Address:
14300 McMullen Highway, S.W.
Cresaptown, MD 21502
Phone:
301-729-8540
Since Allegany County Detention Center contracts with JailATM / Prodigy Telephone Solutions. they either already or will soon provide you and your inmate the ability to use their Messaging Service to send and receive electronic messages. Try both Jail ATM & Prodigy. They are in the midst of a merger and one or the other will be handling this jail's account.
Depending on the facility, inmates can either view messages from you by:
Pay for the Prodigy Inmate Messaging Service at Allegany County Detention Center.
- Online,
- Over the Phone by calling 866-700-4545,
- Using a Kiosk at Allegany County Detention Center.
Pay for the JailATM Inmate Messaging Service at Allegany County Detention Center.
- Online,
- Using a Kiosk at Allegany County Detention Center.
- Over the phone by calling 877-810-0914.
How much does it cost to send and receive messages?
Rates to send messages vary and are subject to change.
The typical cost is $1.00 per message, plus $1.00 per photo and $3.00 per 30 second video when available.
Step 1 - Sign in or create an account to find your facility.
Step 2 - Fund Account
NOTE: By turning on messaging, you will fund your account with $5.00 and authorize Prodigy / Jail ATM to charge your payment method for the same amount if you send a message or receive a collect message and do not have enough money.
Once you sign up with Jail ATM instant Messaging you can you can send texts from the cell phone associated with the mobile number you provided at sign-up, and receive text messages from the inmate on the same cell phone. You can only use the phone number you signed up with or it won't work.
Viewing Texts and Sending Replies:
Each text message sent to the inmate is converted to an email prior to delivery. The resident will view your text message just like he or she would view an email (for instance, on a kiosk within the housing unit); however, the resident will be alerted that the message came in as a text. The resident’s reply is converted back to a text message after sending, and delivered to your cell phone. Everything you send and receive will be viewed by the Allegany County Detention Center first.
Emails:
After you sign up for the SMS Texting Program, all of the inmate's emails and other electronic messages are delivered to your cell phone as a text message – you will no longer receive emails from the resident. You can still send an email to the resident after you sign up for the SMS Texting Program. However, the resident’s reply comes back to you as a text message. You can access your messaging account on the JailATM website to see a full record of all electronic messages sent and received.
Cost:
Once you sign up, the fees will be outlined and are subject to change, however Allegany County Detention Center typically charges $1.00 per text message sent and received.
Almost all jails and prisons have adopted a messaging system which allows inmates to communicate with their friends and family using an electronic messaging system. It’s neither email nor text, it’s something in between.
The inmate and their contacts do not use their regular email accounts or phone numbers, but account numbers that are set up with the company providing the service.
All communication goes through them. Think of them as a middleman.
Once a contact of the inmate is approved, like the approval process a visitor goes through, an account is set up, using a credit or debit card to fund the account.
To start, the inmate’s contact can send a message that has a limit of so many characters, usually about one page of text.
The message is then reviewed by a computer that scans the message for certain keywords or phrases that are not allowed, almost like a censoring service. If the machine scanner finds problems with the message it sends the message to the Allegany County Detention Center staff to review, and if they find no issues, will then forward it to the inmate’s account so that they can read it.
If there are problems with the message, it is possible the message will not be sent. The sender will be notified of the decision and will not get a refund.
Once the inmate receives the message, should the account holder have funded the account allowing replies, the inmate can respond with a similar length message.
The cost to use the electronic messaging service, which is like texting or emailing, costs between $0.50 and $1.00 per page; a page being about 500 characters.
Photos can be sent by the inmate’s contact that is not incarcerated, but not by the inmate due to security concerns. There is an extra cost, usually about $0.50 for each photo attached.
The photos must go through a security screening where nudity, violence and other things are checked before the photo can be delivered. If the photo is rejected, the sender will be notified, but no refund will be given.
The inmate does not have the ability to print out the photos that make it past the screening, but the photos will stay in their account so that they can view them at their leisure.
No. Because this is a closed system, the inmate has no access to the internet, thus the inmate will have no access to any links that you send them.
Yes, just as you can send text and photos, you can send a video message, or if not a message, then a video of your children or yourself. Every company has a limit on the length of the video, usually no more than one minute, and at a cost of approximately $2.00 to $3.00 per video.
The video will first be screened for any nudity, excessive vulgarity, violence, etc. If it is rejected on any of the grounds the sender will not be given a refund.
As with the policy of photos, the inmate cannot reciprocate. They cannot send videos of themselves or anything in jail.
The jails that contract with the electronic messaging service is given a certain number of kiosks within each unit for inmate use. Inmates can log on as they might with a public computer terminal.
In addition to the public terminal kiosks, inmates are given (or can rent) access to individual tablets like a bulky, almost indestructible ipad. These allow an inmate to use them to access your messages, photos and videos in a more private manner.
Should the inmate damage the tablet, they will be responsible for replacing it. The money will be deducted from their commissary account.
The electronic messaging system used by Allegany County Detention Center, if there is one, can be found at the top of this page. If there is no information about the ability to text or email with an inmate, it is possible that the facility has recently changed companies or does not have this service available. Call 301-729-8540 to confirm.
This is a list of all the companies in the United States that work with jails and prisons, providing text and email messaging between inmates and their friends and families:
Access Corrections
CIDNET
City Tele Coin
Correct Pay
Corrlinks
Ctel
Edevo
Express Account
Gettingout
GTL
Homewav
IC Solutions
Inmate Canteen
Inmate Sales
JailATM
J Pay
NCIC
Paytel
Pigeonly
Prodigy Sales
Reliance
Securus
Smart Communications
TBE
Visitel
You fund the messaging service with credit and debit cards. All of them take Visa and MasterCard, most also take Discover, and just some take America Express.
