The Johnson Detention Center in Laurens County, South Carolina is often referred to as the Laurens County Detention Center because it is operated by the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office.  Laurens County inmate searches are done by looking at the inmates in the Johnson Detention Center, which maintains an inmate list that contains the full names of all inmates currently being detained at the Laurens County Detention Center.  You can visit that website to determine if someone is currently incarcerated in the Laurens County Detention Center.

The Johnson Detention Center, which is the official name for the Laurens County Detention Center, is run by Captain Kathy Tucker, the Commander of Detention Services for Laurens County, under the supervision of the Laurens County Sheriff.  The goal of the Detention Services Division is to protect the public by securing pre-trial detainees.  In addition to protecting the public from pre-trial detainees, the Johnson Detention Center seeks to provide secure, safe, and sanitary housing for those detainees.

Laurens County was formed in 1785, and was the site of many of the battles in the American Revolution.  In fact, it hosted more battles than any other county in the United States, making it one of the most historically significant counties in the United States.  Although no longer embattled, the modern Laurens County retains an important positon in the state.  Today, is part of the Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin metro-area, but contains more of the bedroom communities, with a relatively small population of around 67,000 people.  Despite its small size, Laurens County plays a significant role in South Carolina because of its location in one of the state’s larger metropolitan areas.

The Laurens County Sheriff is Don Reynolds. In South Carolina, sheriff is an elected position.  The Laurens County Sheriff’s Department handles pre-trial detentions in addition to handling law enforcement responsibilities.  Sheriff Reynolds is committed to providing safe and humane care for detainees in a secure and cost-efficient environment.  While these responsibilities are overseen directly by the head of the corrections division, the sheriff retains ultimate responsibility for them.  If you have any concerns about an inmate’s incarceration conditions, you can contact the Laurens County Sheriff’s Department or the Johnson Detention Center.  The non-emergency number for the Laurens County Sheriff’s Department is 864-984-2523; the front desk number is 864-984-4967; and the Johnson Detention Center’s number is 864-683-4055. If your concern is life-threatening, or a mental health crises requiring immediate attention, contact the jail directly.  Inmates cannot receive phone calls at any of those numbers.  Although the jail does not have a provision for inmates to receive emergency calls, if you need to contact an inmate in an emergency, you can contact the Johnson Detention Center at its main number to find out how to relay emergency messages to an inmate.

Laurens County Detention Center Address:

The Johnson Detention Center is not housed at the same facility as the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office. 

The address for the Johnson Detention Center is:

Johnson Detention Center
154 Templeton Road
Laurens, SC 29360

The address for the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office is:

Laurens County Sheriff’s Office
216 West Main Street
Laurens, SC 29360

Mailing Address:

Johnson Detention Center
154 Templeton Road
Laurens, SC 29360

Phone number:

(864) 683-4055. That is the main administrative number for the Johnson Detention Center, which you can call for inmate information and general inquiries.  Inmates cannot receive phone calls, but can place outgoing phone calls.  These phone calls must be either collect calls or paid for through the inmate’s commissary account.  Although the jail does not have a provision for inmates to receive emergency calls, if you need to contact an inmate in an emergency, you can contact the Johnson Detention Center at its main number to find out how to relay emergency messages to an inmate.

Inmate Mailing Address:

Inmates may receive mail through the U.S. Postal Service and through private delivery services.  All incoming mail is subject to search, and outgoing mail may be searched as well.  The jail will have rules about mail.  Generally, inmates can receive written correspondence. If you have questions about whether you can mail specific items to an inmate, please contact the Johnson Detention Center at its main information line to inquire about jail mailing rules.  You may also be able to arrange for inmates to receive magazines, newspapers, and books, but may need to arrange to have them sent directly from the publisher.  In addition, unlike many other jail facilities, inmates at the Johnson Detention Center may receive quarterly in-person deliveries of approved items. More information about these deliveries can be found in the Laurens County Detention Center Visitation information.  Inmates can only receive permitted items, and may only receive up to the maximum permitted number of each of these items.  Trustees can also receive an in-person delivery of up to a carton of cigarettes per month.

