Detention Center

DETENTION CENTER LOBBY UPDATE

EFFECTIVE MARCH 14, 2022

THE HOUSTON COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE DETENTION CENTER LOBBY WILL BE OPEN 24 HOURS A DAY. HOWEVER, DUE TO THE CONSTANT FLUCTUATION OF ACTIVITY SURROUNDING THE DELTA VARIANT AND RISE/FALL IN POSITIVE CASES, THE LOBBY MAY BE CLOSED WITHOUT ADVANCED NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC. THE WEARING OF FACE MASKS IN THE DETENTION CENTER IS NOW OPTIONAL.

 

COVID-19 UPDATE

THE HOUSTON COUNTY DETENTION CENTER WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE CDC GUIDELINES AND COVID-19 AS IT PERTAINS TO THE RESIDENTS OF HOUSTON COUNTY AS WELL AS THE STAFF AND INMATES OF THE HOUSTON COUNTY DETENTION CENTER. THE COVID-19 COUNTY CHECK SERVICE OFFERED BY THE CDC INDICATES A COMMUNITY LEVEL OF MEDIUM. THIS LEVEL IS DETERMINED BY LOOKING AT HOSPITAL BEDS BEING USED, HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS, AND THE TOTAL NUMBER OF COVID CASES WITHIN HOUSTON COUNTY.

IN-PERSON VISITATION WITH INMATES BY ATTORNEYS AND OTHER COURT PERSONNEL HAS RESUMED DURING NORMAL VISITATION HOURS MONDAY-FRIDAY 8:00 am –11:30 am AND 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm. REQUESTS DURING ANY OTHER TIMES MUST HAVE PRIOR APPROVAL.

STAFF DINING WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR COUNTY EMPLOYEES BEGINNING MARCH 21, 2022, AT A COST OF $3.50 PER MEAL.

WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF RESTARTING OUR MINISTERIAL SERVICES AND AA SERVICES FOR INMATES.

PLEASE DO NOT ENTER THE FACILITY IF YOU ARE DISPLAYING CHILLS, FEVERS, OR FLU LIKE SYMPTOMS.

 

 

Houston County Detention Center

Major Brian Blanton, Jail Administrator

Captain Michelle Westbrook, Asst. Jail Administrator

(478) 218-4900

Mission

To provide a safe and secure environment for pretrial detainees. To provide for the basic needs (food, clothing, shelter, medical care, mental health care, religious needs) of those detainees; to ensure the security of the jail from escapes; supervise inmates' day-to-day activities (feeding, cleaning, court appearances, medical appointments, visitations), transport inmates to courts appearances; transport inmates to and from the various jails and prisons throughout the State; to provide proper and current training to all officers assigned to the detention center; to provide trained officers to assist other divisions as needed: and to assist the community during times of natural and manmade disasters.

About

The Houston County Detention Center opened in 2002 as a state-of-the-art direct supervision facility. It is self-contained and allows for greater security of the citizens of Houston County. The facility currently houses 450 inmates and has the capacity for 665 inmates.

The Center includes a fully operational, 24-hour medical unit that is staffed by full time nursing personnel and physician with mental health services provided by Southern Correctional Medicine. There is a fully equipped industrial kitchen for the preparation of inmate meals. These meals are prepared by inmates with supervision from a contracted food service employee and monitored by detention staff. Supervised inmate work force personnel clean, provide laundry service, and do minor maintenance within the facility.

The Detention Center houses both males and females over the age of 17. These individuals have either been charged or convicted of misdemeanor or felony crimes and are to serve sentences of one year or less. Should they be sentenced to a longer period they would be sent to a State or Federal facility.

 

HOMEWAV VIDEO VISITATION

The Houston County Detention Center recently installed the HomeWAV video visitation system in an effort to provide visitation services which have been limited due to the VOID-19 pandemic. Visit HomeWAV.com for more information on how to establish an account to speak and see inmates incarcerated at the Detention Center.

  1. An account must be set up by the visitor on the internet by visiting HOMEWAV.COM.
  2. Visitors must provide a photo and picture identification such as a driver’s license to submit prior to being approved as a visitor. The identification must be readable by detention center staff for review.
  3. Anyone attempting to submit false identification or credentials or establish an account for someone who has been denied access by the detention center will be automatically removed as a visitor.
  4. If visitation is conducted by means of the HOMEWAV kiosk in the front lobby of the detention center, there will be one 30-minute visitation per week for authorized inmates based on the provided visitation schedule.
  5. Due to COVID-19, the kiosks in the lobby are not in service, but inmates will be advised when they are back in full service for them to utilize.
  6. Inmates will be permitted to use the HOMEWAV video visitation system from the housing units (remote visit) for a period of twenty (20) minutes each with a cost to be determined by HOMEWAV if their phone/visitation privileges have not been revoked for disciplinary reasons.
  7. Presently, the cost of a video visit is .30 per minute and the cost of a one-minute video message is .60.
  8. The costs are absorbed by the visitor establishing the account, not by the inmate.
  9. All video visitations, (remote or front lobby) are monitored by detention center staff.
  10. All conduct by inmates and visitors must conform to guidelines established in the inmate handbook and as listed above.
  11. Profanity, gang signs, indecency, lewd behavior, etc. will not be tolerated and are grounds exclusion form visitation.
  12. Inmates and visitors violating the conduct code can lose their visitation privileges for no less than 30 days.
  13. Visitors who post pictures or videos of any visitation with a HCDC inmate will permanently lose their visitor privileges.