There is no limit to the amount of texting and email that an inmate can have with their family and friends.
If an inmate has their own tablet, then they can text any time of the day or night, however if the must use the wall mounted kiosk terminal in their unit, they are limited to using it only during the hours they are allowed off their bunks; usually 7:00AM to 10:00PM, excluding meals, head counts and shift changes.
No, inmates are not allowed to communicate with each other, nor with inmates in other institutions. There is always a way to get around it, for example if one of the inmates has access to a phone with an internet connection, but this would be the only way.
The tablets can be rented on a monthly basis and while not directly connected to the internet, the inmates can use them for phone, visits, messages, education, self-help and entertainment.
Questions:
To learn more about Homewav tablets, the dozens of features, cost and how to get one delivered to your inmate, check out our Inmate Tablet page.
To receive phone calls from inmates in Allegany County, or to assist them in making phone calls to other people, follow these steps:
For all the information regarding phone calls with Allegany County inmates; rules, policies, phone calling times, video, messaging, time limits and more, visit our Inmate Phone Page.
To send a commissary carepack (food, snacks and goods) directly to an inmate in Allegany County Detention Center follow these steps:
For all information, tips and available items for shipping Commissary packages to an inmate in Allegany County Detention Center check out our Commissary Instructions Page for Allegany County.
Customer Service Contact
Call 800-956-2747 Monday - Friday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM EST.
Email: [email protected].
How can you rent a tablet for an inmate in Allegany County? Read the following:
Tablets can be used by inmates, for the following things:
Contact Paytel online, or call the Allegany County Detention Center directly at 301-729-8540 to rent a tablet for your inmate.
To find out everything you need to know about renting a tablet, what it can be used for, how much it costs, and more, check out our Tablet Page for Allegany County Detention Center.
To visit or email an inmate in Allegany County follow these steps:
Who do you contact if you are having any problems arranging the remote video visit, phoning or emailing of an inmate in Allegany County?
Call HomeWav support at 314-764-2872, or toll free 844-394-6639.
Monday – Friday
9:00AM to 6:00PM EST
Saturday – Sunday
8:00AM to 6:00PM EST
NOTE: All communications between you and your inmate at Allegany County Detention Center will be recorded and stored. Do not discuss your inmate's case or other sensitive information as it can be used against them (or you) in court.
For full instructions on all the benefits of using Homewav to visit a Allegany County inmate, visiting an inmate at the jail itself, email and texting an inmate, rates, policies, rules, dress codes, bringing children, attorney and clergy visits and more, go to our official Visit Inmate Page.
Using Jail ATM Digital Messaging with an Inmate at Allegany County Detention Center - Sending and Receiving Messages.
How It Works:
Once you sign up with Jail ATM instant Messaging you can you can send texts from the cell phone associated with the mobile number you provided at sign-up, and receive text messages from the inmate on the same cell phone. You can only use the phone number you signed up with or it won't work.
To learn more about this email service, check out our full instructions, including fees at our emailing and texting page.
To set up a phone account so that your inmate can call you from Allegany County do the following:
1. Enroll in an account with Securus Technologies.
2. Choose one of three account types, Securus Debit, Advance Connect or Direct Bill.
3. Choose [facility_name_1}, then connect with your inmate.
4. If you have any questions, call Securus: 972-734-1111 or 800-844-6591.
To find out fees, how to's, calling times, limits on phone calls and other systems Securus has do that you can communicate with your Allegany County inmate, check out our Inmate Phone Page.
NOTE: All of your inmate's phone calls are recorded and stored. It is advised not to discuss their pending case.
To send a secure email message to an inmate in Allegany County Detention Center follow these steps:
How inteleMESSAGE Works
For all information on rates, and how to Text/Email an Inmate in Allegany County Detention Center check out our Secure Messaging Guide for Allegany County.
To receive phone calls from inmates in Allegany County, or to assist them in making phone calls to other people, follow these steps:
For all the information regarding phone calls with Allegany County inmates; rules, policies, phone calling times, costs, limits, tablet rental and more visit our Inmate Phone Page.
To send a commissary carepack (food, snacks and goods) directly to an inmate in Allegany County Detention Center follow these steps:
For all information, tips and available items for shipping Commissary packages or sending money to an inmate in Allegany County Detention Center check out our Commissary Instructions Page for Allegany County.
To send messages to a Allegany County inmate follow these instructions:
Since Allegany County Detention Center contracts with JailATM / Prodigy Telephone Solutions. they either already or will soon provide you and your inmate the ability to use their Messaging Service to send and receive electronic messages. Try both Jail ATM & Prodigy. They are in the midst of a merger and one or the other will be handling the Allegany County Detention Center account.
Pay for the Prodigy Inmate Messaging Service at Allegany County Detention Center.
- Online,
- Over the Phone by calling 866-700-4545,
- Using a Kiosk at Allegany County Detention Center.
Pay for the JailATM Inmate Messaging Service at Allegany County Detention Center.
- Online,
- Using a Kiosk at Allegany County Detention Center.
- Over the phone 877-810-0914.
For all the information you need regarding messaging a Allegany County inmate at the jail, including how it's done, how much it costs, rules and regulations and more, check out our Text/Email an Inmate Page.
NOTE: All of your communication with an inmate is recorded. Use discretion in what you discuss.
To deposit money online for an inmate in Allegany County Detention Center follow these steps:
For all information, tips and procedures for sending money to an inmate in Allegany County Detention Center, or depositing money at the jail, over the phone or by mail, check out our Send Money Page for Allegany County.