West Baton Rouge Parish Jail: Information and Guidelines to Follow

If you have been arrested for a crime in West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, you’ll be reprimanded in the West Baton Rouge Parish detention center. This is the parish’s closest detention center, and as such, it is the preferred holding site for people awaiting trial and sentencing in West Baton Rouge Parish and its encompassing areas.

You may also be reprimanded in this detention facility if you are arrested by the US marshal’s services or by law enforcement officers in neighboring towns and municipals who don’t have long-term lock-up. But while it is almost certain that you’ll be detained in this detention facility as you await trial or sentencing in West Baton Rouge Parish, who you choose to represent you in court will determine how long you’ll be held at this facility. That’s why it is important to have an aggressive criminal defense attorney fighting for your civil rights when you are blamed for an offense in West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. But before someone you love gets detained for the commission of a crime in West Baton Rouge parish, make sure you are informed on how the detention center operates.

In the subsequent lines, our experienced and well-versed criminal defense attorneys will be answering questions on all you need to know about the West Baton Rouge Parish Jail.

 

How to locate an inmate?

Despite its strictness on offenders, the state of Louisiana makes it easy for friends and families to locate inmates detained in its cities. On the off chance that one of your loved ones is detained in West Baton Rouge, its neighboring towns, or municipalities, you can find the inmate with the Prison locator.

To locate an inmate in this medium-security prison, all you have to do is to look up the inmate’s name on the list of names published by the detention center. West Baton Rouge Parish Jail, makes it a point to publish the names of inmates held under its watchful eyes on its page. So if you are wondering whether your loved one is held in the detention center, using the prison’s inmate locator may help clear your doubts. You can make the search through this locator or the inmate-Aid search box; whichever works for you.

The InmateAid inmate search is particularly helpful since it provides an extensive database of inmates. Besides, the content of the search is user-generated. As the platform itself is created to help inmates access assistance in diverse areas of needs, you can rest assured that you’ll find your inmate with this search option. When all else fails, you can try the traditional method calling the detention center on phone, to inquire about the whereabouts of your inmate. You can call the facility’s direct contact number; 225-346-6420. But be ready to incur some small amounts. However, if you are looking for a sure-fire way to locate an inmate in West Baton Rouge Parish Jail, it would be one involving a few minutes’ conversations with the prison’s receptionist.

It is also worth mentioning, that you can’t locate an inmate over the phone or through the internet without having, at least, one of these details;

Inmate’s name {in full}
Inmate’s identification number
Inmate’s case number

Depending on the circumstances surrounding an inmate’s case, the prison may withhold information about the inmate. Also, if the inmate in question is a minor under the age of 18 years old or under protective custody, you may have a hard time locating such an inmate in West Baton Rouge Parish Jail.

Can I visit an inmate?

Yes, you can. Nobody will forbid you from visiting an inmate at the detention facility during the prison’s visitation hours. But as you already know, prison visits are monitored and timed. If you want to see an inmate at West Baton Rouge Parish Jail, you must visit during the stipulated visitation hours. The visitation hours are as follows;

· Monday: 9 am – 6 pm

· Tuesday: 9 am – 6 pm

· Wednesday: 9 am – 6 pm

· Thursday: 9 am – 6 pm

· Friday: 9 am – 6 pm

To protect the inmate and visitors during visitation hours, the prison makes it a point to provide partitioned glass units for non-contact communication between inmates and visitors. In other words, you are not allowed to touch or be touched by an inmate during visitation. You may also find it interesting that the prison offers video visitation options for friends and family of inmates. For more inquiries on West Baton Rouge Parish detention center’s terms and conditions regarding video visitations, please call the facility’s direct contact number; 225-346-6420. Inmates are not allowed more than two visitors per day. So if you have intentions of visiting your inmate with a group, think again.

In case you need directions to the facility, West Baton Rouge detention center is located at 1150 Northwest Dr. Port Allen, Louisiana. 

Can I call an inmate?

Well, it depends. Under normal circumstances, you may not be allowed to call an inmate held at the West Baton Rouge Parish detention center. However, the facility may give you a one-time opportunity to reach out to your inmate if it is an emergency. One such emergency is if you know something that you feel could impact the inmate’s case during trial.

To call an inmate to report for urgent business, you’ll need to call the facility through its direct contact number. Then the facility’s representative will decide whether your emergency is genuine or not.

An inmate held in the West Baton Rouge Parish detention center may call friends and family outside through the facility’s contracted phone company. In this case, the person at the receiving end of the call will have to set up an account with the facility’s phone company. When the inmate calls you, you’ll be asked if you want to collect the call and incur its charges. The drawback, however, is that cellular phone users cannot collect calls from inmates unless they have an account set up with the prison’s phone company.

