary and call whoever they choose, provided the Santa Barbara County Main Jail approves of the phone number.
Quick Connect
Quick connect is an alternative to collect calls. It allows you to quickly pay for a phone call with your credit card. When your inmate calls you, follow the instructions from the automated voice system to pay for that one phone call, directly billed to your card.
Customer Service
If you have any questions, you can call them at 866-516-0115.
Getting Out Contact Information
There are dozens of third-party for profit companies working with Santa Barbara County Main Jail and other jails in California to provide a way for inmates to phone friends and families at rates that are much less than what jails have been known to charge in the past.
The lower rates come at a cost to inmates though, as most of the profit from these calls pay for other benefits such as television and both indoor and outdoor recreational services from board games to sports and workout equipment.
To find out what phone service is being used for inmates housed in Santa Barbara County, call 805-681-4260, or if the phone service is not noted above, click on one of these companies below, each of which provide service for jails in the state of California:
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How does the Inmate Phone System Work?
PRE-PAYING
Using gettingout you have the option of either:
- pre-paying directly into your inmate's account, or
- pre-paying, where you control all phone costs.
Prepaid Option #1
If you deposit money online in the INMATE ACCOUNT, than they have the freedom to spend the money on phone calls to anyone, or any other communications services available at Santa Barbara County Main Jail.
Prepaid Option #2
With the FRIENDS & FAMILY ACCOUNT, you control all communication services such as phone calls, video visits and messaging. Your inmate can only call the phone number you want.
COLLECT CALLS
Collect calls allow you to accept and pay for calls to your land line phone account. This means that if you “accept” the collect call from your inmate, all the charges for that call will then be billed to your land line phone account and will show up and be listed on your next local phone bill. Expect additional fees from your carrier.
QUICK CONNECT
With Quick Connect, you leave a debit or credit card on file. Calls to you from your inmate will be billed immediately to your card. When the call comes, follow the instructions from the automated system to pay for that one phone call on the spot.
No, you cannot call an inmate in the Santa Barbara County Main Jail. You can however call 805-681-4260, or search online to see if your inmate is in custody.
When an offender is first arrested and is being booked into jail, they are allowed one or two free phone calls to notify friends or family of their situation. If they are unable to notify someone at that point, they can try again, this time it will be a collect call that you will have to pay for if your phone service allows you to receive collect calls, once they are classified, processed, dressed and brought to their unit.
However, if the phone they call is a cell phone, which normally do not allow the receipt of collect calls, or your phone service does not allow for collect calls, then you will not be able to receive any phone calls from them until you purchase phone credits from the Santa Barbara County Main Jail’s inmate calling system.
The information for this is located above, at the top of this page. If that information is missing, it is because the facility recently changed companies and you can get the details by calling 805-681-4260.
It is rare that a jail (or prison) will accept messages for an inmate. Of all the thousands of jails in the United States there are probably less than one hundred that have a message line.
There are two exceptions to this rule:
1. Santa Barbara County Main Jail will accept a message if there is a family emergency such as a death in the family. In a case like this the message will be conveyed by a jail chaplain or someone that is very high ranking in leadership. Inmates are already under a lot of stress and emotion, and the staff realizes this. It is for this reason they will be very careful how they pass the message along and being watchful afterwards.
2. Many of the inmate phone systems used by jails allow for messages to be left for a small fee, usually less than $1.00 for a minute. It is done in the form of a voicemail from you. To see if Santa Barbara County Main Jail offers that service call the phone company at the top of this page or call the jail at 805-681-4260.
Yes, an inmate in the Santa Barbara County Main Jail can call you using any of the following three ways:
1. The inmate can call you ‘collect’ if your phone service accepts collect calls.
2. The inmate can call you using a prepaid calling card that they can purchase from the jail’s inmate commissary.
3. The inmate can call you using credits or money that you or someone else purchases from the jail’s inmate phone service. This information can be found at the top of this page.
If you can’t find the jail’s phone service, it means that they may have recently changed it. Call the jail at 805-681-4260 to get the information you need.
