Telephone Service
Pickens County Detention Facility Telephone Services
It is the policy of the Pickens County Sheriff's Office to allow telephone communications between persons incarcerated in the Pickens County Detention Facility and their families, friends, and attorneys.
Admission Telephone Call
Once a person has completed the booking in process, he or she will be given an opportunity to make a collect telephone call in order to secure counsel, bond, or notify family and friends of their incarceration, as long as such opportunity does not affect the safety of the inmates or security and order of the facility. Family and friends must be willing to accept the charges.
Inmate Telephone Calls
- After booking into the jail, inmates have three days to provide telephone numbers for use in the phone system
- Telephone numbers may be changed every 3 months.
- Calls are limited to 15 minutes in order that others may use the telephone.
- Inmates may use the telephones in the dayroom from 7:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m.
- Inmates may not be charge calls to other numbers.
- Inmates may place normal collect calls (subject to fees by your phone service provider) or they may use the Securus prepaid phone account service.
- Inmates cannot receive incoming telephone calls.
- Detention Facility employees are not permitted to deliver personal messages to inmates.
- Inmates are not allowed to make non-typical collect calls, 3-way calls, or unwanted calls.
- All calls are recorded.
- If you receive a call from an inmate, you will be given the option of accepting the call, hanging up, blocking all calls from the inmate, or blocking all calls from any inmates in the Pickens County Detention Facility. Simply follow the phone prompts during the call.
- Person's wishing to have their telephone number blocked from receiving calls from the Detention Facility should contact their telephone carrier or submit a request in writing to the Jail Administrator to have their telephone blocked.
- The rates for the collect calls are established by the State's Public Service Commission and the Detention Facility has no influence over these rates.
- The use of the telephone is an inmate's privilege and not a right. Staff may limit access to the telephone or interrupt a telephone call if he or she deems it necessary to maintain security.
Prepaid Phone Accounts
The Pickens County Detention Facility uses an outside telephone service provider called Securus Technologies. Friends and family members may set up a Prepaid account by calling Securus at 1-800-844-6591 or by visiting their web site at www.securustech.net.
Securus offers 3 different prepaid phone services at this facility.
- AdvanceConnect
- An AdvanceConnect account is a friends and family-owned prepaid calling account that allows friends and family members to receive collect calls from inmates and have the call charges deducted automatically from the prepaid balance on the AdvanceConnect calling account. An AdvanceConnect prepaid calling account must be funded prior to receiving inmate calls.
- Direct Bill
- A Direct Bill account allows you to receive collect calls from inmates and have the charges billed directly to you each month from Securus Correctional Billing Services
(SCBS). This account is a good option if the inmate is incarcerated for longer than two years or if you are an attorney, bail bondsmen, consulate, social worker or other small business or government agency. With verification or approved credit, you can receive an itemized monthly bill statement from SCBS for your calls.
- A Direct Bill account allows you to receive collect calls from inmates and have the charges billed directly to you each month from Securus Correctional Billing Services
- Inmate Debit
- Inmate Debit is an inmate-owned prepaid calling account used by inmates to pay for their own telephone calls. An inmate may transfer funds from their facility
trust/commissary account into an Inmate Debit account via making a request through their commissary. Friends & family members have the option to deposit funds directly into an Inmate Debit account without having to set up their own account.
- Inmate Debit is an inmate-owned prepaid calling account used by inmates to pay for their own telephone calls. An inmate may transfer funds from their facility
Phone Cards
Phone cards can be purchased from the machine in the lobby of the Sheriff's Office. Cards come in $10.00 and $20.00 amounts. Machine does not give change. The Pickens County Detention Facility is not responsible for any lost or stolen phone cards.