While you may not know this, every call that goes in and out of the West Baton Rouge detention center is recorded and monitored by prison officials. So be mindful of what you say while conversing with an inmate on the phone. These records can be taken as incriminatory evidence to nail your inmate further to the cross during the trial.

You can, as well, check out the facility’s webpage on other phoning options to see the one that suits you best.

Can I mail an inmate?

The answer is yes. You can mail a person in custody of the West Baton Rouge Parish detention center from almost anywhere in the city. But as you already know, the prison mailing system works a little differently from the conventional mailing systems. Unlike the conventional mailing system where broken mail is perceived as an infringement of privacy, things work a little differently in prison. If you will be sending mail to an inmate in the nearest future, know that your mail will be scrutinized and double-checked for drugs before delivery. Nevertheless, Legal mails from inmates’ attorneys are delivered unsearched with their contents intact. But the mail must be described with the words “legal mail” to enjoy this kind of luxury.

Apart from the fact that all mail is subject to inspection, the prison has other reservations as regards how friends and family inmates can mail persons held in its yard. failure to conform to the prison’s rules and regulations for mails sent to inmates will mean the return of your mail.

West Baton Rouge prison only permits mails written with blue or black ink or pencil. Above and beyond, the mail must be metered. On the off chance that you are sending a postcard along with the mail, you must send a plain white postcard that is not larger than 4” X 6”. If your mail does not meet these requirements, it will be forwarded back to you through the return address indicated on the mail. In cases where there is no return address on the mail, the facility stores the mail amongst the inmate’s belongings until his/her release.

On the off chance that you’ll be sending mail to an inmate in custody of the West Baton Rouge Parish Detention Center, make sure your mail is devoid of the following items:

Words/items that are perceived as a threat to the prison order or security
Words/items that depict the construction of bombs, weapons, tools, or incendiary devices that could pose risks to the prison personnel or help an inmate escape.
Words/items that promote violence
Words/items that advocate racial supremacy
Words/items that advocate ethnic purity
pornographic and obscene items

Mails containing any of the above-listed items or words would be returned to the sender. Depending on the seriousness of the mail, items may be destroyed or held as incriminatory evidence against your inmate. Furthermore, no inmate to inmate mail would be accepted by the detention center. If such a thing should transpire between inmates, the jail will seize and destroy the mail.

When addressing your mail to an inmate, make sure it is addressed correctly to avoid mix-ups in the mailroom. Do it like so;

Inmate Name and ID Number

West Baton Rouge Detention center

1150 Northwest Dr. Port Allen, Louisiana.

How do I send money to an inmate?

In Louisiana, inmates held in custody of a detention center is entitled to a trust account during his/her stay at the facility. These trust accounts are generally funded by friends and family outside. While the method of funding an inmate trust account may differ slightly from prison to prison, it is pretty generic in Louisiana. West Baton Rouge Parish Jail understands that inmates have needs that can’t be shouldered by the facility, so it makes it easy for benefactors to fund their inmate’s account. The money sent to an inmate can be used for a range of things, including the purchase of books, phone credit, mail services, medical and dental services (co-pay), and a bunch of other stuff from the commissary. All these things cost money, and depending on the facility, inmates may be asked to pay for the prison’s expenses per-night.

Commissary, in this case, refers to the facility’s in-house store; a place where inmates can purchase non-threatening materials once a week. To enjoy access to the commissary, an inmate’s trust account must be funded; either by friends outside or with the amounts earned doing prison jobs.

There are many ways to send money to an inmate’s book. But you should expect the method and ease of sending money to an inmate to vary from parish to parish. Nevertheless, electronic banking is becoming more and more renowned in most facilities across the state. Therefore, friends and family can send money to an inmate without stress or hassle. Another option is to use MoneyGram to deposit money through a stand-alone kiosk at the prison’s reception. West Baton Rouge Parish Jail also accepts postal money orders. Therefore, you can send money to an inmate’s book through the facility’s mail.

Whereas there are no limits to how much money a depositor can send to an inmate in federal prison, you may experience such limitations in other detention centers. Depending on the facility, the limit may range from $200-$300. Besides, some correctional facilities may also require depositors to have visited the inmate at least once before sending money. If you want to send money through the electronic banking option, you’ll need the following information;

Inmate’s full name
Inmate’s Identification number
Inmate’s location

We recommend that you do your research on the online transfer company of your inmate’s facility, before sending money via electronic channels.

How to purchase inmate care packages?