Also, it is becoming standard that when an inmate is booked in jail, they must make a list of a limited number of people that they will allow to visit them and/or make phone calls to. If the Santa Barbara County Main Jail requires this, then you will have to be on their list to receive phone calls.
Yes. If a person is on the inmate’s approved phone contact list and the person accepts a collect call or the inmate has funds on their prepaid card or phone account, there are no restrictions based on whether the person and inmate are related or not.
The only exception to that is if you, as the person who funds their inmate phone account, puts restrictions on the account, so that the account can only be used to communicate with you and not other people. This allows you and not the Santa Barbara County Main Jail to control who the inmate can speak with.
When you receive a collect call from a jail, you will first hear a recording that the call is a collect call and coming from a jail and the person’s spoken name. You will then be asked to respond with a prompt or by voicing “yes” that you agree to accept the call. At that point you can either accept it or refuse it.
If you continue to get calls from the jail and don’t want to receive them anymore, you can contact your phone service and request that that number be blocked.
The cost of a collect call is the most expensive call that you can make (or take). In fact, the cost (per minute) for a collect call can exceed the cost of an international call.
Expect to pay about $1.00 to 1.50 per minute for a collect call. Compared to the cost of a call going through the inmate phone service that the jail contracts with, ‘collect calls’ can be five to ten times more expensive.
If you are having difficulties receiving collect calls from the Santa Barbara County Main Jail contact your own phone service. Keep in mind that your land line service provider is not the same as your sell service provider.
The federal government limits the cost of a phone call from a jail in the United States to $0.21 per minute. This is true whether the inmate is using a prepaid card or one of their friends or family members have contracted with a phone service that the jail recommends.
In general, most of these companies are honest and trustworthy. The complete list can be found by scrolling down this page further.
There are independent companies that you can find and purchase phone time from that have fees as low as $0.05 to $0.10 per minute. They usually accomplish this by selling you blocks of time that you may never use, or they have exorbitant fees in other areas. Be a smart consumer and study these offers carefully.
In general, inmates in the Santa Barbara County Main Jail can make phone calls between the time when breakfast ends until ‘lights out’ at the end of the evening.
They will not allow phone calls to be made during meals, head counts or during shift changes.
Inmates who are workers (trustees), are on work release or have other responsibilities are also limited to when they can make phone calls, as their schedules take priority over personal time.
In general, other than during the scheduled events noted above, you can communicate by phone between the hours of 7:30AM and 10:00PM.
There is no limit to how often an inmate can make phone calls. They are limited only by how much money you are willing to give them to add phone time.
When and if there are limits, the limits never apply to phone time with their lawyer or legal matters related to their criminal court case.
There are some jails and prisons that limit how much an inmate can spend on phone calls, specifically inmates in the United States Bureau of Prisons, which limits federal prisoners to a $300 spend every month.
The inmate telephone service for this facility can be found at the top of this page. If the information is missing that means that the facility recently changed carriers and has not updated the information. In that case, call the jail at 805-681-4260 to get the answers to your questions.
Each of these phone companies provide similar services, and each cannot charge more than $0.021 per minute for domestic calls, however it is a very competitive industry due to the size of the market in which their customers are literally ‘captive’ in every sense of the word.
Amtel Phones
CIDNET
City Tele Coin
Correct Solutions Group
Correct Pay
Ctel
Gettingout
GTL
Homewav
ICSolutions
Inmate Canteen
Inmate Sales
Lattice (nexus telephone)
NCIC
Paytel
Prodigy Solutions
Reliance
Securus
Smart Communications
Tiger
No. Inmates in the Santa Barbara County Main Jail cannot text from the phones, but more and more jails are bringing in a text service for inmates that can work from kiosks and tablets in their units. For more information, check out this jail’s email and text page.
Almost every jail gives inmates and their contacts to either purchase calling cards from commissary or buy phone credits and time online from a phone service. There remain a few jails that still only allow collect calls which is an unfair financial burden on inmates and their families.
To see if Santa Barbara County Main Jail allows the purchase of phone cards, check the information at the top of this page or call the jail at 805-681-4260.
There is no limit to how often an inmate can make phone calls. They are limited only by how much money you are willing to give them to add phone time.
