Bonds
A bond is something of value used to secure the release from jail of a person awaiting trial, on the condition that the person appears for court. If the person does not appear for court, the surety will be forfeited. Bond amounts are set by a Judge, not by the Sheriff. Georgia law, OCGA §17-6-15, provides the Sheriff authority to establish, publish, and regulate the guidelines and rules for bonding arrested individuals. The administration of this process is performed by the Bonding personnel of the Sheriff’s Office. There are multiple methods for obtaining the release of a person incarcerated in the Stephens County Jail. The methods available are:
CASH BOND
A cash bond is cash in the full amount of the bond, which will be returned by the court to the Surety when the appearance requirements of the bond have been fulfilled. During normal business hours (MO-FR, 8AM-5PM), United States Postal Service (USPS) money orders or cashier checks drawn on local Stephens County banks are required. After normal business hours, only USPS money orders or cash are accepted. Personal/business checks and credit cards are NOT accepted at any time.
PROPERTY BOND
A property bond is private property being offered as a guarantee for the Principal to appear in court. The property MUST be located in Stephens County, Georgia. Every individual listed on the warranty deed or tax receipt must be present to sign the related documents. The documents required for acceptance are: a warranty deed and current tax bill, with a quit claim deed if applicable; and photo identification issued by a government entity. These documents must be presented at the Stephens County Jail by all individuals listed on the warranty deed or tax receipt.
PROFESSIONAL BOND
A professional bond is posted by a company operating as a professional bonding company in Stephens County. The company must be registered and authorized by the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office. Bonds from a licensed bonding company of another county are not acceptable. Any bonding company is subject to being suspended from operation under the rules published by the Sheriff.
Georgia law allows a professional bonding company to charge up to 15% for all bond amounts. This non-refundable fee is above the actual costs associated with “posting” the bond. A list of approved bonding companies is posted on the wall in the Jail Lobby or you may look up “bail bonds” in the telephone book. Detention Officers are prohibited by law from making recommendations.TRANSFER BOND (Out of County Property)
An out of county property bond is like the typical property bond except the property being offered as a guarantee of the Principal’s appearance is located outside of Stephens County (e.g. Habersham, Franklin, or any of the 159 counties in Georgia). The bond must be prepared by the Sheriff of the county where the property is located (e.g. property in Hart County will have to be prepared by the Hart County Sheriff’s Office). You must contact that Sheriff’s Office for their requirements. The bond must then be delivered to the Stephens County Jail in a sealed package bearing the other county’s letterhead.
Stamps, stationery, writing instruments, items containing glue, oversized greeting cards, credit cards, blank checks, plastic items, jewelry, anything used to conduct a business, candy, food, Polaroid pictures or sexually explicit photographs.
Correspondence and/or money may be sent to an inmate at the below listed address:
MAILING ADDRESS
Stephens County Jail
Inmates Full Name
70 N. Alexander Street
Suite 205
Toccoa, GA 30577
Money
To put money on a Stephens County Sheriff’s Office inmate’s account, choose from the following procedures:
Mail money order to the inmate (no personal checks are accepted and please, do not mail cash). A jail officer will post the money order on the inmate’s account. The inmate’s full name should be on the money order. Also, the sender should include their name and address on the money order.
Bring money order to the Jail Lobby with above mentioned information. A jail officer will post the money order on the inmate’s account. The jail officer will need depositor’s valid government photo ID for this procedure.
Money for inmate’s Commissary Account should be received no later than 12:00 pm on Monday afternoon for store use. Any money deposited after that deadline will not be available for use until the following week. No more than $100 will be accepted at any time. Money possessed by an inmate at the time of booking in this facility will automatically be placed on the Inmate Commissary Account. The purpose of money posted on the Inmate Commissary Account is for store purchases only. If the inmate wishes to release all or part of this money to a friend or relative, the inmate must fill out a separate property release form for this purpose; the friend or relative must be on the inmate’s visitation list. Money can be released only one time per booking. Inmates that are on restriction for any reason cannot release money. At no time will money be transferred between inmates’ accounts. Money release is limited to Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm; no release on weekends, Wednesdays, or holidays. There are no exceptions to these rules.
Phone Calls
Inmates may not receive incoming phone calls. Absent disciplinary restrictions, an inmate is free to place phone calls daily from 10:00 am until 10:00 pm There is a service fee charged by the phone service provider to the called party. The rates charged are regulated and approved by the Georgia Public Service Commission.
The Stephens County Sheriff’s office has contracted with IC Solutions as its inmate telephone service provider. ICSolutions offers you the option to set up one of two account types that enable you to fund (prepay for) calls placed to you by an inmate.