Despite the four walls of the prison; you can still show inmates that you can about them. Commissary care packages are one of the best ways to show your inmate that you care. West Baton Rouge Parish Jail has a commissary; therefore, you can order care packages for your loved ones from the comfort of your home. Most detention centers have weekly limits for care packages that an inmate is allowed to own; usually, about $100 (including tax). But then again, the care packages purchased by family and friends are not included in the inmate’s commissary allowance. So the inmate can enjoy the care packages without mission out on commissary allowances. Here are some trusted care packages providers you can consider for someone detained at the West Baton Rouge Detention center:

CareACell
Union Supply Direct
Access Securpak
Walkenhorst’s 
Keefe Group
iCareGifts

Can I bail out an inmate at West Baton Rouge Parish Detention Center?

Persons held in the custody of West Baton Rouge detention center can be bailed out by friends or family members. Bail can also be posted by the inmate or a legal representative. The funds used to post bail may come from a bail bond agency or personal funds. Alongside the bail amount, the bond payment is also accompanied by a $50 billing fee. Depending on where the inmate’s case is being tried in the state, the procedure for bail may differ slightly from facility to facility.

To post bail for an inmate in West Baton rouge court, you’ll have to pay the full amount of the bail at the court during working hours; between 8 AM and 5 PM. Of course, you’ll have to provide the inmates full name, identification number, and location.

You may also post bail with cashier’s check addressed to the court and affixed with the inmate’s details. The facility does not accept personal checks and you may have a hard time posting bail online.

If you don’t have enough funds to post bail for an inmate, you can get a bail bond loan with minimal risk. There are many bail bond loan providers scattered throughout the parish, and some of them offer great terms for their loans. Of course, your loan entitlement will depend on how outstanding you are in West Baton Rouge Parish and your trustworthiness. But, in the end, you can get a bail bond loan of up to $50,000.

Are inmates entitled to medical treatment in West Baton Rouge Parish Detention Center?

West Baton Rouge Parish Jail is a medium-security correctional institute, and as such, the guards in there are usually armed. The prison provides accommodation for inmates in cage-style housing and features a regimented daily routine for inmates. The jail officials are always watching inmates for contrabands, and they are trained to restore order when inmates deviate from the prison’s regimented routine. Save the single-person rooms and showers, the facility’s hallways and common areas are equipped with surveillance cameras. Inmates wear matching outfits for easy identification and they are housed with persons blamed for comparable offenses.

In West Baton Rouge Parish and other parishes across Louisiana, correctional institutions are not permitted to isolate persons in custody along racial lines. But for sake of safety, facilities may isolate genders and associates of conflicting gangs.

Inmates who are considered a threat to the facility populace, themselves and the jail officials are housed in small isolation cells, where they are closely monitored by guards. Also, Inmates who stand the risk of harassment may be put in protective custody for their safety.

The West Baton Rouge Parish detention center is legally obligated to attend to inmates’ prescription and medical needs, during their stay in the facility. The facility also provides specialized medical areas for sick persons in their custody.

Perhaps you have an inmate in the West Baton Rouge Parish Detention center, who is being threatened, wounded, or in need of medical attention. Call the facility’s direct contact number; 225-346-6420 and tell them your concerns.

Can I send magazines to inmates?

Nothing excites an inmate (besides his/her release date) than to get their favorite magazine delivered to them at the prison. As a friend or family member of an inmate, this is one of the fun ways to show your inmate that you care.

West Baton Rouge detention center, like most correctional facilities in Louisiana, allows inmates to receive their favorite magazine and books every month. But the book and magazine must be sent directly by the publisher. In order words, magazines sent by friends and family with their mailing address will be returned to the sender. To ensure that your inmate gets his/her favorite magazine every month, send it through the publisher with your inmate’s name attached to the address label. The setup process for the subscription is pretty straight forward. If all goes well, you can finish the entire process in less than two minutes.

You can do this in two ways: you can fill out the small card on the new magazine displayed in your favorite grocery store with your inmate’s details (ID number, and name), or use an online magazine subscription channel. With the first option, your inmate will get a magazine issue 8 to 12 weeks after filling out the details. But with the second option, the subscription is instantaneous. By providing your inmate’s name and identification number, you can ensure that s/he gets an issue every month for the next year.

Whom to call for help when detained at West Baton Rouge Parish Jail

All things considered, there is one person to call when you or someone you love is detained at a detention center in Louisiana. You can rely on Mr. Carl Barkemeyer and his team of well-versed attorneys to help you make sense of your case. We’ll help you through the trial process and if possible, help you secure bail. Our West Baton Rouge DWI lawyer, Carl Barkemeyer, Criminal Defense Attorney, considers it our priority to help clients litigate the most favorable outcomes for their case.

Call us today at 225-964-6720, and we’ll do everything permissible by the law in negotiating a favorable outcome for your case.