Sheriff's Office

Corrections Division (Ottawa County Jail)

The primary goal of the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office Corrections Division (Jail) is to insure the safety of inmates, corrections personnel, and residents of Ottawa County. This is accomplished by detaining inmates in a secure manner, in the least restrictive setting possible, given inmate classification. The Ottawa County Sheriff's Office Corrections Division strives to provide all inmates with humane living conditions and to protect inmate rights consistent with the United States Constitution, the Michigan Constitution, the laws of the State of Michigan and Department of Corrections guidelines.

Visits

• Inmate Visitations - In Person
  • Inmate visitation reservations can be scheduled or cancelled by calling (616) 738-4650.
  • A photo driver's license, state ID, or passport is required.
  • A maximum of two adults and two children will be permitted to visit an inmate at any one time. Children visiting inmates must be deemed age appropriate by the parent or guardian accompanying the child.
  • Minors under the age of 18 MUST be accompanied by an adult. The minor must have ID such as a birth certificate, Social Security Card, or photo ID described above.
  • Arrive 10 minutes prior to your scheduled visit time.
  • Only keys and identification are allowed in the visitation area. No cell phones or other personal property is allowed. Lockers are available or you may leave property in your vehicle.
  • Stay home if you have any symptoms of illness.
• Attorney & Clergy Visiting - In Person

  Attorneys of record and Clergy members may schedule professional visits. Both must have proper identification of their profession which must be presented at the time of each visit.

  Visitation by clergy members requires security clearance prior to scheduling the visit. To begin the security clearance process, please contact us at (616) 738-4650.

  Special arrangements can be made for professional visiting if necessary, but an attempt must be made to adhere to normal visiting hours. Special requests will be directed to Jail Supervision for approval.

• Inmate Visitation - Video On-Demand

  How Video On-Demand Works

  SmartJailMail.com provides a two-way, real-time, on-demand video visitation system which can be used to speak to your loved ones directly in their housing location within the jail. Video on-demand visits are billed per minute and are scheduled in 15-minute increments. To receive a video on- demand visit you MUST open a SmartJailMail.com account. This process is quick and easy, just follow these simple steps...

  1. Sign Up
     Creating an account is fast, simple, and completely free. SmartJailMail will ask you to choose a username and password to identify your account along with some basic contact information. SmartJailMail will send you an e-mail or text message to verify and activate your account. There is no cost to create an account and search for inmates, prisoners, or detainees to connect with. You will need your phone to receive the activation code through text message or e-mail to activate your account.
  2. Make Connections
     • The public user will select the inmate's to connect with under the "Contacts" then "Find an Inmate"
     • Once an inmate is selected, the public user will then choose connection "Friends/Family" and send a connection request
     • The inmate will then accept or decline the connection request.
     • Once connected, the public user will receive an email notifying them they are connected to the inmate
     • The public user will then go to their smartjailmail.com account and upload the required documentation to apply for visitation.

  You must be pre-approved prior to receiving video on-demand communications with inmates. For approval, you are required to submit a proof of identification and one photo of yourself.

  • A copy or photo of valid State Identification card, Driver's license card, U.S. Military Identification card, valid passport/visa, or Alien Registration card can be used.
  • A current self-photo, a picture can be uploaded right from your phone or PC (provided it has a camera) in a pdf or jpg file format. The photo should be cropped to include the upper body only, with a natural background (no digital generated backgrounds or filters allowed).
  • These images will be added to your online account and will be submitted to the correctional facility for approval by the county. You will be notified via email when your request has been approved.
  • If any proof of identification or photo is rejected you will be notified what is needed. Delete the rejected item and upload a new picture. Then resubmit your application.

  Once the application is approved, the inmate can now send out a video on-demand request on the tablet.

Commissary

Eligible inmates may receive commissary one (1) time each week. The maximum amount of commissary that may be ordered by an inmate is $75.00.

Family and friends may order commissary on behalf of an inmate by going to canteenservices.com, or expressaccount.com or calling 1-866-422-6833. Pay attention to the vendor's order deadlines when placing an order. Credit card payment can be made with VISA, MasterCard and American Express. Orders received after the deadline are deferred to the next week. All money deposited is subject to transaction fees and becomes the property of the inmate.

*Orders not picked up within seven (7) days after an inmate’s release from custody will become the property of the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office.

Indigent kits are made available to inmates who have less than $2.00 in their trust account. A fee will be deducted from their account and repayment collected as funds become available. Indigent kits contain: 1-toothbrush, 1-toothpaste, 4-pieces of paper, 2-stamped envelopes, 1-golf pencil, 1-shampoo and 1-lotion.

All inmates will be issued a starter kit upon initial transfer to general population. A fee will be deducted from the inmate’s trust account to offset the cost.

Inmate Trust Account Deposits

Family and friends may go online to make a deposit of funds in to an inmate’s trust account at www.expressaccount.com or by calling 1.866.422.6833. Funds (cash or credit card) may also be brought in person to the public lobby of the jail and placed in the kiosk 24 hours/7days week. Deposits made with a credit card are limited to $200 per transaction, or $300 maximum within 14 days. Cash sent via the mail is not encouraged, however, if cash is received the money will be credited to the inmate's trust account. All money deposited is subject to transaction fees and becomes the property of the inmate.

Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA)

The Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office Correctional Facilities has a zero tolerance policy toward all forms of sexual abuse and sexual harassment in our facilities, as described in the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) 2003. We will enforce all federal, state, and local laws pertaining to inmate sexual misconduct. All reports will be fully investigated by law enforcement, which includes both allegations of sexual abuse or sexual harassment, by the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office Detective Bureau.

Under PREA, we have established uniform methods for prompt reporting and investigation of allegations of sex-related offenses or threats, identification of predators, protection of victims, and prescribing sanctions for substantiated sexual offenses, as well as false allegations. This standard is directed to all sexual acts relating to: inmate to inmate, inmate to staff, and staff to inmate.

If you suspect that an inmate is the victim of sexual assault/harassment, it can be reported in any of the following ways:

• Contact the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office Correctional Facility administration office during regular business hours at (616) 738-4080 and you will be directed to someone who can take the information.
• Call Inmate Information and request to speak with a shift supervisor to make a report at (616) 786-4140 (available 24 hours/day)
• Call Silent Observer at (616) 994-7851 or Toll free at (1-877-88-SILENT), with the option to remain anonymous.
• Or email: jailcrimetips@miottawa.org

Jail Chaplain

The Ottawa County Jail has a full-time Chaplain from Reach the Forgotten. The Chaplain provides many services to the inmates of the Jail. Inmates at the time of incarceration may request to participate in any programs offered by the Chaplain.

Available Programs

The Corrections Division offers the following programs for the inmate populations at the West Olive facility:

• General Equivalency Diploma
• New Beginnings Program
• Pathways to Purpose
• Thinking for a Change
• Every Man A Warrior
• Substance Use Disorder Programs

The goal of these various programs is to assist inmates in becoming law abiding, productive members of the community once they are released from incarceration.