SETUP BY PHONE
To set up an account Call ICSolutions Customer Care at (888) 506-8407
SETUP ONLINE
Access ICSolutions online at www.icsolutions.com and complete the fields in the ‘Create an Account’ box. Click Submit to begin the account registration process.
To apply funds to the account, you may purchase prepaid services for a Prepaid Account or a Debit Telephone Account by using any of the following payment options:
CREDIT & DEBIT CARDS
With these two payment options, the funds are available for immediate use toward payment of charges for an inmate’s call.
WESTERN UNION, MONEY ORDER or
CASHIER’S CHECK
Since payments made with these options require additional processing, the funds are not available for use until they have been posted to the calling account.
AT THE JAIL
You may also bring cash, credit or debit card to the Jail Lobby where a kiosk is provided to deposit money on the inmate’s phone account.
Visitation Rules
Visitors, who are on the inmate’s visitation list, are assigned to a visitation booth during that inmates scheduled visitation time. The inmate is then taken to the visitation area in the jail and assigned to a monitor that is connected to the visitation center. Attorneys will be able to visit their client from a private booth or will be able to have face-to-face contact in the jail area.
Inmate is allowed only one (1) visiting session each scheduled visitation day.
Inmates in disciplinary segregation may be visited only by their attorneys, law enforcement officials, and the facility chaplains.
Each visit is limited to fifteen (15) minutes. Only two (2) visitors at one time, however a maximum of five (5) individuals will be permitted to visit during a visitation session. No Child under twelve (12) years of age are allowed to visit.
Visitors must complete the registration process at the visitation desk ten (10) minutes before the scheduled visitation to attend the current visitation session. After registration, the visitor must remain in the lobby until the inmate’s name is called.
All visitors must pass a security screening. Only two attempts to successfully complete the screening will be permitted. For this reason, visitors should leave all personal items in their vehicles. The only items allowed are the visitor’s ID and one (1) automobile key.
Visitors who have criminal records or who have been previously incarcerated may not be allowed to visit. This decision will be made on a case by case basis.
Intoxicated visitors are not allowed to visit and may be arrested.
Food, drink, and tobacco products are not allowed in the visitation area at ANY time.
All visitors under the age of eighteen must be accompanied by an adult.
All visitors sixteen years of age and older must present a government issued photo identification card in order to visit.
Children must be kept under control at all times and may not be left unattended at any time.
Contact visits are not permitted.
Visitors are not allowed to pass anything to inmates. Attempting to pass items could result in criminal prosecution.
Visitors are not permitted to stand or loiter anywhere near a perimeter fence.
Visitors are not permitted to attempt to communicate with inmates from the facility parking lot. Such actions will result in the individual being barred from the premises and his/her visitation privileges suspended or revoked.
Visitors are prohibited from inappropriately exposing themselves to inmates.
Visitors must be appropriately dressed in order to visit an inmate.
Visitation Dress Code
The Jail Sergeant’s decision is final regarding the appropriateness of clothing allowed at visitation.Failure to comply with any of these rules will result in immediate termination of the visit and the temporary or permanent barring of the visitor from further visitation.
MALES
Men must wear a shirt with sleeves, pants or shorts at/below the knee, and shoes.
FEMALES
Women must wear a top with sleeves (halter-tops, tank tops, and bare midriffs are not allowed), pants or shorts at/below the knee, and shoes. Alternatively, women may wear a conservative dress ending no more than two inches above the knee. Shoulder straps on dresses must be two inches wide or wider–no spaghetti straps or strapless dresses. Form fitting clothing, stretch clothing of any type, clothing worn in a suggestive manner, or clothing that reveals undergarments is not allowed.
Visitation Schedule
Inmate POD
A POD Bottom Tier
A POD Top Tier
B POD Bottom Tier
B POD Top Tier
C POD Bottom Tier
C POD Top Tier
D POD Bottom Tier
D POD Top Tier
F POD Bottom Tier
F POD Top Tier
G POD Bottom Tier
G POD Top Tier
H POD Bottom Tier
H POD Top Tier
SATURDAY – (Even Cells) / SUNDAY – (Odd Cells)
0900 – 0920 AM
0930 – 0950 AM
1000 – 1020 AM
1030 – 1050 AM
100 – 120 PM
130 – 150 PM
200 – 220 PM
230 – 250 PM
500 – 520 PM
530 – 550 PM
600 – 620 PM
630 – 650 PM
700 – 720 PM
730 – 750 PM
Medical Care
The Sheriff’s Office provides all inmates with appropriate medical care as determined by professional medical and legal standards. Sheriff’s Office personnel are unable to discuss inmate medical issues with any third party due to Federal HIPAA law.