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Texas Inmate Search

Texas inmate search records are information regarding an incarcerated person within any correctional facilities in the state. The public is able to access any provided information of an offender currently held in prisons and jails managed by the state, counties, and private facilities. This record may include personal inmate data like names, genders, date of births, ID number, and location of the facility holding the inmate. In addition to that, depending on the authority of the requestor, the State of Texas inmate search records may also obtain criminal data such as mugshots, court dates, outstanding charges, arrest warrants, custody status, and more.

How do I find an inmate in Texas?

Texas inmates are mostly housed within correctional institutions under the jurisdiction of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). The DCJ Texas inmate search can be done by using the online offender search tool provided by the Department’s website where individuals can search the prisoner database of the TDCJ by name, TDCJ number, or the number of state identification (SID). Searches can also be narrowed down if the users can provide additional information such as their gender and/or their race. Additionally, a person may also request information about an offender, although limited, through email or phone calls.

Individuals may also find an inmate convicted as a sex offender by using the online Sex Offender Absconder Search tool. In order to warn the public of wanted sex offenders who have absconded from parole supervision, this website aims to increase public safety by monitoring and apprehending wanted sex offenders.

Where are Texas inmates housed?

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is responsible for overlooking the operations of the correctional facilities in Texas including state prisons and jails, psychiatric facilities housing prisoners identified as criminally insane, felony sentencing facilities for drug abuse, intermediate disciplinary facilities, and directly run TDCJ CID pre-release and transition facilities. On top of that, the Texas DCJ also has contractual arrangements with several private facilities to monitor the state inmates. These facilities fall under the responsibilities of the Department of Criminal Justice and will adhere to their supervision.

The Texas correctional facilities are divided into 6 regions and the list for each region can be obtained here. The DCJ Texas inmate search results also provide contact information as well as locations of the state correctional facilities, the contracted facilities, and an interactive map of the institutions.

Texas County Jails

Aside from state facilities, offenders who have a serving time of less than a year will likely be housed in county jails or city jails throughout Texas. City jails are usually run by the city police department while the sheriff’s offices run county jails. Currently, these facilities only house pre-trial persons and those completing brief sentences that usually result from misdemeanor offenses. Texas jail inmate search can be done by visiting their website, directly contacting their office, or visiting the institution itself. The contact info of each Texas county jail is listed on the TDCJ webpage.

Among these county jails, there are a few that are famous for housing a lot of inmate such as:

Harris County Jail

This county jail is directly managed by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) under the supervision of Sheriff Ed Gonzales. On top of having the largest sheriff’s office in Texas, this county jail also holds the greatest number of inmates among other county jails in Texas with an average daily population of nearly 9,000 inmates.

Dallas County Jail

Sheriff Marian Brown is the person in charge of overseeing the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office which manages the county jail directly. Under the administration of the County Sheriff’s Department, there are six detention centers that have a combined workforce of 900 employees, and housing more than 7,100 inmates. The detention centers in Dallas County are self-sufficient and run 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.

Tarrant County Jail

The Tarrant County Detention Bureau, run by the Tarrant County Sheriff, is the prison system for Tarrant County, Texas. In the Tarrant County Detention Bureau system, the main jail facility is the Lon Evans Correction Center, but there are five total jail facilities. These facilities house more than 6,000 inmates and have a staff number of approximately 1,000 men and women. The Tarrant County Jail is a maximum security level facility supervised by Sheriff Bill E. Waybourn.

How do you contact an inmate in Texas?

Mail

Friends and family of an inmate can keep in touch with the prisoners by sending them emails. Although both parties are allowed to exchange emails, all correspondence, with the exception of legal mail, may be opened, read, and searched for contraband. Inmates are allowed to send and receive letters with anyone except for other prisoners, victims of their crimes, or any family members of the victims.

All mails sent to an inmate must include the offender’s full name, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Number, as well as housing unit’s address. The address should follow the following format:

Inamte Name, TDCJ Number

Facility/Unit Name

  1. O. Box or Street Address

City, State, Zip Code

E-Messaging

Although an incarcerated inmate will not have any access to the internet, they may receive e-message through a service provided by JPAY.com. The family may send e-messages online, which will then be printed and delivered to the inmate within their regular mail. This service charges a small fee and is slightly faster compared to traditional mail, as the messages are instantly received by the facility to be inspected before sent to an inmate. Despite that, this is a one-way communication system, where only the family members are able to relay messages to an inmate.

Phone Calls

The Offender Telephone System (OTS) enables eligible offenders to make phone calls to people listed on the approved calling list of the offender. Criminals with significant disciplinary issues, gang affiliations, or death row members do not have access to the pay telephone system, but access to telephones is offered.

Before an individual is eligible to receive phone calls from an inmate, the person will need to register their phone number either through the telephone vendor at 1-866-806-7804 or through the vendor’s website.

How to contact the Texas Department of Criminal Justice?

