Nevada Southern Detention Center

Nevada Southern Detention Center Information

The Nevada Department of Corrections owned and maintained the Southern Nevada Correctional Center, a medium-security men's prison in Jean, Clark County, Nevada (approximately 30 miles south of Las Vegas). Since 2008, the facility has been closed. The facility, first opened in 1978, was closed in 2000 and then reopened for two years to keep convicts under the age of 25. Even as late as 2015, Nevada legislators discussed reopening it, if only to make a political point.

Nevada Southern Detention Center

Phone: 775-751-4500

Physical Address:
Nevada Southern Detention Center
2190 East Mesquite Avenue
Pahrump, NV 89060

Mailing Address (personal mail):
Inmate's First and Last Name
Nevada Southern Detention Center
2190 East Mesquite Avenue
Pahrump, NV 89060

Other Jails and Prisons

How Do You Find Someone in the Nevada Southern Detention Center?

The Nevada Department of Corrections maintains a searchable public database of all of the inmates they have in custody.

In addition, the offender search contains information about prisoners, parolees, and probationers who are currently under supervision, and who have been discharged. It also contains sex offenders, violent offenders, and those inmates who have absconded, or escaped.

The actual prison that an inmate is assigned to depends on factors such as security classification, remaining time of their sentence, gang affiliation, and location of their residence.

The Nevada State Prison System began in 1862, when the first state prison in Nevada opened in Carson City.

Today the state of Nevada Prison System maintains 11 state correctional facilities.

With a staff of 2,400 correctional workers, as of the end of 2023 they oversee approximately 10,000 inmates, with another 20,000 on parole or supervised release.

The following will explain the instructions, tricks and hacks you can use to find any inmate in custody with the Nevada Department of Corrections.

Nevada Department of Corrections Inmate Search Instructions

The Nevada Department of Corrections provides a limited amount of information you may want to know about any inmate in their system, however they do list every inmate. Inmates in custody have their crimes listed, as well as previous convictions. They also list all inmates who have been discharged.

  • If you have any questions regarding an inmate, call Family Services at 775-977-5707.
  • If you are a 'victim' that is looking for inmate information, contact Victim Services at 775-977-5733.
  • If you have any questions regarding the web portal for law enforcement access to inmate information, they should be referred to Acting PIO Bill Quenga. email: wquenga@doc.nv.gov or 775-977-5699

To look up an inmate, you need the full last name.  

  • You can list all inmates who share the same last name.
  • You can list all inmates who share the same first letter of the last name, however it lists only 20 at a time.
  • You can also search an inmate using their Offender ID Number.




The first set of results if you used the full last name will list their Name, Offender Number, Location, Sex and Status. Click on the linked Offender ID to get to the inmate's page.  




The inmate's page will have quite a bit of information, including an inmate's mugshot.

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About the Nevada Southern Detention Center
The Nevada Department of Corrections owned and maintained the Southern Nevada Correctional Center, a medium-security men's prison in Jean, Clark County, Nevada (approximately 30 miles south of Las Vegas). Since 2008, the facility has been closed. The facility, first opened in 1978, was closed in 2000 and then reopened for two years to keep convicts under the age of 25. Even as late as 2015, Nevada legislators discussed reopening it, if only to make a political point.
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Directions / Map to the Nevada Southern Detention Center
Inmate Visitation

Video visits allow your visit to take place in the privacy of your own home. Some family members 'take their inmate with them' to church, the park, the doctor or anywhere else simply by signing in and bringing the device along. Video visits save you from having to get your children ready, drive to the jail, wait in long lines and go through security checkpoints just to see the inmate.

Nevada Southern Detention Center uses GettingOut for their Remote Video Visitation and/or Visit Scheduling. 

There are three ways to remotely visit your inmate:

1.  Using the GettingOut/GTL Kiosk at the jail.
2. Using your computer from home.
3. Using your phone on the GettingOut or GTL apps.

How it Works with GettingOut
1.  Register an account.
2. Find your Inmate's Facility here.
3. Choose either an INMATE ACCOUNT or FRIENDS & FAMILY ACCOUNT.   

