Douglas County Jail COVID-19 Coronavirus Visitation Policy

Douglas County Jail

Address:
710 S. 17th St.
Omaha, NE 68102

Phone:

402-444-7400

New Visitation Policies in Douglas County Jail Due to COVID-19 Coronavirus

Because of concerns for the safety and wellness of both staff and inmates at the Douglas County Jail in Omaha, Nebraska, contact visits of any type may be suspended. Even if they have visits, from time to time, face masks may be required.

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 402-444-7400 for updates.

Video Visitation at Douglas County Jail

At-home and onsite video visitation guidelines for Douglas County Jail, when this service is available, can be found by going to the visitation information page.

We highly recommend that you call 402-444-7400 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.

How Long Will These Changes Last?

Experts in the study of the COVID-19 are anticipating that spread of the virus will be a ongoing concern for Douglas County, the state of Nebraska and the entire United States until well into 2024 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' variants will infect so many people that a higher level of natural immunity for the majority of Americans will be the end result.

Will the Inmates in Douglas County Jail Be Safe from Getting Sick With COVID-19 Coronavirus?

Whether the inmates are safe from contracting the coronavirus depends entirely on two things:

  1. The Virus being introduced into the facility by a staff member or inmate who is unaware that they have it.
  2. How easily it spreads.

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. Newer variants are 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.

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 COVID-19 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 virus changes and new policies are instituted.

There are five choices for putting money on an inmate's books that may be used for paying an inmate's Bond or Bail.

Check with Douglas County Jail by calling 402-444-7400 prior to paying a bond online as this is being rolled out to different facilities slowly.

1. Commissary money in the form of a money order may be mailed to:
AdvancePay Service Department
P.O. Box 911722
Denver, CO 80291-1722

2. You may use cash or credit/debit cards at any time by using the kiosk located in the front lobby.  The fee for the use of the ATM is generally $1.50 per transaction for cash and 10% fee for credit/debit cards.

3. Commissary money can also be added to an inmates account at any time using any of these methods online.

4Cash deposits to ConnectNetwork are now available at 26,000 retail locations nationwide including Walmart, ACE, Kmart, Kroger, and more. You’ll start the payment process online in your ConnectNetwork account, then complete your transaction with cash at a participating local retail store. Plus, many of these stores are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Find a retail store near you.

5. You can call customer service 24/7 at 877-650-4249 and get instructions for depositing money over the phone using a debit or credit card.


 

Douglas 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 Douglas 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 Douglas County Jail at 402-444-7400 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 Douglas 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 Send and Receive Secure Text and Email Messages with an Inmate in Douglas County Jail

To communicate by text or email with an Douglas 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 Douglas County inmates or detainees to connect with.
  • When you locate the Douglas County inmate that you want to connect with, you can send them a connection request.
  • Douglas 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 Douglas 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.


 

Douglas County Jail Inmate Mail Types

Postcards
The Douglas 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 Douglas 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 #
Smart Communications / Douglas County Department of Corrections
PO Box 9162
Seminole, FL 33775-9151


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 Douglas 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 Douglas 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 #
Douglas County Department of Corrections
710 S. 17th Street
Omaha, NE 68102


 

How to Deposit Money in an Inmate's Trust Account in Order to Purchase Prepaid Calling Cards, Phone Calling Time or Commissary

To Deposit Money in an inmate's account follow these steps:

  • Create a ConnectNetwork account 
  • Select your inmate, and add to them to your account,
  • Deposit money into his or her commissary account.

**NOTE** GTL is in a transition merging into a new company called ViaPath Technologies.


Features:

  • Deposit options available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via phone 877-650-4249, and online.
  • Mobile-friendly deposit options are available via their app.
  • Deposits and payments made through automated channels (ConnectNetwork Website, Mobile App, Toll Free Phone, or Kiosk at the jail) are transmitted to the facility within one business day.
  • Deposits that are mailed are processed the next business day after they are received by GTL.
  • Inmate can choose how to spend the funds you deposit.

All the information you need to understand depositing money into an inmate's trust fund, specifically for phone calls, but also for Commissary, in Douglas County, can be found on our Send Money Page.


 

How Do You Communicate with an Inmate in the Douglas County Jail by Phone

Follow these instructions on how to open an account with GTL Connect Network (aka Viapath Technologies)

  • Advance Pay - This phone account allows you to prepay so that your inmate can call you (and only you) whenever he/she wants and the cost of each call is deducted from your balance. You can even be notified by text when your balance gets low. You still have the option of accepting or rejecting each call.
  • Pin Debit  -  This option allows you to fund an inmate's commissary account and lets him pay for phone calls to you and others with the money. You will have no control over who your inmate calls.
  • Voicemail  -  You can leave a secure voicemail without having to contact the facility. When you call the local phone number for a facility offering Inmate Voicemail (call Customer Service at 877-650-4249 to get the local voicemail number for Douglas County Jail, you will be informed of the cost for leaving a message. To leave your message, simply select the inmate by ID number. Then, record your voicemail.

For full instructions on the Douglas 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.


 

How to Arrange Video Visitation with Douglas County Jail Inmates

Follow these instructions to schedule and then visit an inmate using GTL.

  • Register yourself and all visitors.
  • Select Douglas County Jail
  • Select your inmate.
  • Schedule your preferred time for the visit.

For all the information you need to know regarding scheduling, cost, rules, tips and guidelines of inmate visits at the Douglas County Jail, check out our Visit Inmate Page.


 

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