Oakland County Jail Remote Inmate Video Visits

Oakland County Jail

Address:
1201 North Telegraph
Pontiac, MI 48341

Phone:

248-858-1800

Remote Video Visitation with an Inmate

Oakland County Jail uses Smart Communications for Remote Video Visitation between inmates and their loved ones.

How Video Visitation Works
SmartJailMail.com provides a two-way, real-time video visitation system which can be used to speak to your loved ones directly in their housing location within the jail.
At some locations you may also use a lobby kiosk at the facility to visit for free when scheduling a local / on-site visit.
Remote visits from home cost 50 cents per minute and are scheduled in 15 or 30 minute increments.
To schedule a video visit you must first open a Smart Communications account.

Remote Video Visits From Home
Once you are connected with an inmate you can use the visitation section of the website to schedule a visit.
Remote visits from home are billed on a credits-per-minute model and are scheduled in 15 or 30 minute blocks.

Local / On-Site Video Visits
Once you are connected with an inmate at a location where you have a visitation kiosk in the lobby, you may use the visitation section of the website to schedule a visit.
Local / on-site visits are provided free of charge.

This link explains everything you need to know about Smart Communications Video Visitation.

All Oakland County Jail visits take place using the Smart Communications Inmate Visitation System.

Oakland County Jail Inmate Video Visitation Schedule, Procedures & Guidelines

1201 North Telegraph
Pontiac, MI 48341
248-858-1800

Questions?... Call the Customer Support Line: 888-843-1972

  • First, create an account with Smart Communications and request your inmate accept you as an approved visitor so you can schedule a visit.
  • The Visitation Schedule below, is the same for visits at-the-jail, or remotely from your home.
  • All visits are done using this video visitation system.  You can either use the jail kiosk or visit from home using your own device.
  • Each inmate is allowed one (1) free visit and one (1) paid visit per week. 
  • Visits can be scheduled at least 24 hours in advance and can be scheduled up to two weeks prior.
  • Visits can be either 15 minutes or 30 minutes long.
  • There is no cost to visit on-site (at the jail facility).
  • Off-site visits may be done from a computer or cell phone for a fee of 0.16 (16 credits) per minute.
  • One adult visitor and one child visitor are allowed. The visitor must be the adult who scheduled the visit and (if there are multiple children in the family) only ONE child at a time per visit.
  • Children CANNOT be left unattended in the waiting area.
  • Visitors must have a current valid driver's license, state ID or passport in order to visit.
DAY TIMES
MONDAY NO VISITS
TUESDAY NO VISITS
WEDNESDAY 1:15 PM to 8:15 PM
THURSDAY 1:15 PM to 8:15 PM
FRIDAY 1:15 PM to 8:15 PM
SATURDAY 9:15 AM to 4:15 PM
SUNDAY 9:15 AM to 4:15 PM

Professional Visits (Lawyers, Law Enforcement, etc.) can visit every day, both on-site and remote, from 7:15 AM to 8:45 PM.


 

What is a video visit?

Video visitation, also known as remote visitation, is quickly becoming the preferred method for visiting an inmate in jail or prison for the following reasons:

•    It requires little to no staff, versus the staff required to move inmates to and from the visit and watch over the visit. It saves the Oakland County Jail money.
•    It removes any opportunity for contraband (drugs) to enter the facility.
•    It can become a profit center for the facility, given that the revenue generated by visits is shared with the jail.
•    While inmates prefer to see family and friends in person, video visitation allows them to visit with them more often, and on a whim.
•    Video visitation gives the inmates and their visitors the feeling of more privacy.

Video visitation from the perspective of the visitor allows them to visit from their home, their car, at work, and even allows them to take their device to a family or religious gathering. It allows them to give their inmate the feeling of belonging and not being forgotten.

Video visitation can take place on a computer, a tablet or a phone. 

Video visitation saves time. Instead of spending hours driving to the jail, checking in, filling out paperwork, potentially being searched, waiting, and then having a 15–30-minute visit, if it isn’t cancelled at the last minute, the visit can be done from anywhere during a short break in the visitor’s day.