  • **Note** Friends and Family must have funds in their "Friends & Family Account" to respond to inmate messages. 
  • If you deposit money online in the INMATE ACCOUNT, than they have the freedom to spend the money on visits or phone calls to anyone, or any other communications services available at Nevada Southern Detention Center.
  • With the FRIENDS & FAMILY ACCOUNT, you control all communication services such as phone calls, video visits and messaging. Your inmate can only call the phone number you want.

4. You will then receive prompts to validate both your identity and phone number .
5. Again, choose your inmate's facility, then type their name and select your inmate.

GettingOut will then guide you through the steps needed to arrange your remote visit.

Customer Service for GettingOut
If you have any questions, you can call them at 866-516-0115.
GettingOut online contact form
Frequently Asked Questions
The GettingOut App is available on Google Play and Apple Store.

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Remote Video Visitation

Video visits allow your visit to take place in the privacy of your own home. Some family members 'take their inmate with them' to church, the park, the doctor or anywhere else simply by signing in and bringing the device along. Video visits save you from having to get your children ready, drive to the jail, wait in long lines and go through security checkpoints just to see the inmate.

Nevada Southern Detention Center uses GettingOut for their Remote Video Visitation and/or Visit Scheduling. 

There are three ways to remotely visit your inmate:

1.  Using the GettingOut/GTL Kiosk at the jail.
2. Using your computer from home.
3. Using your phone on the GettingOut or GTL apps.

How it Works with GettingOut
1.  Register an account.
2. Find your Inmate's Facility here.
3. Choose either an INMATE ACCOUNT or FRIENDS & FAMILY ACCOUNT.   

  • **Note** Friends and Family must have funds in their "Friends & Family Account" to respond to inmate messages. 
  • If you deposit money online in the INMATE ACCOUNT, than they have the freedom to spend the money on visits or phone calls to anyone, or any other communications services available at Nevada Southern Detention Center.
  • With the FRIENDS & FAMILY ACCOUNT, you control all communication services such as phone calls, video visits and messaging. Your inmate can only call the phone number you want.

4. You will then receive prompts to validate both your identity and phone number .
5. Again, choose your inmate's facility, then type their name and select your inmate.

GettingOut will then guide you through the steps needed to arrange your remote visit.

Customer Service for GettingOut
If you have any questions, you can call them at 866-516-0115.
GettingOut online contact form
Frequently Asked Questions
The GettingOut App is available on Google Play and Apple Store.

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Inmate Phone Contact

** REMINDER: You cannot call your inmate. They have to phone you.

PRE-PAYING

Using GTL you have the option of either:
- pre-paying directly into your inmate's account where they decide who to call, or
- pre-paying, where you control all phone costs and all calls come only to you.

Prepaid Option #1
If you deposit money online in the INMATE ACCOUNT, than they have the freedom to spend the money on phone calls to anyone, or any other communications services available at Nevada Southern Detention Center.

Prepaid Option #2
With the FRIENDS & FAMILY ACCOUNT, you control all communication services such as phone calls, video visits and messaging. Your inmate can only call the phone number you want.

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Mailing an Inmate

Nevada Southern Detention Center Inmate Mail Guidelines

Postcards
The Nevada Southern Detention Center 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. It is best to only use blue or black ink. Always include your name and return address.

Envelopes
The Nevada Southern Detention Center also allows envelopes to be mailed to inmates. It is best to only use blue or black ink.

Postcards and envelopes MUST HAVE the sender's full name and return address on the envelope. 

Postcards and envelopes MUST be mailed to the following address:
Confirm Mailing Address here



Legal Mail

Send all Legal Mail to this Address:
Confirm Mailing Address here



Newspapers
Newspapers may also be mailed to an inmate as long as they are shipped directly from the 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 Nevada Southern Detention Center 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 noted.
Books must NOT contain images or content that are considered excessively violent, pornographic or obscene. Any book that does not meet the Nevada Southern Detention Center standards will be disposed of. 
Hard cover books will not be accepted by the jail due to their potential to be used as a weapon.


All newspapers, magazines and books are to be shipped to:
Confirm Mailing Address here


 

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Inmate Commissary

Nevada Southern Detention Center contracts with Access Securepak (aka MyCarePak) for families to send pre-determined packages of commissary items to your inmate.

