Facility Information

The Stearns County Jail is the local jail facility for Stearns County, Minnesota. Anyone who is taken into custody in Stearns County is booked at the Stearns County Jail, regardless of which law enforcement agency made the arrest.  It is located in St. Cloud and licensed by the State of Minnesota.  The purpose of the facility is to house inmates who are awaiting trial, who have been arrested but are not convicted, who have been convicted but not sentenced, who are waiting for procedural steps in their criminal trial, or who have been convicted and are serving sentences of less than a year.

Most of the inmates in the Stearns County Jail are full-time inmates, but the jail also participates in the Huber/Work Release program.  Huber/Work Release inmates are housed in the jail at night and on the weekends, but are released in order to work during the daytime.  The Work Release/Huber section is minimum security and has 60 beds in a dorm-style setting.  In addition, some Huber inmates are actually not housed at the jail because they may be eligible for at-home monitoring.

The Stearns County Jail is a 108-bed facility.  Inmates are housed in six different housing units, and there are also 22 cells that are not in traditional housing units, including 12 holding cells, 2 medical cells, and 8 separation cells.  Steans County’s Jail Program Coordinator is in charge of ensuring the inmates with disabilities will have access to the jail facilities.  For example, the jail provides free sign language and oral interpreters, TTYs and other services for deaf and hard-of-hearing inmates so that they can enjoy full and equal use of services, privileges, facilities, advantages, and accommodations.

The Stearns County Jail relies on volunteers for the rest of its inmate programming.  The total number of volunteers varies throughout the year, which means that program availability may vary throughout the year.  Some of the programs that may be available include: basis high school instruction to prepare inmates for the GED process; a jail library for inmates; employment skills training and job interview training; recreation coordinators to help inmates stay active and improve their health; religious programming; self-help meetings; arts & crafts sessions; and Release Advance Planning Team.

Stearns County Jail Addresses

Physical Address

Stearns County Jail
807 Courthouse Square
St. Cloud, MN 56303

Mailing Address

Stearns County Jail
807 Courthouse Square
St. Cloud, MN 56303

Inmate Mailing Address

Inmate’s Name
P.O. Box 217
St. Cloud, MN 56302

The Stearns County Jail does not have a lot of guidelines for inmate mail.  All incoming inmate mail is processed through the United States Postal Office.  Once mail has arrived at the jail, it is inspected before being delivered to inmates.  Mail is delivered to housing units within 12 hours of arriving at the jail from the USPS.

While inmate mail is searched, it is not censored.  Inmates are allowed to receive and send unlimited amounts of uncensored mail each day, unless the jail has reliable information suggesting that the inmate’s mail poses a threat to the safety, order, or security of the jail or that the communications are being used to help further criminal activity.

Searching inmate mail means that all mail content is read.  Some content may be rejected or the mail stored until an inmate is released.  This only applies to personal mail; legal mail, which is mail sent or received by the inmate’s attorney, is not subject to search.

Inmates can purchase mailing items through commissary or canteen, also known as inmate services.  These supplies include paper and postage-paid envelopes.  For indigent inmates, the jail will provide three prepaid postcards each week.

Any mail that is sent to inmates who have been transferred or released will be returned to sender.

Inmates can receive letters in the mail, but you should not send food, drinks, snacks, money, alcohol, cigarettes, nicotine-containing products, over-the-counter medications, drugs, weapons, or anything that can be used as a weapon.  Additional examples of contraband items include: gang-related materials, sexually explicit materials, racist materials, pornography, escape plans, information about the jail that could be used to create escape plans, and materials promoting hate of a specific group.  In addition, some non-contraband items may also be banned, including letters containing stamps, stickers, fluids like perfume or bodily fluids, lotions, and lipsticks.  While inmates can generally receive photos, Polaroid photos are prohibited.

Generally, inmates cannot receive books and magazines sent by individuals in the mail, but can receive them if sent by an authorized retailer or publisher.