If the visitor does not have access to a phone or computer, they can make an appointment ahead of time and use terminals in the lobby of the jail.

You must also be on the inmate's approved list, even for a video visit.

What are the companies that work with the jails and prisons that allow video visits?

There are several different companies that contract with all the jails and prisons that allow video visitation:

These are the companies in alphabetical order:

CIDNET
City Tele Coin
Correct Solutions Group
Correct Pay
Ctel
Gettingout
GTL
Homewav
IC Solutions
Inmate Canteen
Inmate Sales
iwebvisits
JailATM
Jpay
Gettingintouch (netvisit)
NCIC
Prodigy Sales
Reliance
Securus
Smart Communications
Tiger Services
Visitel
In addition, some jails use Microsoft Meeting and Zoom.

Oakland County Jail Gives Inmates Access to Tablets At No Cost for Communication, Research and Entertainment

They may not be directly connected to the internet, but inmates at Oakland County Jail are provided free tablets to use within the jail that allow them to have access to the following services and information:

  • Phone Calls - Inmates may make calls directly from their tablet allowing for more privacy. The rates are the same as the phones in the unit, and the calls are still recorded and monitored.
  • eMessaging - Communicate via a text based message or picture. Fee based system.
  • Job Search - Using JobView, a secure job search application, inmates have the ability to see what jobs are available when they are released.
  • Education - Free educational platform and course catalog that provides thousands of educational resources.
  • Self Help -Inmates have daily access to mental health and addiction recovery programming.
  • Music - Top-40, Hip-Hop, Country, Rock, Gospel, and more.
  • Law Library -  Legal research with up-to-date case information.
  • eBooks - Thousands of available titles.
  • Religion - Religious resources for spiritual guidance.
  • Games - Inmates can play their favorite games. Available through monthly subscriptions
  • Facility Services - Digital access to submitted forms, requests, facility documents, and notifications from staff.
  • Video Visitation - Visitation may not be allowed on the Tablets.  Call Oakland County Jail at 248-858-1800 to confirm.

The availability of tablets may seem like something that inmates who are serving time do not deserve, but here are some of the benefits for inmates in Oakland County:

  • Keeps inmates busy.
  • The threat of losing access to tablets keeps them better behaved.
  • Safer for the staff to keep inmates happy.
  • Allows communication with family members.
  • Educational programming.
  • Legal research.
  • Social programming such as anger management, substance abuse, etc.

For more information about Tablets and how your inmate can get one to use while he is in jail, chek out our Inmate Tablet page.


 

How to Schedule & Visit with an Inmate in Oakland County Jail

To schedule a visit and meet with an inmate in Oakland County, either at-the-jail or remotely by video, follow these instructions:

  • To schedule and visit with an inmate you MUST first open a SmartJailMail.com account.
  • Once you open an account, you may search for Oakland County inmate to visit with.
  • When you locate the Oakland County inmate that you want to connect with, you can send them a connection request.
  • Oakland County Jail will then need to approve the request before you can send messages.

For all the information you need to schedule and visit with a Oakland County Jail inmate, including how it works, how much it costs, visitation using a rented tablet, how often and when you can visit and more, check out our Visit Inmate Page.
NOTE: Your visits will be monitored, recorded and stored. You may want to refrain from discussing your inmate's court case as anything discussed can be used against them in court.


 

Oakland County Jail Inmate Mail Types

Postcards
The Oakland County Jail allows inmates to receive pre-metered postcards like the type purchased from the post office. They may also allow certain photo postcards as long as they have not been tampered with or contain images that may be considered to be obscene or violent in nature.

Envelopes
The Oakland County Jail also allows regular postcards and envelopes to be mailed to inmates as well.

Personal postcards and envelopes MUST be mailed to the following address:
Inmate's Full Name & Inmate Number
OAKLAND COUNTY JAIL
PO BOX 9103
SEMINOLE, FL 33775-9103


Legal Mail
Legal Mail is mail from Attorneys, law enforcement, the courts, bail companies, etc.

Newspapers
Local or national newspapers may also be mailed to the inmate as long as they are mailed directly from the newspaper publisher.