There are some jails and prisons that limit how much an inmate can spend on phone calls, specifically inmates in the United States Bureau of Prisons, which limits federal prisoners to a $300 spend every month, however during the holiday months that number is increased to $400 per month.
Of the dozens of phone companies listed above that do business with the jails and prisons, there are only a few that have a way for you to use cash to purchase phone credits or phone time from them, usually in an ATM machine at check cashing outlets, and only a couple that have a way for you to fund an inmate phone account by mailing them a money order or cashier check.
If you don’t have a credit or debit card from a bank, you can always get a prepaid one at thousands of check cashing locations across the country.
Most jails also have a way for inmates to purchase prepaid phone cards from their commissary. These jails usually allow the inmate’s trust account to be funded with postal money orders, negating the need for having a credit or debit card altogether.
Call 805-681-4260 to see if your Santa Barbara County Main Jail’s commissary has prepaid phone cards.
A video call is no different than a video visit. It allows both the inmate and their approved contacts to see each other during the conversation. This is becoming the preferred method for inmates and their friends and family members to communicate, as visual contact communicates on a different level than just the voice.
Jails and prisons that have the option of video calls and video visits also most likely have handheld tablets for inmate use. This gives the inmate the ability to communicate from their cell or a remote corner of the unit, which adds a level of privacy that a kiosk on the wall does not offer.
To see if Santa Barbara County Main Jail offers video calls, go to the top of this page or the Visitation page for information. If you can’t find it there, it may be because this facility recently changed companies, so you can call them at 805-681-4260 for details on how to arrange video calls.
No, they cannot use their cell phone.
Inmates have their cell phones taken from them when they are initially booked into jail and will not get them back until they are released, provided the phone is/was not kept by the arresting agency as evidence in a criminal investigation.
Cell phones are considered contraband and a security risk to a jail or prison. All communication: Written, spoken or video, other than an inmate’s communication with their lawyer, are monitored by the facility.
If an inmate is caught with a cell phone that has somehow been smuggled into a jail, the inmate will be charged with a crime. It is considered more serious than being caught with drugs, as a cell phone can be used to intimidate potential witnesses, arrange an escape or run a criminal enterprise outside of the jail’s walls.
It is unlikely that you can get charged with a crime for communicating with an inmate using a cell phone while incarcerated in the Santa Barbara County Main Jail.
That said, if it is found that you knowingly were doing it, you could have your visitation or phone privileges suspended, or even permanently terminated by the jail.
If you were involved in the smuggling of the phone, that is a criminal offense, as it may be if you were adding ‘minutes’ onto a prepaid phone that you knew was smuggled into the jail and was being used for illegal purposes.
Can I Communicate by Email with an Inmate?
They are the same company that facilitate Secure Deposits and Securepaks, so if you are already registered with them, then you are already approved to send Secure Messages to your inmate.
After Registering/Logging In:
1. You choose Santa Barbara County Main Jail.
2. You Search for your inmate by typing in his last name. You can further narrow your search by adding his first name and/or Inmate ID.
3. You add a credit or debit card.
4. You buy a message plan (plans and prices vary), or buy credits. One credit costs $0.01.
5. You select the option for your inmate to be able use the credits which you purchase, to message back to you... Or not.
6. Santa Barbara County Main Jail charges a fee for each message sent or received.
Important Things to Know
- Access Corrections has an iphone app and an android app for using their services.
- ALL of your correspondence will be monitored by the jail.
- Do NOT write anything you wouldn’t want repeated in court.
- Rates vary and are always subject to change.
- Inmates can write you back ONLY if you select that option.
- You CAN send photos up to 32MB in file size. Subject to change.
- You CAN have unlimited credits on your account but are limited in the amount of each credit purchase.
- You may NOT type or send emoticons.
- You may NOT copy and paste text. Type directly.
- You may NOT type profanities, violence or characters not approved.
- Due to messages having to be reviewed first, allow up to five days for a message to be delivered.
- You may NOT transfer credits to another email.
