POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

PLEASE CONTACT THE FACILITY WITH ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS

308-995-3129

MAIL

mailing address at this facility is:

                                Phelps County Corrections              

                  ATT.: (inmate’s name)      

                715 5th Ave.  Suite 20    

Holdrege, Ne.  68949

B.  There is no limit on the amount of mail you may receive or send.  Envelopes and writing paper will be provided to you at no cost at needs and wants only.   Mail can

only be released if you are being transferred to the Department of Corrections or another facility.  You may mail out received mail to another party providing postage is available.

C.  Any stamps, received in the mail will be kept in the needs and wants book.  Stamps may also be purchased off commissary.  Inmates are allowed to send five (5) personal letters a week at the expense of Phelps County.  Letters will be returned to you if you do not have stamps available until you do. There is no fee for legal correspondence.

D.  All items received in the mail that are not authorized as noted in section 1, Property retained, will be kept in your property after it is logged, you will be given a copy of items received.  Unauthorized mail would include mail within mail unless it is from a governmental agency or attorney.  Mail without complete sender information may be rejected. The inmate will be notified of items received.  Contraband and/or illegal materials will be processed in the proper manner.

E.  Incoming personal mail will be opened by staff, all contents will be scanned for review from the kiosk or a tablet. Originals will be placed in your property. Any material containing full or partial nudity and/or sexually provocative poses will not be copied and allowed in housing units, it will be placed in your property.

F.  All incoming legal mail will be opened in your presence and checked for contraband, but not read. Prior to opening legal mail the inmate must sign a form verifying receipt of the mail and that it was opened in his/her presence. All legal mail including the envelope will be copied, originals shredded in the detainees presence. In the event following review originals need returned the detainee may review the copies and when ready the originals will be returned as needed. It is the responsibility of the detainee/ Inmate to inform senders of legal mail the requirement of identifying the mail as a special correspondence.

G.  Mail not directly sent to the facility will not be accepted, an exception may be made for attorney or governmental correspondence barring it is unopened.  If you wish to receive all your mail you will need to complete a change of address form and submit it to the post office.

H.  Your account will be credited for any money, certified checks or money orders (Western Union or United States Postal Service only) received in the mail and signed by you. Personal checks will be logged and placed in your property.

I.  All mail with postage due will be returned to sender.

J.  Mail will be received and distributed Monday through Saturday, holidays excluded.

K.   We will accept books and magazines that have been mailed to the facility from a vendor. The items will be marked with your name and added to your property list and noted kept on person.

L.   Nude photographs and magazines or publications that publish nudity will be placed in the inmate’s property, upon receipt of the material.  The inmate will receive written notification that the material has arrived and the material has been placed in his/her property. Photographs and publications which promote acts that are in violation of departmental rules and regulations or any criminal law (these will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis) will be placed in that inmate’s property and the inmate will not receive the material until his/her property is returned during the release process.

M.  Envelopes (front or back) cannot contain any writing or drawings other than what is necessary for delivery.  Full names addresses are necessary for logging purposes.  The envelope will be returned to you in order to provide a new envelope for proper contents. Incoming and outgoing Legal mail must be labeled properly, without proper labeling it will not be treated as legal or special mail, it is the inmate/detainee’s responsibility to inform senders of the labeling requirements.

N.  ALL Outgoing mail will be searched by jail staff prior to being sealed.  Either mail can be placed under the door to be searched and sealed by staff or mail will be handed to an officer, searched by pulling out the in your presence then sealed.

O.  Packages: Items may be mailed to the facility from family, items will be added to your property list, detainees will be given a copy. You may mail property out at your own expense. Fill out a property release for items to be release, indicate if it will be picked up at the facility or mailed out. If mailed, you will be advised the cost, once you pay postage, the package will be sent. You may receive incoming packages, see D and K.

  OUTGOING PERSONAL MAIL EXAMPLES, NO ADDITIONAL DRAWING OR WRITINGS ALLOWED ON FRONT OR BACK OF THE LETTER

VISITATION

ICE/ and County inmates

MALES

Mondays and Fridays 7:00 pm to 10pm

FEMALES

Tuesdays                  7:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Fridays                     1:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Special visits may be scheduled due to Holidays and travel time by the visitor contacting Phelps County Corrections to set up an appointment, generally on Sunday, 9am to 4pm

B.  Visiting is subject to the following rules and any other posted rules.

  1. Visitors must be at least eighteen (18) years old.
  2.  If under eighteen (18) he/she must be accompanied by his/her parent(s) or legal guardian.

