Ventura County Sheriff's Department

On February 11, 2013, family members and friends of inmates currently incarcerated in the Ventura County Sheriff’s Jail facilities will have the ability to correspond with the inmate electronically. The Sheriff, in partnership with Ventura County Information Technology Services Department (ITSD) will launch the “email an inmate” program.

This fee-based service, developed by Ventura County ITSD staff, will provide another option for communication between inmates and members of the community. Inmates currently receive postcards from family and friends, in addition to magazines and books directly from the publisher. There is no restriction on legal or governmental correspondence.

The email program was designed to provide a contemporary and efficient means for information to be shared with an inmate. The email will be printed and delivered to the inmate; however the inmate will not be able to respond electronically. Inmates are able to contact members of the community via US Mail in the form of postcards, letters, greeting cards, or by telephone, or weekly visits.

In the initial phase of this program, only text will be allowed. Each email has a maximum of 4500 characters (equivalent to one page). The emails are available in quantities of :
10 ($10.00 + 1.50 processing fee),
25 ($23.75 + 1.50 processing fee), and
50 ($45.00 + 1.50 processing fee).

Each inmate may receive 5 emails per day, per sender.

The revenue generated from this program offsets the operational costs and credit card processing fee associated with program delivery. All revenue exceeding the operational costs is deposited into the Inmate Welfare Fund (IWF) Trust account. By law, the IWF Trust exists for the sole purpose of funding education, vocation, recreation and reentry programs for the inmate population.

Members of the community who are interested in sending an email to an inmate may do so via the Sheriff’s website, www.vcsd.org. Click on the “VCSD Jail - Inmate Information” icon and complete the form to locate the inmate. Once the inmate’s record has been located, the community member will be able to click on the button “email” and register their billing and contact information and send the email.

Nature of Incident: New Program – Email an Inmate
Location: www.VCSD.org VCSD Jail - Inmate Information Icon
Date & Time: February 11, 2013
Unit Responsible: Detention Services Division
Deputy Preparing Media Release: Commander Linda Oksner
Media Release Date: February 5, 2013
Follow-Up Contact: Commander Linda Oksner, (805) 933-8505

Ventura County Crime Stoppers will pay up to $1,000 reward for information, which leads to the arrest and criminal complaint against the person(s) responsible for this crime. The caller may remain anonymous. The call is not recorded. Call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).