Phone: 866-345-1884
Email: [email protected]
FAQ
Contact Page
iphone app
Android app
Important Tips About Jail Phone Calls
If you were unable to find the information you were looking for on this page, call GTL Connect Network at 877-650-4249 and ask their policies on getting phone calls from your inmate at Santa Barbara County Main Jail.
You can contact GTL online by using this online form to ask a question.
Because Santa Barbara County and California can change their bail bond procedures, it is always best to call either the Santa Barbara County Main Jail at 805-681-4260, or the court in the jurisdiction (i.e. Municipal Court, District Court, etc.) where the offender was charged, and do this right after an arrestee has been booked.
Ask the staff at the Santa Barbara County Main Jail or the Santa Barbara County Court Clerk these specific questions:
If you feel the bail is too high and you wish to get it reduced, contact a lawyer or the defendant's public defender and get them to look into what they can do to get a bail reduction. The sooner you get working on this the quicker you will get your loved one released.
This entire process will go smoother and faster with a criminal attorney or bail agent handling it for you.
To receive phone calls from inmates in Santa Barbara County, or to assist them in making phone calls to other people, follow these steps:
1. Start by confirming that Santa Barbara County Main Jail has the phone service you need to communicate with your inmate by the facility lookup here.
2. In the meantime, you can create an account here for GettingOut.
3. Then add funds to your account. This account can be controlled by just you, or by both you and your inmate.
4. Last, select Santa Barbara County Main Jail, and then the inmate you wish to communicate with.
Santa Barbara County Services that are provided by GettingOut, a GTL company:
- Phone Calls & Voicemail
- Video Visits (from home or jail lobby)
- Email & Photo Sharing
- Tablet Rental
- Deposits
Phone & Voicemail Fees
1. GettingOut charges $0.25 per minute for all phone calls, prepaid or collect, within California.
2. Prepaid calls between California and other states costs $0.21 per minute. International calls are $0.95 per minute.
3. There is a fee of $3.00 every time you add money to your account online, and it costs $5.95 if you add funds over the phone with a live agent.
4. You can also leave an inmate a short voice message for a flat fee of $1.25.
Note: Rates are subject to change.
Types of Phone Calls
Collect Calls
Collect calls allow you to accept and pay for calls to your land line (only) phone account. This means that if you accept your call from your inmate, all the charges for that call will then be billed to your land line phone account and will show up and be listed on your next local phone bill. Additional fees, costs, restrictions may apply.
Prepaid calls (Direct Calls)
With Prepaid Calls you can set up your account so that the inmate can only call you and/or you can just deposit money in their account and they can purchase prepaid phone cards through their commissary and call whoever they choose, provided the Santa Barbara County Main Jail approves of the phone number.
Quick Connect
Quick connect is an alternative to collect calls. It allows you to quickly pay for a phone call with your credit card. When your inmate calls you, follow the instructions from the automated voice system to pay for that one phone call, directly billed to your card.
Customer Service
If you have any questions about the Santa Barbara County Main Jail GettingOut phone services, you can call them at 866-516-0115.
* All the information you need to understand making and receiving phone calls with inmates in Santa Barbara County, can be found on our Inmate Phone Page.
For inmates receiving mail in the Santa Barbara 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 Santa Barbara County Main Jail:
Inmate's Full Name & CID Number
Santa Barbara County Jail
4436 Calle Real
Santa Barbara, CA 93110
For complete information on mail policies, what you can send an inmate and what address to send them, check out our Inmate Mail page.
To send a commissary carepack (food, snacks and goods) directly to an inmate in Santa Barbara County Main Jail follow these steps:
For all information, tips and available items for shipping Commissary packages to an inmate in Santa Barbara County Main Jail check out our Commissary Instructions Page for Santa Barbara County.
To send commissary money to an inmate in Santa Barbara County Main Jail follow these steps:
For all information on how to Send Money to an inmate's account check out our full money and commissary guide for Santa Barbara County Main Jail.
To send a secure email message to an inmate in Santa Barbara County Main Jail follow these steps:
For all information on how to Text/Email an Inmate in Santa Barbara County Main Jail check out our Secure Messaging Guide for Santa Barbara County.