Access Securepak carries over 1,000 different items in the following categories:
- Food and Snacks
- Personal Hygiene Products
- Electronics
- Apparel

Registration Process:
1. Register here.
2. Select Nevada.
3. Select Nevada Southern Detention Center.
4. Find your Inmate.
5. Deposit Funds.
6. Order Commissary Items.
Once you are logged in, you will receive instructions on how much (and what products) you can send your inmate.
Contact Information:
* If you have any questions, you can call Access Securepak at 800-546-6283.
* You can email My Care Pack at customerservice@securepak.net.
* You can write them at:
    Access Securepak
    10880 Linpage Place
    St. Louis, MO 63132

* You can Live Chat with a Representative online: (bottom left corner of page)
   Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.–11 p.m. CST, 
   and Saturdays, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. CST.

*Note* Access Securepak will issue a refund for or replace broken, damaged, or missing products reported by Nevada Southern Detention Center staff. They will not honor reports of discrepancies from inmate's families or friends.
My CarePack is the Nevada Southern Detention Center's outside vendor for Commissary Items. They have a very good mix of Chips, Snacks, Candy, Meat, Seafood, Hygiene products, Letter writing materials, Electronics and Apparel items for sale on their website.


*NOTE* -- Once you are fully registered and have selected the inmate you wish to send commissary to, you will receive instructions on how much you can deposit, how much (and what) you can purchase for your inmate, and how often you can send commissary.

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Texting and Emailing an Inmate

Sending an Email, Text or Secure Electronic Message to an Inmate

The Nevada Southern Detention Center provides a service which allows secure electronic messaging for their inmates.

The email service they use is called GTL / Viapath.

GTL / Viapath is not directly connected to the internet like normal email, but instead each correspondence is first intercepted by the jail's servers. This gives the staff an opportunity to review the messages before delivering them to both inmates and the people that the inmates are communicating with.

Electronic messages received by the inmates are read either on kiosks within the inmate's unit, or or on tablets provided by the third party service that oversees the program.

Allowing inmates access to email has many upsides:

  • It is less expensive than regular mail.
  • It allows for faster turnaround of communication.
  • It allows the jail to monitor inmate communication in real time.
  • Because the jail receives a portion of the revenue, it brings the jail revenue they wouldn't have otherwise.
  • It is an inmate privilege that they don't want to have taken away, and thus can be used as a way to control behavior.
  • It keeps unwanted contraband from entering the facility in the physical mail.

For a list of Frequently Asked Questions and Answers about GTL / Viapath inmate emailing and texting, scroll down for more information about it or call the jail at 775-751-4500.

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Inmate Tablets

Renting a Tablet for Nevada Southern Detention Center Inmates

Nevada Southern Detention Center 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 Nevada Southern Detention Center.  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 Nevada Southern Detention Center Inmates.

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How to find an inmate already convicted of a felony and sentenced?

State Inmate

Most states have Department of Corrections websites that allow you to type in a felon's first and last name and pull up inmates in that state.

If you need to find a sentenced inmate serving time in a state other than Nevada, go here. To find an inmate in Nevada, just scroll to the top of the page and click on the Inmate Search button.

Once you locate them click next to the inmate's name or on the link provided and it will show you which prison the inmate is housed in. If the inmate is no longer incarcerated, but is on parole/probation or discharged, it will tell you that as well. In addition, many state prison inmate pages show recent mug shots.

Federal Inmate

The federal prison system has its own inmate locator called the Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator.

Type in the inmate's name and it will tell you where he or she is incarcerated and their projected release date. It also lists released federal prison inmates and the date they were released.

Federal inmates who are moved from one prison to another will show as "No longer in federal custody" on the system until they reach their next federal prison destination. This movement can take a few days to several months to complete, so keep checking back to find out where the inmate was taken.

ICE Inmates

The ICE Detainee Lookup allows friends, family members and interested parties to locate illegal and/or undocumented immigrants that are in the United States without permission.

Has the Inmate been recently arrested?... Try a County Jail

In many cases, the person you are looking for has either not been convicted or sentenced or has been sentenced and is awaiting transport to a State or Federal Prison and is still incarcerated in a City or County Jail.

To locate that person, go here to first find the State, and then the County where they were originally arrested or have been transported to. From there you can begin your search in our databases that contain the names and information of millions of inmates.

Jailexchange.com has all information on every jail and prison in the United States.

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