The Pine County Jail is located in Pine City, Pine County, Minnesota.  Pine County Jail is a local jail facility operated by the Pine County.  The jail facility is a relatively new one, which was constructed from 2006-2008 and became operational in 2008.  It was built using the direct supervision model, based on studies showing that direct supervision jails are safer for inmates and for staff.

The Pine County Jail is licensed to hold up to 131 inmates.  It has three different housing units, where it houses both pre-trial and post-conviction detainees. Just like many other local jail facilities located throughout the United States, the Pine County Jail serves multiple purposes and holds different types of detainees.  These detainees include pre-trial detainees and post-conviction inmates.

Holding post-conviction inmates is, in many ways, easier for jail administrators than holding pre-trial detainees.  Post-conviction detainees have been sentenced for a crime, and, therefore, can be punished.  They no longer have the presumption of innocence.  In addition, based on the crime of conviction, the criminal record, and any other known information about an offender, the jail can determine the appropriate type of housing.

Pre-trial detainees present a special challenge for jails; as inmates being held awaiting resolution of their case through trial or plea-bargaining, they are entitled to a presumption of innocence.  They are being detained to ensure that they appear at trial and cannot be treated as if they are guilty. On the other hand, the jail is challenged with assigning them to appropriate housing that not only keeps them safe, but also maximizes the safety of other inmates and jail staff.   They have to do this immediately upon intake, when they might not have sufficient information about a defendant to make the appropriate determination.

The Pine County Jail houses male and female offenders.  In addition, it has a five-area housing facility that can hold an additional 17 inmates.  In addition to housing areas, the jail includes a recreational area, a library, a medical unit, a laundry facility, a kitchen, a master control center, an intake processing center, and a court center.

In each housing unit, there are video visiting stations, telephones for the inmates to use, televisions, common kitchen areas, dayroom areas, and gaming tables.  The Pine County Jail uses proceeds from its canteen services to purchase enrichment, such as recreation equipment, for the inmates.

Pine County Jail offers a variety of jail programs.  These include: work release, educational programming, religious-based programming, therapeutic programming, and sentence-to-service work crews.  The self-help opportunities available at Pine County Jail include Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Cognitive Thinking, and Anger Management courses, in addition to religious-based groups.  These programs are run by volunteers and class facilitators.

The overarching goal of all of these services is to help reduce recidivism rates by helping inmates become more productive citizens.  In addition, well-structured jail programs help with inmate management by keeping offenders occupied while incarcerated.  Inmates are offered a minimum of 7 hours of recreation each week.  One of the most impressive programs has been the Pine County Jail Quilting program.  Since 2009, this program has resulted in over 500 quilts being completed and donated to refugees around the world, to people in the United States who have lost their homes to natural disasters, and to people in Pine County who have lost their homes to fires and other natural disasters.

Pine County Jail Address

Physical Address

Pine County Jail
635 Northridge Dr. NW, Ste. 130
Pine City, MN 55063

Mailing Address

The Pine County Jail mailing address is:

Pine County Jail
635 Northridge Drive N.W., Ste. 130
Pine City, MN 55063

Inmate Mailing Address

Inmate Mailing Address

To send inmate mail via the U.S. Postal Service, you send it to the following address:

Inmate Name
c/o Pine County Jail
635 Northridge Drive N.W.
Suite 130
Pine City, MN 55063

All mail must include a full return address.  A full return address includes the sender’s full name and mailing address.

Pine County Jail allow inmates to receive regular mail via the USPS.

Although the Pine County Jail does not post its complete inmate mail rules online, it does post guidelines about sending money.  It recommends that, if you send money to an inmate, instead of sending cash you should send a money order that is made out to the inmate’s name.  You can go to the Sheriff’s Office Lobby, which is located at 635 Northridge Drive NW in Pine City and use the lobby box and envelopes if you need to give cash to an inmate.  Funds are generally available to an inmate the day after the deposit.

There are general rules that apply to inmate mail and are applicable at most facilities.  They are designed to prevent contraband material from entering the jail and also to prevent material that might be incendiary from entering the jail.   These guidelines are:

-Use standard, white 8 ½ x 11 paper;
-Do not send third party mail, either to the inmate from a third party or to a third party from the inmate;
-Do not include any liquids or other foreign substances in or on the envelope including perfume, lipsticks, or bodily fluids;
-Do not include any violent material or material likely to incite violence;
-Do not include any gang references, including photos with hand signs;
-No musical cards, plastic cards, cards with moving parts, or pop-up cards;
-No Polaroid photos;
-No plastic or plastic-coated pictures;
-No pornographic, obscene, or sexually oriented material;
-And nothing like photos or drawings of the jail facility, security information for the jail, nearby public transportation schedules, or anything else that could be construed as part of an escape plan.

While rules about what inmates can receive may seem arbitrary, they are designed to prevent contraband from entering the facility and to help the jail run safely and smoothly.  Ignoring guidelines might result in an inmate losing mail privileges or you losing the right to send mail to an inmate.  Sending contraband into a jail facility may actually expose you to criminal prosecution.

While inmates can generally receive books and magazines, they are usually limited to getting them directly from a bookstore or publisher, which will ship them directly to the jail facility.

Phone Numbers

The main contact number for the Pine County Jail is 320-629-8400.  The jail fax number is 320-629-2442.  The jail records number is 320-591-1448.  The fax number for jail records is 320-629-8418.  The toll free number for the Pine County Jail is 800-450-7463. 