Phone Numbers

The Stearns County Jail’s central control number is 320-259-3760.  That number is answered 24/7.  Inmates cannot receive incoming phone calls, but you can get inmate information at that number.  The Assistant Programs Coordinator’s number is 320-259-3778; this is the contact number of Huber inmates.

Stearns County Jail Roster

The Stearns County Jail Roster provides information on all inmates currently housed in the Stearns County Jail. The full view provides the inmate’s last name, first name, age, gender, race, and booking date.  If you click on an inmate’s last name in the record, you pull up a more detailed overview of the inmate.  This detailed overview includes the inmate’s booking photo, eye color, address, arrest date/time, controlling agency, arresting agency, charge, charge level, court docket number, statute number, bail amount, whether the inmate is a weekender, and anticipated release dates (if available).

Inmate Bookings / Recent Arrests

The Stearns County Jail Roster allows you to search for inmates by a range of booking dates, which allows you to create your own booking roster or list of recent arrests.  The results will still provide the following information about the inmate: last name, first name, booking date, race, gender, age, eye color, arrest date and time, arresting agency, the charges and charge levels, the statute numbers for each offense, the bail amount, and the inmate’s eye color.

Mugshots

The Stearns County Jail does not have a specific mugshot database.  However, you can look at the Stearns County Jail Roster and find a specific inmate and view that inmate’s booking photos/mugshots.

Jail Visitation

Stearns County Jail has non-contact video visitation set up to allow inmates to maintain relationships with friends and family.  Visitation is considered a privilege, not a right.  Therefore, it is very important for visitors and inmates to follow all visitation rules.  Failure to follow the rules may result in a visitor losing the right to visit, or even in an inmate losing the right to have visitors.

Visitation at the Stearns County Jail is Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.  There is no visitation Friday or Sunday.  Weekday (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) if from 6:45pm to 9:45pm.  Saturday visitation is from 8:00am to 11:00am.  The schedule does not change for holidays.

There are no visiting lists at the Stearns County Jail.  However, all visitors must show valid identification.  The preferred forms of identification are: a valid state’s driver’s license; state identification car; or other official ID with picture, physical description, and signature.  If you do not have any of those types of identification, then contact the jail to inquire about alternative forms of identification.

Inmates are permitted one visit each visiting day.  In addition, not all inmates qualify for visitation.  For example, inmates who are serving less than three day sentences will not have visiting privileges.

Visits are limited to 20 minutes in duration, but may be shortened to 15 minutes if the visiting day is busy, in order to accommodate all visitors.

All visits are non-contact.

Appropriate attire is required for all visitation.  Although Stearns County Jail does not publish a dress code, generally non-revealing clothing is appropriate.  Tank tops, tube tops, midriff tops, low-cut tops, bottoms that reveal the thighs or buttocks, see-through clothing, mesh clothing, and tight clothing may all be prohibited. Visitors should also avoid clothing with profanity or other offensive sayings, gang-related clothing, or clothing that promotes contraband such as drugs or weapons.

While there is no strict number limit on how many visitors can visit an inmate at a time, only the number of people who can reasonably fit into the visitation room at a single time will be permitted in the visiting room.  This number varies based on the physical characteristics of the visitors.

Inmates who are in programs at the time of their visits will be called out from the program so that they can attend their visits, but will not be permitted to return to programming.

Inmates are not required to see visitors and may refuse to see any visitors, whether the visitors are professional or social.

All visitors under the age of 15 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.  Any minor visitors (under the age of 18) that is not accompanied by a parent or guardian must have written permission from a parent or guardian to visit. This written permission must be filled out at the jail before a minor can visit an inmate without a parent or guardian present.

Visitors cannot eat or drink in the visiting rooms.

Visitors cannot bring personal property into the visiting rooms.  Personal property includes items such as purses, phones, and coats.  There are lockers available to store your personal items.  These lockers cost 25 cents each.

Visitors are not allowed to pass any items to inmates or to receive any items from inmates.  Legal visitors may be able to give or receive materials from inmates, but all of those materials will be reviewed by a Corrections Officer and not passed directly from the inmate to the visitor or vice-versa.