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice can be contacted through the following:

Austin Branch

Physical Address:

209 West 14th Street

Austin, TX 78701

Mailing Address:

  1. O. Box 13084 – Capitol Station

Austin, TX 78711-3084

Phone Number: (512) 463-9988

Huntsville Branch

Physical Address:

861-B I-45 N

Huntsville, TX 77320

Mailing Address:

PO Box 99

Huntsville, TX 77342-0099

Phone Number: (936) 295-6371

Other Inquiries

How do you find out the release date of an inmate in Texas?

Individuals can use the offender lookup function on the department’s website for the date of the Texas inmate release search. The information regarding the release date will be made available along with other records of prisoners. If information is yet to be provided, the individual may directly contact the facility housing the inmate to ask for the records.

Can I send a care package to an inmate in Texas?

The Department of the TDCJ Commissary and Trust Fund utilizes an online service where friends and family can buy up to the maximum quarterly expenditure for qualifying inmates. The spending by prisoners is focused on the following months:

  1. January – March up to $60.00;
  2. April – June up to $60.00;
  3. July – September up to $60.00; and
  4. October – December up to $85.00 (Holiday Spend)

The purchases can be made online through a third-party vendor, eCommDirect. However, orders can only be made if an individual is on the inmate’s approved visitor list, or telephone list.

Some facilities have other optional third-party vendors contractually associated with sending care packages, therefore individuals should always contact the facility housing the inmate to further clarify any inquiries.

What can you send inmates in Texas prisons?

Sending mail to an inmate in Texas

Individuals are allowed to send mails to Texas inmates given that they comply with the rules provided by the Texas DCJ. In addition to sending letters in mails, individuals may also send photos as long as it is not bigger than 4”x6”, and non-Polaroid. For further safety reasons, all images shall not contain any nudity, sexually suggestive materials, or depict any indication of gang activities. Mails that do not abide by the rules will be rejected by the facilities, and if safety issues arise, this may lead to further investigation on both parties.

Sending money to an inmate in Texas

Texas inmates have access to funds invested with their individual commissary and trust fund. Such funds can be used for a range of items, from stamps and stationery purchases to personal care products and snacks. In order to send money to an inmate, individual will need to provide basic information about the inmate, such as:

  1. Inmate’s full name
  2. Inmate’s TDCJ Number
  3. Current housing facility/unit of the inmate

In a number of ways, friends and family members can send money to an inmate:

Walk-In

Individuals may visit any MoneyGram or Western Union branch nearby, including any CVS or Walmart, to send the fund that can be paid with cash or debit/credit card. When using MoneyGram, an individual will need to provide the received code 3570.

Whereas if a person uses Waster Union, the following information should be provided:

  1. Pay to: TDCJ – Inmate Trust Funds
  2. Code City and State: TDCJ/TX
  3. Account Number: Inmate’s TDCJ number and last name with no space
  4. Attention: Inmate’s last name, first name

Internet

Individuals can send money to an inmate through only services provided by several companies including JPAY, TouchPay, WesternUnion, and eCommDirect. These companies charge a certain fee for each successful transaction and can be paid using debit or credit card.

Phone

Money deposit over the phone is provided by several companies at a certain charge respectively. The following are the available service for Texas inmates:

  1. JPAY: 1-800-574-5729
  2. Touchpay: 1-877-868-5358
  3. Western Union: 1-800-325-6000

Mail

Friends and family can opt for the cheapest option of sending money, which is through the mail. In order to proceed, the individual will need to obtain a deposit slip from the inmate or by sending a self-addressed stamped envelope to:

Inmate Trust Fund

P.O. Box 60

Huntsville, Texas 77342-0060

Money orders can be purchased at any post office in the United States and made payable to “Inmate Trust Fund for (inmate’s name and TDCJ Number)”. The completed money order and deposit slip may once again be mailed to:

Inmate Trust Fund

P.O. Box 60

Huntsville, Texas 77342-0060

How do I apply for Visitation of an inmate in Texas?

Before an individual can apply for visitation, the inmates initially will need to established their visitation list which will take place during their arrival process. In order to add someone to the offender’s approved list, they will need to provide the individual’s full name, date of birth, and current address. However, if an inmate does not remember the information, the potential visitor may send it to them in a letter. Once listed, individual will need to call the housing unit to further verify their information as an approved visitor.

What are the Visitation rules?

The TDCJ has set a number of rules and procedures for individuals who want to visit an inmate in Texas correctional facilities. The following are the basic guidelines to help understand what needs to be done, before and during visitation.

  1. All adult visitors must bring a valid photo identification issued by the government.
  2. Minor visitors may be required to issue birth certificates to verify their age.
  3. Authorized visitors to plan their visits to prison wardens at least one day before and no more than seven days prior to the actual visit.
  4. One visit per weekend is approved for each prisoner.
  5. The number of children under 18 years of age permitted during the visit depends on the room available in the visitation area.
  6. Anyone who does not adhere to the employee’s orders or who is disruptive/presents inappropriate actions will have their visit terminated and could be subject to the revocation of their visiting privileges.

Visitation times and rules vary from municipality to municipality for Texas county and city jails. Be sure to check the jail, sheriff’s office, or police department section of the county/city website for information about visits when preparing a visit to one of those facilities.

More information is provided on the TDCJ website.

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