Chester County Youth Center Family & Friends Information

Chester County Youth Center

Chester County Youth Center
505 South Wawaset Road
West Chester, PA 19382-6776

The Chester County Youth Center is the main jail in Chester County Pennsylvania. While the police in the cities and towns in Chester County can arrest and detain offenders, the Chester County Youth Center is the facility that is accredited by Pennsylvania to hold inmates for more than 72 hours.

The Chester County Youth Center is located at:
505 South Wawaset Road
West Chester, PA 19382-6776 

It can be reached 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by calling .

The main reason that people call is to find out if a particular person is in custody, although you can look up an inmate online by going here. You can also get answers to whatever questions about an inmate, and the services for Chester County Youth Center that you may have by clicking on any of the questions below:

How to search for an inmate?
Can you look up an inmate’s mugshot?
How do you look up an offender’s criminal charges, bond or inmate number?
How do you visit an inmate?
What are the visitation hours?
Can you visit inmates in Chester County by video from home?
How do you get phone calls from an inmate?
Can you send mail, books, or newspapers to an inmate?
How do you send an inmate money?
Does Chester County Youth Center have inmate commissary?
Can an inmate receive and/or send email or text messages?
Do inmates in Chester County have access to computers or tablets?
How do you pay an inmate’s bail or bond?

Every year the Chester County Youth Center has approximately 1200 bookings, with a daily average of 60 inmates and maintains control of the facility with a staff of 15.

Inmates in this jail range from low level misdemeanor offenders to those being held and awaiting trial for violent crimes like robbery, rape, and murder. Therefore, given the mix of potentially dangerous inmates, the security level is very high. 

The Chester County Youth Center is equipped with a state-of-the-art locking system, closed circuit cameras covering every area where inmates are located, and jail staff that utilize a communication system that keeps each of the guards and civilian staff in constant contact. 

Guards that circulate in the same general area of the inmates are armed with eye-blinding mace that will turn an inmate having a violent outburst into a weeping child. They also carry stun weapons, short clubs, flashlights that have dual use as both a light source and as a weapon, and handcuffs. Guards at entrances and in areas not frequented by inmates are armed with various firearms. The goal of such tight security is to keep both the staff and the inmates safe.

Go to this page for other jails in Chester County, jails in neighboring counties, and local police jails and juvenile detention centers for young offenders under age 18 in this county.

Unlike the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, where inmates are sent once convicted of a crime and sentenced to a period of more than a year, the Chester County Jail System is populated by short-term offenders; those who have just been arrested and awaiting to be bonded out by friends or family, those who cannot afford or get bailed and are awaiting trial, or those who have already been convicted of a crime and sentenced to a term of less than one year. Many of the latter inmates become ‘workers’, who can reduce their sentence by performing jail maintenance or working in the kitchen. An upside to being a worker is they also get paid a small stipend so when they get released, they have a few dollars in their pocket.

When an inmate is convicted and sentenced to a year or more, they are transferred to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections or the Federal Bureau of Prisons.  

Inmates that are convicted of a misdemeanor and/or sentenced to less than one year of a state crime serve their time in the Chester County Youth Center. 

Illegal immigrants convicted of a state or federal crime will first do their time, then may be transferred into ICE custody for deportation.

How Do You Communicate with an Inmate in the Chester County Youth Center 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 Chester County Youth Center, 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 Chester County Youth Center 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.


 

Chester County Youth Center

STATE COUNTY BEDS
Pennsylvania Chester 60


PHYSICAL ADDRESS

505 South Wawaset Road
West Chester, PA 19382-6776


TELEPHONE NUMBER

INMATE MAIL

Inmate's First and Last Name
505 South Wawaset Road
West Chester, PA 19382-6776


Photos

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This facility, known as "Chester County Youth Center" is also known as Chester County Youth Center, Pennsylvania, Chester.