The Cass County Jail is getting a new vendor for inmate communications, expected to begin on or around December 14, 2024.

If you have a pre-funded account with Securus to pay for inmate phone calls, you will need to contact Securus after the transition date to close your account and obtain a refund of any remaining balances not used.

The public will continue to be able to deposit funds for inmate accounts through our commissary provider, and inmates will be able to purchase phone and video credits directly from their account.

Current video visiting services will continue through December 13, 2024.  No appointments will be available on the current system after that date.   Due to this transition, the following changes to remote visiting (from a personal device) are in effect:

1.  As of November 19, inmates are limited to 1 remote visit per week, until December 13.
2. Remote visiting (one per week) will be free (no per visit costs) from Nov 19 thru Dec 13.

Information will be posted here, once finalized, directing the public to the new system for purposes of creating accounts, buying communication credits, and directing to the new vendor site.

With the new provider, some significant improvements are coming, to include:

• New lower phone rates of 5 cents per minute.
• Per-minute billing for remote video calling, at a rate of 12 cents per minute.
• Availability of free onsite visiting terminals during designated hours.
• Individual devices for each inmate, and elimination of setting appointments and daily video limits.
• Inmate electronic messaging (similar to text messaging)
• Streaming content available for purchase.

Telephone

Inmates are provided access to telephones during the booking process and in the housing units. Telephones are available throughout the day and evening with subject to the housing schedules.

Incoming calls to inmates are not possible. Inmates can make outgoing calls in one of three ways:

• Collect
• Direct Billing to phones with established pre-paid accounts
• Direct purchase of phone time from their jail account

Inmates are able to buy phone time in 1 minute increments directly from their Jail Account if they have funds available. Any phone time purchased and not used is credited back to their account at the time of release. Inmates can call any non-restricted phone number using this option.

If you establish a pre-paid account for an inmate with Securus, the inmate will only be able to use those pre-paid funds for calls to the phone number associated with that account.  Any calls to that number from an inmate at the jail will be debited from the      remaining amount in the account.

Phone services are provided by Securus. They can be reached at 1-800-844-6591. Please call this number if you wish to learn more about setting up direct billing or about voicemail options to leave messages for inmates.

Per minute calling rates vary based upon the number being called and the payment method being used. Please contact Securus for more information on calling rates.

All phone conversations are recorded and are subject to monitoring. Attorneys are advised to contact the jail to establish phone numbers used for communication with their clients. Only those numbers that are established in this manner will be confidential and exempt from recording and monitoring.

Touch Tone Phones are required to receive a call from the jail.

Voicemail

You are now able to leave a voice message for an inmate. Securus Technologies allows you to leave a message for your loved one making communication and sharing information easy. 

All voicemail messages are recorded and subject to monitoring.

Mail

Letters should be addressed to the inmate at the following address:

450 34th St S.
Fargo, ND 58103

Mail can also be dropped off at the jail, but must be addressed, including the senders information, the same as regular mail.

All incoming mail, except privileged mail, is inspected prior to being delivered to the inmate. Mail that contains meets any of the following criteria will be rejected:

• Mail that violates any law or court order.
• Contents containing any foreign substance, stain, oil, grease, bodily fluid, or scent of any kind.
• Contents applied with glue, glitter, gel, paint, electronic components, or other substances.
• Paper or card stock that contains more than one layer.

Do Not Send Stamps. All outgoing mail is metered by the facility and directly charged to inmate accounts. Outgoing mail is required to be sent thru the US Mail and cannot be picked up at the jail.

Mail will also be reviewed for content and rejected if it contains any image, language, or subject matter that is determined to violate legitimate institutional interests and order, or if possession of the contents by an inmate would violate any facility rule or policy.

Pictures depicting full or partial nudity, incendiary or racially offensive remarks, and subject matter which discusses, encourages, or promotes any topic that could be reasonably be considered a breach of security are grounds for rejection.

We will also accept literature via the mail, so long as it is shipped in new condition and directly from the publisher or a major online retailer like Amazon.  Please be aware that these sites often allow third party vendors to advertise and direct ship through major    websites, and any packages or shipments not sent directly from the primary warehouse may be rejected. Books must be paperback versions, and all literature must comply with the same content guidelines established and explained above for regular mail.

No other packages, items, or gifts, including food an clothing, will be accepted via the mail.

Rejected mail may be placed into an inmate’s property storage, returned to the sender, or destroyed if necessary, based upon the specific circumstances of the rejection. Inmates will receive notification when mail has been rejected.

Privileged Mail

Privileged Mail is that which is sent to or received from: licensed attorneys; judges and clerks of any federal, state, local, or tribal court; elected and appointed officials of the federal government or any state; and members of the parole board or pardon advisory board. Mail that is marked privileged is verified as to the sending authority and is inspected for contraband, but not for content, in the inmate’s presence.

Any mail that is marked as privileged, but does not meet any of the criteria above, will be processed as regular mail.

Sending Money

Any money sent to an inmate should be in the form of a money order, made out to the inmate. The jail will not accept personal checks. Please do not mail cash.

Money can also be sent to an inmate via credit card. There are three options for making credit card deposits and all are through third party vendors

• InmateCanteen.com – accepts Visa and MasterCard only. A limit of $500 in credit card deposits, per inmate, from all sources, is enforced within the past 30 days. Funds are immediately credit to an inmates spending account.
• Lobby Kiosk – accepts Visa and MasterCard, and cash. A limit of $500 in credit card deposits, per inmate, from all sources, is enforced within the past 30 days. Funds are immediately credited to an inmates spending account. There is no limit for cash deposits. You will have the option to put cash into either a spending account, or into an account dedicated towards bail payments, which the inmate cannot otherwise spend.

Please contact the specific vendor regarding fees associated with credit card deposits.