Jail Roster

Pine County Jail has a jail roster, which it updates and makes available in .pdf format for people searching for information about inmates.   The roster is in alphabetical order by last name. It contains basic information about the inmates, including: date of birth; bail amount, if applicable; age; booking date; projected release date; charges; offense level; and order type.  In addition, the inmate records contain mugshots.

Visitation

Like many local jail facilities, the Pine County Jail uses a video visitation system.  Even though visitation is video visitation, all visitors must comply with visitation rules at all times or the visit may be terminated and the visitor’s visitation privileges may be revoked. 

Visiting hours are 2:30pm to 5:30pm on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday.

All visitors must have a valid driver’s license or state-issued photo I.D.

No special visits outside of visiting hours will be allowed.

All visitors must be 18 years or older or accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.  Minor visitors must be supervised at all times.

Entering the jail facility for a visit subjects the visitor to a warrant check; visitors with outstanding warrants will not be permitted to visit and will be arrested.

All visits are subject to monitoring and may be recorded.

Visitors may not bring food, drink, or personal items into the visiting area.

Visitors must be sober; any visitor under the influence of alcohol or drugs will not be allowed to visit and will be asked to leave the facility.

Phone Privileges

Pine County Jail inmates cannot receive incoming calls, but can place outgoing collect calls during approved hours.  If you need to reach an inmate in an emergency, you can contact the jail.  The jail staff will then determine if the emergency warrants emergency contact with the inmate. 

To leave a non-emergency message for an inmate, contact the inmate message line at 320-629-0052.  You need the inmate’s last name.  You can leave your name and a call back number.

Inmates are allowed to place outgoing collect calls.  Not all phones can receive collect calls, especially from correctional facilities.  To guarantee collect calls, you can set up an account with the phone service provider for Pine County Jail, which is Reliance Telephone.  You can visit them online or call them at 1-800-896-3201 to set up an account. 

Trust Accounts / Commissary

Pine County Jail provides commissary services for inmates, which allow inmates to purchase items that are not issued by the jail.  Inmates are provided with hygiene items, uniforms, footwear, books, and writing materials.  They may purchase snacks, postage-paid envelopes and other things through canteen.

You can send money to an inmate to deposit to the inmate’s trust account.  The jail advices that you do not send cash, but does not prohibit you from sending cash if you choose to do so. To send a money order to the inmate, please include the inmate’s name on the money order and sent it to:

Inmate Name
c/o Pine County Jail
635 Northridge Drive N.W.
Suite 130
Pine City, MN 55063

If you want to use cash for the trust account, Pine County Jail recommends that you bring those deposits in person.  You can You can go to the Pine County Sheriff’s Office Lobby, which is located at 635 Northridge Drive NW in Pine City, and use the lobby box and envelopes if you need to give cash to an inmate.  Funds may not be immediately available, but are generally available to an inmate the day after the deposit.

Bail Information

In Pine County, Minnesota, you can find out an inmate’s bail amount by looking at the inmate roster.

The purpose of bail is to ensure that the defendant appears for trial.  Therefore, while bail amount may be related to the offense charged, that is only one factor that goes into determining bail amount.  Other factors, such as whether the defendant has a criminal record, whether the defendant has a job, whether the defendant has a family, and similar factors, all help determine whether the defendant is a flight risk.  The greater the flight risk, the higher the bail.  In fact, if a defendant is deemed to be a significant flight risk, they may not be granted bail and may be held over until trial.

Generally, Pine County allows you to post bond in two ways, though not all inmates will be eligible for bond.  An inmate who posts a cash bail posts the entire amount of the bail.  If the inmate fails to appear, then the entire amount of the bail is forfeited to the court.  If the inmate does appear, then the bail is refundable, even if a defendant is convicted.

Bonds allow the inmate to pay a portion of the bail amount to secure his/her release.  If a defendant fails to appear at trial, then the entire amount of the bail is due.  To secure bond arrangements, defendants or their friends and family generally use the services of a bail bondsman.  The bail bondsman requires a fee, usually ten percent of the cash bond, in order to post a bond for the defendant’s release.  These fees are non-refundable.  In addition, the bonds are often secured by property, such as homes, which can be seized if a defendant fails to appear.

You can pay cash bail at two locations.  The Court Administration office accepts cash bail for in-county warrants Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with the exception of holidays.  You can only pay cash bail for out-of-county warrants at the jail; Pine County Court Administration does not accept out-of-county bail payments.  To pay cash bail after hours, on weekends, or on holidays, you can pay it in the jail lobby.

To arrange for the payment of a bond through a bondsman, you need to use the services of a bondsman.  Pine County cannot recommend any particular bondsman’s services, but you can find local bondsmen through the internet or by using the yellow pages or a similar business phone directory.

Conclusion

The Pine County Jail is a local jail facility that is located in Pine City, Pine County, Minnesota.  Pine County Jail is a local jail facility operated by the Pine County.  In operation since 2008, the Pine County Jail has a direct supervision design that allows for safer interactions with staff and other inmates. The co-ed facility can hold up to 131 inmates, and houses pre-trial detainees and post-conviction inmates.

A facility that emphasizes rehabilitation, the Pine County Jail has housing units that offer some limited freedoms for inmates, including: video visiting stations, telephones for the inmates to use, televisions, common kitchen areas, dayroom areas, and gaming tables.  The rehabilitation programs at the jail include educational programming, religious-based programming, work-release therapeutic programming, and sentence-to-service work crews, as well as self-help opportunities like Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Cognitive Thinking, and Anger Management courses.  In addition to reducing recidivism rates, the Pine County Jail believes that comprehensive jail programming can make jails safer by reducing the risk of inmate violence.