                        3.          Visitors must have photo identification with them.

                        4.          Visitors must register at the public lobby desk.

  • Funds may be brought in by a visitor, cash or money order only.
  • Books may be brought, however they must be donated to the facility.

                        7.          No food, drink or smoking will be permitted in the visiting area.

8.     Visitors are subject to be searched. Charges will be filed for any attempt to smuggle or introduce   Contraband into the Facility.

                        9.    Contact visits are allowed for Attorney’s and cleared Clergy and Counselors only.

10.  Any disruptive behavior including intoxication, use of profanity, or failure to comply with a staff member’s instructions by either the inmate or the visitor will be cause for terminating the visiting session and/or restriction on future visitation.

                        11.  Visitors will not be allowed into any other area of the Corrections Facility.

                        12. Visitation is on a first come basis.  There are five (5) visitors allowed in the visitation area per session, therefore, if the visitation room is full, you may be required to wait for the next visitation period.

                        13. A visitor must remain in the lobby area once signed in.

                         14. Visitors must be properly dressed.  Both adults and children must wear shoes at all times.  No halter tops, no swimsuits, no short shorts.  You, the inmate, are required to wear shoes and jumpsuit.

                         15.  All children who are under the age of twelve (12) must be supervised by an Adult

Children are expected to sit in the lobby.  Any disruptive behavior such as banging on the lockers or running in and out of the restrooms etc. will result in termination of the visitation session and/or restrictions on future visitation.

                          16. Children who accompany an adult in the visitation room must stay in the visitation room.                    

                      17. Children who are disrupting other visitors will cause that visit to be terminated and possible restrictions on

                        future visitations.

                     18. Children are not allowed to sit on the counter tops in the visitation room for the child’s safety.

  19. Taking food or drinks into the visitation room may cause the visit to be terminated.

                     20. Any offensive language used in the lobby may result in that individual being restricted from visiting for a period of time.

                    21.  No personal items are allowed into the visitation area.  Items must be locked in lockers ($0.25 fee) or left in the visitors’ vehicle.

                    22.  Cell phones, Cameras, and recording devices are prohibited.

C.  Special visits outside of the routine visiting hours may be allowed in cases of hardship (e.g. death in the family, or if the visitor must travel more than 100 miles) or if a work schedule is provided which shows visitors are unable to attend normal visitation. Special visit may be scheduled with the visitor contacting the facility at least 24 hours in advance. Special visitations are Sundays at 9am to 11am.

D.  Professional visitors (clergy, attorneys etc.) may visit during reasonable times. Identification and verification of affiliation will be required prior to a contact visit.

E.  If two or more visitors enter at the same time, the visitation time will be divided between them or the inmate may choose to spend the entire session with one individual.

COMMISSARY

A.  Okeefe commissary needs to be ordered by Tuesday and distributed Friday of each week. Orders that come in late on Tuesday will be delivered the next week. In-house commissary is offered daily. Special commissary will be offered Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at officer discretion. You are responsible to make sure all orders are legible and easily understood.  Once order forms are submitted changes cannot be made.  All commissary is considered a privileged and is subject to revocation due to disciplinary sanctions. Family or friends can order from mypack.com, orders will come with the Okeefe orders on Friday.

B.  You must complete and sign a Commissary Order Form.  The inmate’s signature grants the facility the authority to deduct funds from the inmate’s account.  You must sign the Order Form when you receive your commissary items.  The inmate’s signature here indicates receipt of the items he/she ordered.

C.  Commissary rules and regulations:

                 1.  No credit.     

2.   Sufficient money must be on your account at the time the order is placed to cover the total purchase price.

                 3.  Account money discrepancies will be remedied the following day.   

4.  Commissary is a privilege and not a right.  Restrictions will be made in accordance to special diets and disciplinary sanctions.

D.  Commissary Order/ delivery day may be changed due to a holiday.

E.  Once Commissary Forms are turned back in, they will not be returned to the inmate, nor will the order be revised.

F.   In-house commissary will be offered daily at needs and wants a complete list is available at that time.

G.  Special commissary (pop, ice cream, sandwiches) will be offered Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday at staff discretion.