Include identifying information for the inmates in all correspondence.  This includes the inmate’s full name as well as any inmate number, cell block, or other identifiers.

Inmate’s Full Name
Inmate Identification Number
Johnson Detention Center
154 Templeton Road
Laurens, SC 29360

Laurens County Inmate Search:

Laurens County Jail/ Johnson Detention Center inmates are listed on a facility-specific inmate list.  This list does not work in the same way as other inmate search functions. Instead, this comprehensive list contains the name, gender, and booking date of all inmates in the Johnson Detention Center.   It does not contain additional identifying information, unlike some other systems which allow you to use different types of information including name, birthdate, and social security number to find inmates matching that information.  This means that it may be difficult to differentiate inmates from others simply by looking at the information contained on the inmate list.

However, the list is simply the first-level of Laurens County inmate information. If you click on an individual inmate’s name, it pulls up a more complete inmate record.  That record includes the inmate’s current living address, date of birth, a brief physical description, a list of the current charges against the inmate, and a booking photo.  This allows you to not only determine if a particular person is incarcerated at the Johnson Detention Center, but also to find out when he or she was incarcerated, the charges against them, and other basic identifiers.

The inmate locator does not have the same search function as other systems, because it pulls up an entire jail roster.  However, the roster is alphabetized, making it easy to locate inmates.  You can also easily use your computer’s “find” function, which is usually accessed with the shortcut key function CNTL + F, to search for the inmate by first or last name or even the booking date.  The general list only contains names, gender, and booking date.  However, you can click on individual records for more information.  That information includes booking charges, a booking photo, the inmate’s date of birth, and the inmate’s last known address.

Arrest Records:

The Laurens County Jail/ Johnson Detention Center has booking photos available for all of the inmates in its system; you can find them using the Laurens County Jail Inmate Search system.  To see the booking photos, you must click to expand and inmate’s individual record.  You may also want to go to the Laurens County Sheriff Department’s Home Page, which contains wanted information for people who are wanted in Laurens County.  This information is subject to change, but includes full-detail wanted information, including mugshots when available.  However, this information is limited to inmates who are currently incarcerated in the Johnson Detention Center. If you need information on inmates who were previously incarcerated in Laurens County or are searching for information on arrests that may not have resulted in incarceration, you may need to contact the Laurens County Sheriff Department directly to find out how to access criminal records.  You may need to file a Freedom of Information Act request to gain access to a full criminal record.

Mugshots:

The Laurens County Jail/ Johnson Detention Center has booking photos available for all of the inmates in its system; you can find them using the Laurens County Detention Center Inmate Search system.  To see the booking photos, you must click to expand and inmate’s individual record.   This provides access to mugshots for inmates currently incarcerated in the Johnson Detention Center.  To find out how to access mugshots for prior inmates or for arrestees who may not be incarcerated, contact the Laurens County Sheriff’s Department.

Laurens County Detention Center Visitation:

As a smaller jail, visitation rules at the Laurens County Jail/ Johnson Detention Center are not as rigid as at some larger facilities. For example, visitors are sometimes permitted to bring items to the jail for the inmate to use and do not have to adhere to a very strict dress code.  However, as with all jail facilities, visitors who fail to comply with visitation rules not only risk being asked to leave that visitation session, but also risk losing all visitation privileges.

General visitation hours are Monday-Sunday from 8:00AM till 10:00AM and 1:00PM till 7:00PM.  General inmates can have one visit per week, up to an hour.  The hour cannot be subdivided into smaller parts in order to allow for multiple visits per week.

Laurens County Trustees have different visitation hours.  For male trustees, those hours are Saturdays 6:00PM till 7:30PM or 7:30PM till 9:00PM.  For female trustees, those hours are Saturdays from 1:00PM till 4:00PM.  Approved visitors may come at any point during that time period, but can only visit for up to an hour and thirty minutes.

Visitors must have a valid form of identification, which can include a state-issued driver’s license or identification card, a passport, or similar form of identification.  If you have questions about whether your identification will be considered valid for purposes of visitation, contact the jail prior to your visit.

Visitors must arrive five minutes prior to visitation time; if you are late for visitation, you must wait until the next scheduled visitation time.

