Winnebago County IA Jail

Winnebago County IA Jail basic information to help guide you through what you can do for your inmate while they are incarcerated. The facility's direct contact number: 641-585-3632

This facility is for adult inmates.

The Winnebago County IA Jail is a medium-security detention center located at 935 Hwy 69 N Forest City, IA which is operated locally by the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office and holds inmates awaiting trial or sentencing or both. Most of the sentenced inmates are here for less than two years. Winnebago County accepts inmates from surrounding towns, municipalities, the US Marshal's Service and the Forest City Police Department who do not have their own long-term lock-up.

Contacting Inmates

Mail

All incoming and outgoing mail shall have the complete forwarding address on the front center of the envelope and complete return address on the front upper left side of the envelope. Any letter without a return address will be returned to the Post Office. Envelopes with graffiti, written or picture style, anywhere on the envelope will be returned to the Post Office. Mail cannot be dropped off at the Jail. Inmate mail must be received to the Jail from the U.S. Post Office.

Envelopes cannot contain stickers or any material with glue, glitter ink and magazine or newspaper clippings. Envelopes containing any materials other than letters written in ink will be placed in the inmate's property container.

The inmate address is located on the left side of the web page.

Phone Cards

• Family and friends may set up collect calling accounts or purchase jail phone cards and texting abilities online at Reliance Telephone.
• You may also contact Reliance Telephone at: (800) 896-3201 to set up accounts, purchase phone cards or texting abilities for an inmate.
• Inmates may purchase phone cards at the Jail. All texting purchases must be done online through Reliance Telephone.

Property Drop-Off

Personal property that an inmate can receive while in jail is very limited. In order to drop off property at the jail, you will need to complete and submit a Property Drop-Off Form. The only acceptable items are:

• Cash- you may drop off cash/money to apply to an inmate's commissary account. We do not accept checks or money orders of any kind. If the inmate has a negative balance on the account, then up to half the money dropped off will go toward the balance owed.

• Clothing- two pair of underwear in unopened packages with the store receipt.
Two white bras in unopened packages with the store receipt. Clothing must not contain wires, zippers or strings.

• Prescription Medications- must be in the original prescription bottle, with the inmates' name on it, that is a valid prescription and can be verified.

• Photographs- nothing larger than 5 x 7 inches, no sexually explicit or illegal material, no Polaroids or laminated photos. Inmates may have three photos only in their possession. Photos cannot be exchanged out until 30 days.

• Paperback books- the Jail has an assortment of books for inmates to read. Any books dropped off for an inmate become the property of the Jail. The inmate will get the opportunity to read the book first, then the book becomes a part of the jail library. Some exceptions are made for school textbooks but prior permission must be obtained.

visitation Info

Winnebago County Jail – Visitation

Visiting Information

Clergy may visit Monday – Friday, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm with 23-hour notice. Clergy may also visit other times with more notice and pre-approval. 
 

Visitation Procedure

A visitor must be pre-approved by the inmate. Inmate visitation is on Mondays from 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm and 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm. A visit must be scheduled by calling the Jail at 641-585-3632 between 9:00 am – 3:00 pm on the Saturday or Sunday before visitation Monday. Visits are limited to 20 minutes and inmates are limited to two visitation sessions per visitation day. Children must be at least 10 years old and must be accompanied by a parent, grandparent or other pre-approved relatives. There is only one adult allowed per session, and a maximum of two (persons) per session if one person is a child. All visitors must complete a visitation registration form. You may complete the form online using this Visitor Registration Link (or the link on the left) and hitting the submit button or can arrive early at the Jail to complete the form. 
 

Visitation Rules

●Persons with a valid warrant for their arrest anywhere in the nation will not be able to visit an inmate regardless of the pickup limitations of the warrant. 

●Persons who have been incarcerated in the Winnebago County Jail within the last 60 days may not visit an inmate. Persons directly involved with an inmate case (victim, co-defendant etc) will not be allowed to visit without a court order. 

●There is no smoking on county property and all visitors are subject to search upon entering the jail facility. All Jail and County rules must be observed by visitors. 

●Disruptive behavior in the visitation room by children or adults will not be tolerated. Any disruptive behavior by any person, visitor or inmate, and the visitation will be terminated. 

 

WINNEBAGO COUNTY JAIL VISITATION RULES

1. Visitation is by video and the length of the visit is 20 minutes. Video visitation is controlled by computer and video will shut down automatically after 20 minutes.

2. Visits will be limited to a specific list of visitors identified on the inmate’s visitation list. The list may be changed once a week. The Jail Staff will approve the list prior to visitation.

3. Persons who have served any time in the Winnebago County Jail in the past 60 days will not be allowed to visit another inmate of the Winnebago County Jail. An exception may be made for immediate family members but must be pre-approved.

4. Inmates on certain types of disciplinary restriction may not be permitted visitors. JJudgmentwill prevail over rigid enforcement of the rules and under special circumstances (e.g. family has traveled a considerable distance and was unaware of restrictions). This decision will rest with the Jail Administrator.

5. If any officer has probable cause, he or she may search a visitor to ensure the security and orderly operation of the jail.

6. CELL PHONE OR OTHER ELECTRONIC DEVICES are not allowed in the visitation area. Any visitor using an electronic device in the visitation room will lose visitation privileges. Visitors must respect the privacy of other visitors in the video visitation room. All visitors are required to keep the visitation room clean and orderly.

7. Jail Staff will be in the facility area at all times during any visit. Visitation will be monitored.

8. A visit may be denied if reasonable suspicion exists that a visitor might endanger or disrupt The facility or the security of the facility. All visitors 16 years of age and older must be able to provide a photo identification. If a person under the age of 18 can not provide an identification, pre-approval from the Jail Administrator must be obtained. All persons age 18 and older must be able to provide photo identification.

9. Personal property for an inmate is strictly limited. The only personal property allowed are (verifiable) prescription medications, cash for commissary purposes, and two items of underwear in a new package (unopened) and with a sales receipt.

10. Visitation may be cancelled, denied or revoked for loud conduct, misbehaving children, swearing or any behavior which does not respect other people present. Inappropriate dress will be cause for denial of visitation.

11. All visitors must be pre-approved by the inmate and complete the registration form. Visitors must schedule a visit by calling the Jail at 641-585-3632 between 9:00 am and 3:00 pm on the Saturday or Sunday prior to the visitation Monday they wish to attend.

12. Any person found to have a valid arrest warrant, in any State, will be denied visitation, regardless of the warrant jurisdiction or the warrant service area.