Berrien County Jail Inmate Tablet Rental
Rent a Tablet for an Inmate in the Berrien County Jail
Renting a Tablet for Berrien County Jail Inmates
Berrien County Jail provides tablets for inmates to use for phone and visitation communication, as well as for sending and receiving electronic messaging.
The tablets are provided by GTL / Viapath.
The tablets are not connected directly to the internet, but instead to a server controlled by the Berrien County Jail. This allows all communication between inmates and their contacts to monitored during calls and visits, as well as delays while written communication is reviewed.
Please note that while the jail may provide the tablet for free, there will be a cost for ongoing use of it for entertainment and educational purposes.
Scroll down for a complete section outlining Frequently Asked Questions and Answers regarding renting tablets for Berrien County Jail Inmates.
Berrien County Jail
Address:
919 Port Street
St. Joseph, MI 49085
Phone:
269-983-7141
How Does an Inmate Rent a Tablet at Berrien County Jail
Berrien County Jail either allows, or may soon be allowing inmates access to tablets to use for the services provided by GTL (aka Viapath Technologies)
Follow the instructions below to get a tablet for your inmate at Berrien County Jail
The devices are similar to common handheld tablets, but are made exclusively by GTL and Viapath.
Tablets offer specialized content and services for inmates to use during their stay at Berrien County Jail, such as:
- Music
- Books
- Games
- Education
- News
- Radio
- Television
- Read mail and messages
- Video visits
Free services are already available for use on the device at Berrien County Jail.
Subscription services are funded separately by family and friends with deposits made into an inmate’s Debit Link account.
Berrien County Jail Inmates will then be able to purchase subscription services and premium content to enjoy.
What It Costs
To estimate costs for tablets and other services such as phone calls, sign in to your account and click “Rate & Fees Calculator” in the footer (bottom of the page), but the following gives you a general idea.
Game Center:
30-Day Subscription: $4.99, with an additional $1.00 service infrastructure charge ($5.99)
Fourteen-Day Subscription: $2.99, with an additional $0.75 service infrastructure charge ($3.74)
Seven-Day Subscription: $1.99, with an additional $0.50 service infrastructure charge ($2.49)
Unlimited eBooks:
Thirty-Day Subscription: $1.99, with an additional $1.00 service infrastructure charge ($2.99)
Fourteen-Day Subscription: $0.99, with an additional $0.75 service infrastructure charge ($1.74)
Seven-Day Subscription: $0.49, with an additional $0.50 service infrastructure charge ($0.99)
Streaming Music:
Thirty-Day Subscription: $8.99, with an additional $16.00 service infrastructure charge ($24.99)
Fourteen-Day Subscription: $5.99, with an additional $9.00 service infrastructure charge ($14.99)
Seven-Day Subscription: $2.99, with an additional $5.00 service infrastructure charge ($7.99)
Newsfeed
Thirty-Day Subscription: $3.99, with an additional $6.00 service infrastructure charge ($9.99)
Fourteen-Day Subscription: $1.99, with an additional $5.00 service infrastructure charge ($6.99)
Seven-Day Subscription: $0.99, with an additional $3.00 service infrastructure charge ($3.99)
Same Day Subscription Services
Game Center: $0.99, with an additional $0.50 service infrastructure charge ($1.49)
Unlimited eBooks: $0.25, (Total = 0.25)
Newsfeed: $0.24, with an additional $0.75 service infrastructure charge ($0.99)
FM Radio: $0.24, with an additional $0.25 service infrastructure charge ($0.49)
All Subscription and message credit pricing is subject to state and local taxes.
Replacement Components - should your inmate break it...
Tablet: $249.99 per each
Charger: $8.99 per each
Earbuds: $2.99 per each
Frequently Asked Questions about Jail Tablets for Inmates
Does the Berrien County Jail have tablets for the inmates to use?
What can the inmates use the tablets for?
Are the jail’s tablets connected to the internet?
How much do the tablets cost to use?
Why do the inmates have access to tablets if they are being punished?
What are the companies that provide tablets for the Berrien County Jail inmates and other jails?
Do inmates have to pay for tablets that they break?
Does the Berrien County Jail have tablets for the inmates to use?
You can find information about the Berrien County Jail’s GTL tablet program at the top of this page. If there is no information about it, it is because they either have recently changed companies or are not yet providing this service for inmates. Call 269-983-7141 to confirm.
What can the inmates use the tablets for?
Inmates in jails and prisons are using GTL tablets for all the communication services available such as video visitation, video phone calls, regular phone calls, and electronic messaging – which is like texting and email.
Tablets are also used for entertainment, such as watching movies, television shows, listening to music and reading e-books. It is also used for education, self-help information, and legal research.
Are the jail’s tablets connected to the internet?
No, they are not connected to the internet. All the messages, visits and programming goes through a system controlled by the company that provides the GTL tablets, and through the jail. They control what each inmate sees. All messages are carefully screened and not delivered if the sender or the inmate violates jail policy.
How much do the tablets cost to use?
For accessing visits and messages, the GTL tablets are generally free to use. Each unit has many of them, all provided by the company that has contracted with the jail. Of course, the video visits and messages have a fee and those are paid for by the inmate’s family and friends who use the service.
Why do the inmates have access to tablets if they are being punished?
That’s the question a lot of people ask and don’t fully understand.
The way the jail staff looks at it, is that if they can keep the inmates busy and distracted, it makes it safer for them.
GTL Tablets also give them a certain power over controller an inmate’s behavior. For example, if an inmate knows that they will lose the privilege of having access to a tablet if they get into a fight or violate another rule or policy, they will be better behaved.
Tablets are one of the few things that make an inmate feel as though they are free, and they don’t want to lose the privilege of having access to one.
What are the companies that provide tablets for the Berrien County Jail inmates and other jails?
CIDNET
City Tele Coin
Gettingout
GTL
Homewav
IC Solutions
Inmate Sales
JailATM
J Pay
NCIC
Oasis
Paytel
Reliance
Securus
Smart Communications
Do inmates have to pay for tablets that they break?
Yes, if an inmate breaks a GTL tablet, then they are responsible for paying for it. The money will come out of their commissary funds, so not only do they lose access to having a tablet as punishment, but they also won’t be able to purchase snacks on commissary.