Trustees can receive things from their visitors, including cigarettes and phone cards; the visitors can bring those during the visit.  However, visitors cannot bring prohibited items into visitation.  To find out if a trustee can receive certain items, please contact the jail prior to your visit.  Trustees can receive one carton of cigarettes per week from an approved person on the inmate’s list.  Prohibited items include food, drinks, cell phones, cameras, and pocketbooks/purses.

In order to visit an inmate at the Johnson Detention Center, visitors must be on an inmate’s approved visitation list.  Only two visitors are allowed at each booth per inmate.

Children under the age of 16 do not have to be on the list.  However, children cannot visit without an approved adult.  Children cannot be left unattended and must behave appropriately, or they will be asked to leave.

Visitors must adhere to a dress code.  Shirts and shoes are required.  Clothing cannot expose the chest, back, breast, thighs, arms, or midsection.  Halter tops, tank tops, undergarment type tanks tops, and see-through fabrics are specifically prohibited.  Visitors may wear shorts, but the shorts cannot be more than three inches above the knee.  Visitors may wear dresses or skirts, but they must be an appropriate length.

Every three months visitors may bring items to the inmates.  These items include: three white t-shirts (no tank top); three pairs of white underwear; three pairs of white socks; one off-white thermal top; one off-white thermal bottom; three white sports bras for female inmates (no underwires are permitted).  All clothing must be new and in its original packaging.  If the package contains more than the permitted number, a corrections officer will open the package, remove the correct number, and return the remainder to the visitor.  If an inmate is housed in an open dorm, they can also receive a small lock with a key.  Inmates may also receive one softbacked religious book in like-new condition (no writing or highlighting).

Inmate Phone Privileges:

Inmates cannot receive incoming phone calls.  Inmates have access to phones for outgoing phone calls.  These phone calls must be collect calls or pre-paid phone calls.   Jail phone calls are monitored and may be recorded.  Any attempt to call transfer or conference call will result in the call being disconnected.

Inmates may use funds in their commissary accounts for phone calls.  Deposits into the commissary account can be made by using the McDaniel Cashier Kiosk, which is the lobby at the visitation center.  Deposits may be made by money order through the mail or online at www.mcdanielsupply.net.  To make deposits to an inmate’s account, you will need the inmate’s name, account number, and the facility names, which is Johnson Detention Center.  There is no fee for money order deposits, but phone, kiosk, and internet deposits are subject to a fee.  Although the fees are stated as a percentage of the deposit, the minimum fee is based on the maximum deposit amount, which is $100.  As a result, the phone service fee is $5.50 and the internet fee is $4.50.

Inmate Trust Accounts / Commissary:

The Johnson Detention Center uses Inmate Commissary Accounts for inmates to purchase items from the commissary or to make phone calls.

While inmates are given necessary items, the commissary allows inmates to purchase “luxury” items at prices comparable to the real-world.  These luxuries include: snacks such as chips, candy, cookies and cakes; writing supplies; activity books; approved clothing; drinks; cards; stamps, some over-the-counter medications like pain relievers and cough drops; hygiene products; games; radios; batteries; some religious books; and phone-time.

Any money deposited into the inmate’s commissary account is first subject to debts owed by the inmate to Johnson Detention Center.  There are convenience fees associated with deposits in all forms, except for money order deposits.  Deposits may be made by phone, at the McDaniel Cashier Kiosk in the jail’s visitation center, on the phone, or online.  For cash deposits at the McDaniel Cashier Kiosk, the currency must be in a combination of the following denominations: 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100.  The maximum deposit is $100, there are a maximum of five deposits permitted each week, and the week’s total deposits cannot exceed $100.

Conclusion

The Johnson Detention Center or Lauren County’s Detention Center services all of Laurens County, South Carolina.  It hold pre-trial detainees in a secure environment and is a relatively small facility.  It offers visitation, commissary, and phone services for its inmates and their families.  While some of these services may be suspended due to inmate bad behavior, other services are guaranteed as part of incarceration.  You can locate inmates on the jail’s full inmate roster, and pull up more detailed information about a specific inmate by selecting that inmate’s name and looking at the inmate’s full record.  For any questions not answered in this article you should contact the jail directly.