Address:
401 W. Sample Street
South Bend, IN 46601
Phone:
574-245-6501
Because of concerns for the safety and wellness of both staff and inmates at the St. Joseph County Jail in South Bend, Indiana, contact visits of any type may be suspended.
Approved Non-contact visits with family, friends and the inmate’s lawyers may still be allowed when at-home or onsite video visitation is not available, however given that new guidelines are changing daily please check the visitation page or call 574-245-6501 for updates.
At-home and onsite video visitation guidelines for St. Joseph County Jail, when this service is available, can be found by going to the visitation information page.
We highly recommend that you call 574-245-6501 first for any changes due to staff shortages or other unforeseen circumstances, including whether your inmate has become ill and is unable to be in the general population where video kiosks are available.
Experts in the study of the COVID-19 are anticipating that spread of the virus will be a ongoing concern for St. Joseph County, the state of Indiana and the entire United States until well into 2022 and maybe even beyond. We are witnessing the virus becoming more contagious, but less deadly over time. Many people think that the 'more contagious, but less deadly' Omicron variant will infect so many people that a higher level of natural immunity for the majority of Americans will be the end result.
Whether the inmates are safe from contracting the coronavirus depends entirely on two things:
At this stage most people who get the coronavirus show very few symptoms beyond what you might experience with a bad cold or a mild case of the common flu. In fact, the Omicron variant is turning out to be less deadly than the common flu we experience every year.
Studies that have been done are showing that the hardest hit are those 60 years of age and older, those with pre-existing medical issues like diabetes, leukemia or obese individuals. Young men and women rarely become very ill, and when they do, seem to recover quickly.
St. Joseph County Jail is encouraging inmates to practice ‘social distancing’, which means staying as far apart as possible. In addition, our staff is advising inmates to avoid shaking hands, washing their hands often, not touching their face, nose, mouth or eyes, and refraining from touching ‘common areas’ throughout the facility.
Given the close proximity of inmates and staff to each other in this lockup, it is going to be very difficult to prevent the spread of coronavirus once it is introduced into the facility as the virus can spread via the microscopic vapor that we release every time we speak, cough or sneeze.
We will continuously update this page as the spread of this virus accelerates and changes to policies occur.
Follow these instructions on how to open an account with GTL Connect Network (aka Viapath Technologies)
For full instructions on the St. Joseph County 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.
To send a commissary carepack (food, snacks and goods) directly to an inmate in St. Joseph County Jail follow these steps:
For all information, tips and available items for shipping Commissary packages to an inmate in St. Joseph County Jail check out our Commissary Instructions Page for St. Joseph County.
