Phone Calls at San Diego Central Jail: Setup and Rates

How Phone Calls Work

San Diego County jails use Smart Communications for inmate phone calls. Inmate calls come from the number 727-349-1561.

• Some carriers were flagging that number as spam. Add 727-349-1561 to your contacts so calls are not blocked.
• The inmate places the call to approved, funded numbers. You cannot call into the jail.
• All calls are recorded and monitored.

E-mail an Incarcerated Person

San Diego County Sheriff’s Office offers a one-way e-mail system through the Who’s In Jail site. It’s meant as a substitute for postcards, not a replacement for phone calls or letters, and there’s no expectation of privacy since jail staff review every message.

How it works:

1. Search for the person by name on Who’s In Jail. Using just the first two letters of the first and last name can help avoid spelling mismatches.
2. Click the person’s last name to open their record, then click the envelope icon about halfway down the page.
3. Enter your email address to verify it. You’ll get a message from [email protected] with a link to a web form.
4. Write your message, up to 2,500 characters of plain text. Don’t paste in text formatted from another program, since that can cause errors.
5. Submit the message. You’ll get a confirmation email, but the netwebmaster address isn’t monitored, so don’t reply to it.

What to know before you send:

• Limit yourself to 2 messages a day.
• Each message is limited to one page, plain text only. No photos, links, or other attachments.
• The person doesn’t receive the message electronically. Staff print it and deliver the paper copy.
• The person can’t reply by e-mail. Any reply comes back to you through regular U.S. mail, so enter the mailing address you want them to use.
• The system caps incoming messages at 10 per person in a 24-hour period, no more than 2 from any single sender.
• If the person hasn’t been assigned to a housing unit yet, such as right after booking, the message can’t be processed until they are.
• Messages for someone no longer in custody won’t be delivered.

If You Need Help

Call the custody information line at (619) 409-5000, or read the Sheriff’s Telephones page for the current provider and rates.