Professional visits are not limited to personal visitation times, but can, instead, be conducted at any reasonable hour.  Before clergy can visit an inmate, the clergy must meet with the Program staff.  To schedule that meeting, clergy can call 320-259-3759.

Visitors who violate the rules may have their visit ended, may be removed from the premises, and may not be permitted to have further visits.  Inmates who violate visitation rules may lose their visiting privileges.

Inmate Phone Privileges

Steans County Jail inmates have access to phones for outgoing calls, but cannot receive incoming phone calls.

Telephones are provided for inmates in their housing units.  Inmates can use these phones as long as they are not on lockdown status.

Inmates may make outgoing phone calls in two ways.  Inmates can place collect calls, but they can also purchase a jail calling card and pay for their calls with that card.  Card purchases are available through the canteen program, and money from inmate trust accounts can be used for those purchases.

Phone calls to lawyers are free.  Inmates need to follow specific instructions for lawyer calls, because, unlike personal phone calls they are not monitored and recorded.

Phone calls should be to the person the inmate is trying to reach; three-way calls cannot be made from housing units, and jail phones will disconnect if calls are forwarded or multiple people are on a call.

Inmates cannot make credit-card, three-way, or toll-free calls from the jail’s phone units.

Each phone call is limited to 15 minutes in duration.

Inmates who damage telephones may lose their phone privileges, as well as being subject to disciplinary action and possible criminal charges.

Inmate phone calls (except for calls to attorneys) are subject to monitoring or recording.

Inmates cannot receive incoming phone calls.  However, if you have a verifiable emergency, you can contact the jail and they may relay a message to an inmate.  In addition, legal counsel can send messages to inmates.

Inmate Trust Accounts / Commissary

The Stearns County Jail offers commissary services, which may also be known as canteen services.  These provide inmates with a way to purchase items that are not supplied by the jail.  Items available through commissary include some snacks, writing materials, art materials, personal hygiene products, grooming items, and recreation items.

You can deposit money into an inmate’s account in three different ways: online, by mail, and in person.  For online deposits, visit www.inmatecanteen.com.  There you can use a credit card to deposit money into an inmate’s account.  You can send cashier’s checks or money order made payable directly to the inmate, but do not mail cash.  The inmate can then use those to deposit money into his inmate account.  Do not mail personal checks.  Finally, you can deposit cash into the kiosk that is located on the second floor of the Law Enforcement Center.  No personal or payroll checks are accepted for inmate trust fund deposits.

There is a $25 mandatory booking fee that comes out of any money deposited before inmates get access to the money in their accounts.  After that money is deducted, inmates may use money from their accounts to purchase items from the Canteen or to use the debit card associated with their inmate trust account to purchase snacks and beverages from vending machines.

Bail Information

In Stearns County, there are three ways to secure a pre-trial release from jail: bail, release on conditions, and release on own recognizance.  Defendants who are released on their own recognizance are released from jail on the condition that they appear at any hearings or court dates; failure to appear can result in them being re-arrested.  Defendants who are released with conditional release are released without having to post a monetary bond, but they must comply with conditions in order to stay free.  These conditions generally include reporting to a probation officer, potential drug or alcohol testing, staying within the state, not contacting any alleged victims, but the judge may impose other conditions.  If a defendant is considered a flight risk, the judge may require payment of bail to ensure the defendant’s appearance at trial.

Conclusion

The Stearns County Jail, a local jail run by the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office.  It is where all defendants arrested in Stearns County are booked, regardless of their arresting facility.  It is located in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

In addition to providing jail services, the Stearns County Jail also provides fingerprinting services from 8:30am to 11:30am on Tuesdays and Thursdays, on the main floor of the Law Enforcement Center.  Fingerprints are $15 and the fee must be paid in cash.  No checks, debit cards, or credit cards will be accepted.  If you are getting fingerprints, you need to bring a photo i.d., as well as any special fingerprint car that you may have been issued by the agency requesting the fingerprints.