Magazines
News, special interest or sports magazines may also be mailed to an inmate as long as they are shipped directly from the publisher. Any magazines that contain profanity, weapons, pornography or other content that is adult in nature will be confiscated by the jail staff and will NOT be delivered to the inmate.

Books
The Oakland County Jail allows books to be mailed directly to the jail from a reputable source such as AmazonBarnes & Noble or Books-A-Million. You can order them directly from your computer and have them shipped to the inmate at the address above.
Books must NOT contain images or content that are considered excessively violent, pornographic or obscene. Any book that does not meet the Oakland County Jail standards will be disposed of. No more than three books may be shipped at any one time.
Hard cover books will not be accepted by the jail due to their potential to be used as a weapon.


All legal mail, newspapers, magazines and books are to be shipped to:
Inmate's Full Name & Inmate Number
OAKLAND COUNTY JAIL
PO BOX 436017
PONTIAC, MI 48343


 

How to Set up a Phone Account and Receive Calls from an Inmate in Oakland County Jail

To communicate by telephone with a Oakland County inmate, follow these instructions:

  • To receive phone calls from a Oakland County inmate you MUST first open a SmartJailMail.com account.
  • Once you open an account, you may search for Oakland County inmates or detainees to connect with.
  • When you locate the Oakland County inmate that you want to connect with, you can send them a connection request.
  • Oakland County Jail will then need to approve the request before you can receive phone calls.

For all the information you need to receive phone calls from a Oakland County Jail inmate, including how it works, how much it costs, how often you can receive calls and when you can receive them and more, check out our Inmate Phone Page.
NOTE: Your phone calls will be monitored and stored. You may want to refrain from discussing your inmate's court case. Anything discussed on the calls may be used in your inmate's court case.


 

How to Deposit Money in an Inmate's Account in Oakland County Jail

To deposit money into the account of a Oakland County inmate, follow these instructions:

  • To deposit money you MUST first open a SmartJailMail.com account.
  • Once you open an account, you may search for the Oakland County inmate you want to send money.
  • When you locate the Oakland County inmate that you want to connect with, you can send them money.
  • Oakland County Jail may need to approve the deposit, but more than likely, it will be approved.

For all the information you need to send money to a Oakland County Jail inmate, including how it works, how much it costs, what payment methods you can use, how much you can send, and more, check out our Send Money Page.


 

How to Send and Receive Secure Text and Email Messages with an Inmate in Oakland County Jail

To communicate by text or email with an Oakland County inmate, follow these instructions:

  • To send or receive a message you MUST first open a SmartJailMail.com account.
  • Once you open an account, you may search for Oakland County inmates or detainees to connect with.
  • When you locate the Oakland County inmate that you want to connect with, you can send them a connection request.
  • Oakland County Jail will then need to approve the request before you can send messages.

For all the information you need to send and receive secure messages in the form of text or email with a Oakland County Jail inmate, including how it works, how much it costs, renting your inmate a tablet, how often you can communicate and more, check out our Text/Email an Inmate Page.
NOTE: Your messages will be monitored and stored. You may want to refrain from discussing your inmate's court case.


 

How to Send a Carepack Commissary Package Directly to an Inmate in Oakland County

To send a commissary carepack (food, snacks and goods) directly to an inmate in Oakland County Jail follow these steps:

  • Register here to create an account with icaregifts for Oakland County.
  • Choose Michigan, then Oakland County Jail, and then the products you want shipped to them, and input your payment method. 
  • NOTE: There may be a limit on how much product you can send your inmate in Oakland County at any one time.
  • There are a total of fourteen (14) pre-determined icaregift packs available to choose from. 
  • The gift packs for inmates in Oakland County range in price from $10.49 for ten pre-stamped envelopes, 2 pens and a pad of writing paper, to $104.99 for a box of 85 snack and food items.

For all information, tips and available items for shipping Commissary packages to an inmate in Oakland County Jail, as well as sending money to the inmate so that they can purchase their own items, check out our Commissary Instructions Page for Oakland County.


 

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