An inmate in the Winnebago County Jail can call you using one or more of the following three methods, however during booking the facility allows each offender at least one free call to a friend, family member or bond company.
1. If your phone service - usually your land line - accepts collect calls, then they can call you collect. Note: Mobile phones don't usually accept collect calls.
2. The Winnebago County Jail's commissary will sell your inmate a pre-paid calling card from Reliance Telephone that they can use to phone you or others.
3. The inmate can call you using credits or money that you or someone else purchases from Reliance Telephone. Call 866-700-4545 for help setting up your account, or by email at cs@reliancetelephone.com.
When your inmate is booked into Winnebago County Jail, they provide a list of a limited number of people that they will allow to visit them and make phone calls to. These must be approved by the facility first.
Further information, including cost, daily phone call limits and times of the day and evening when calls can be made, including a complete list of Frequently Asked Questions and Answers, is below.
Address:
935 Hwy 69 N
Forest City, IA 50436
Phone:
641-585-3632
Phone Options:
1. Phone Cards: These are sold in $10, $20, $50, and $100 denominations, can be purchased online by friends and family of inmates. Phone cards can be transferred and used at any jail in the Reliance Telephone network. Additionally, remaining balances from phone cards can be transferred easily to a Reliance Inmate Wallet (texting) account. Costs range from $0.21 - 0.50 per minute.
2. Collect Calls: Prepaying for collect calls is a way for friends and family to receive calls from inmates by funding specific telephone numbers. These calls can be sent directly to a cell phone and/or landline. Costs range from $0.21 - 0.25 per minute.
There are dozens of third-party for profit companies working with Winnebago County Jail and other jails in Iowa 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 Winnebago County, call 641-585-3632, 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 Iowa:
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Collect Calls
Direct Calls
Can I call an inmate in the Winnebago County Jail?
Can I leave a message for an inmate in the Winnebago County Jail?
Can an inmate in the Winnebago County Jail call me?
Can an inmate in the Winnebago County Jail call their friends?
How do I accept collect calls from an inmate in the Winnebago County Jail?
How much am I charged for accepting a collect call from the Winnebago County Jail?
Who should I contact if I’m having difficulty receiving collect calls from the jail or prison?
How much does it cost for an inmate in the Winnebago County Jail to call me?
What times are inmates in the Winnebago County Jail allowed to make phone calls?
How often can inmates in the Winnebago County Jail make phone calls?
What is the inmate telephone service for the Winnebago County Jail?
What are the phone companies that facilitate phone calls with jails and prisons?
Can an inmate text me from the phones in the Winnebago County Jail?
Can an inmate in the Winnebago County Jail buy calling cards?
What is the most that an inmate in the Winnebago County Jail can spend on phone calls?
Do I need a credit card to purchase phone credits for an inmate in the Winnebago County Jail?
What is the difference between a phone call and a video call?
Can inmates in the Winnebago County Jail use their cell phone?
Is it illegal for an inmate to use a cell phone in the Winnebago County Jail?
No, you cannot call an inmate in the Winnebago County Jail. You can however call 641-585-3632, 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 Winnebago County Jail’s inmate calling system.
The inmate phone 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 updated details by calling 641-585-3632.
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. Jails in the state of Minnesota are the one exception.
There are two other exceptions to this rule:
1. The Winnebago County 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 the Winnebago County Jail offers that service call the phone company at the top of this page or call the jail at 641-585-3632.
Yes, an inmate in the Winnebago County 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 this jail’s phone service - outlined above - it means that they may have recently changed it. Call the jail at 641-585-3632 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 Winnebago County Jail requires this, then you will have to be on their list to receive phone calls from your inmate.
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 Winnebago County Jail to control who the inmate can speak with.
When you receive a collect call from the 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 often 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 Winnebago County Jail contact your own personal phone service. Keep in mind that your land line service provider is not the same as your cell phone service provider.
The federal government limits the cost of a phone call from any 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 the 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 Winnebago County 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, lockdowns 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 scheduled events, 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 Federal Bureau of Prisons, which limits federal prisoners to a $300 'phone 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 641-585-3632 to get the answers to your questions.
Each of these phone companies provide similar services, and each cannot charge more than $0.21 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 Winnebago County 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 the 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 their 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 the Winnebago County Jail allows the purchase of phone cards, check the information at the top of this page or call the jail at 641-585-3632.
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 641-585-3632 to see if the Winnebago County Jail’s commissary has prepaid phone cards or check out the commissary page.
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 Winnebago County Jail offers video calls, go to 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 the jail at 641-585-3632 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 Winnebago County 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. It may also be a crime if you were adding ‘minutes’ onto a prepaid phone that you knew was smuggled into the jail and was being used for illegal purposes.
Winnebago County Jail uses the services of Reliance Telephone for emailing/texting to inmates.
Known as the 'Reliance Inmate Wallet', it makes funding jail communication easy. Payments made into an 'Inmate Wallet' account are linked to a dedicated telephone number for inmates who rent one of their Reliance Tablet Phones. Inmate Wallet funds can be used for personal inmate text messaging, voice calls and video calls. Cost of texting is $4.00 per month for rental of the Reliance Tablet Phone + $0.09 per message sent or received up to 160 characters.
If you still need more information, call Winnebago County Jail at 641-585-3632 to ask about their inmate phone policies.
Many facilities are placing time limits on inmate phone use, so be cautious not to use up all the available minutes early in the month.
Phone calls are limited to certain hours of the day, so creating a regular schedule that works for both you and your inmate is key.
If your inmate misses a scheduled call, don’t panic—it could be due to long lines for the phones or a facility lockdown. During lockdowns caused by security concerns, phone access may be temporarily suspended.
Phone conversations are one of the few ways for inmates to stay connected, so use your time to offer support. Avoid conflict that could lead to both parties feeling worse.
Remember, all calls are recorded, and anything said could be used against your inmate in court. Refrain from discussing their legal case.
Some phone companies are also collecting voice prints for law enforcement databases.
For additional details, visit the official jail website.If you were unable to locate the information you needed here, reach out to Winnebago County Jail at 641-585-3632 to ask about their phone call policies for inmates.
Many jails are now limiting the amount of phone time available to inmates each day and month, so it’s important to spread out your calls and not use all your time early on.
Phone access is restricted to certain hours in most jails, so it’s best to set up a regular calling time that works for both you and your inmate.
If your inmate doesn’t call at the scheduled time, try not to worry. It could be due to long wait times for the phones or a lockdown in the jail. Lockdowns are usually related to security issues and prevent phone usage temporarily.
Phone calls are a vital connection for inmates to hear your voice, so use your time thoughtfully. Avoid unnecessary arguments that might leave both of you feeling worse.
Remember that all phone calls are recorded, and anything you discuss could be used against your inmate in court. Avoid talking about their legal case.
Be aware that some phone service providers are collecting voice prints for law enforcement databases.
For more information, visit the official jail website.
