Etowah County Detention Center

The Etowah County Detention Center is located in Gadsden, Alabama and is operated by the Etowah County Sheriff's Department. This facility holds adult male and female inmates who have been arrested by local county or municipal law enforcement and is the primary detention facility for all law enforcement agencies in Etowah County.

Inmates are incarcerated for crimes ranging from a violation to misdemeanors to felonies. The Etowah County Detention Center houses:

• Inmates who have been charged and are awaiting trial
• Those who have been arrested on warrants
• Those who have been sentenced to the county jail for one year or less for a misdemeanor crime
• Those who've been placed on hold by Alabama Probation and Parole
• Inmates sentenced by municipal courts in the county
• People who have been placed in the jail "on hold" by other agencies, and
• Inmates who are waiting to be transferred to their assigned Alabama Department of Corrections facility.
• ICE detainees

If you need to bond someone out of Etowah County Detention Center, there are three types of ways to post bonds you can pay with:

• Cash, for the entire amount of bond required
• A Property Bond, with two signees
• Or pay by Surety Bond, through a bonding company

Prison Insights

Visiting Hours and Rules

The Etowah County Detention Center offers video visitation through Securus Technologies, and all visits are by appointment only. To schedule a visit with an inmate, friends and family members must take the following steps:

• Go to securustech.com or use the Securus Mobile App available at the Apple Store or Google Play
  • First time users will need to complete a registration form
  • Each visitor is required to take a photo and submit a government-issued photo ID to complete their registration
  • The registration process must be complete before you can schedule a visit
• Choose the "video visitation" option to complete account setup
• Click the "schedule visit" button and find Etowah County in the facility list under the state of Alabama
• Search for your inmate using their last name, first name and ID number
• Select an available date and time, then click "finish"
• You will receive a confirmation email that includes a PIN. That PIN is required to join the video visitation session.
• Each 20-minute visit costs $7.60

Visiting hours are on Sunday-Wednesday ONLY between 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. As of September 2021, remote video visitation is allowed. On-site video visits at the jail have been suspended until further notice.

Visiting Rules

The Etowah County Sheriff’s Office allows all inmates and detainees an opportunity to visit with family and friends. Visitors are only allowed to see one inmate per day, and a valid photo ID must be presented each time.

If under the age of 16, the visitor must be accompanied by an adult. The juvenile must stay with the adult at all times. Children will be controlled and not allowed to wander unsupervised.

Inmates/Detainees may have only one visit per day, and up to two visits per week (Sunday through Wednesday). Two adults and two juveniles may visit each visitation day.  All visiting minors must be supervised by an adult at all times.

Visitation can not be scheduled during an inmate’s scheduled court appearance.

While visiting the Detention Center it is expected that visitors follow all posted rules. Any misconduct will result in revocation of visitation privileges. If applicable, criminal charges may be filed.

Any disruptive conduct by either party will result in the termination of the visit and may have an adverse affect on future visits.

The following items are not allowed in the Visitation Area: 

• Weapons (guns, knives, mace, clubs, etc.)
• Cell phones, pagers, laptops, or smartphone/wireless communication devices of any kind
• Handbags or hand-held wallets
• Briefcases, clipboards, notebooks, magazines, cameras or any electronic/recording or playing device
• Food or drink

Dress Code

Visitors at the Etowah County Detention Center must be properly dressed before checking in to visit an inmate. Any clothing considered inappropriate will not be permitted. Proper undergarments must be worn. 

The following dress code will be followed:

• Shorts will be knee length.
• No short dresses (just above the knee is acceptable)
• Shirts and dresses must have sleeves.
• No see-through clothing.
• No low-cut clothing.
• The bottom of shirts must come to the beltline.
• No skin tight clothing.

Incoming mail is monitored by staff to ascertain if any attempts at escape, security violations, or conspiracy to introduce contraband are being made.  Mail may be inspected to intercept checks, money orders, or physical contraband.  The Etowah County Detention Center is not responsible for any cash sent through the mail. Please do not send cash.

The Etowah County Jail will not accept any boxes or packages for any inmate. If a box or package is received, it will be returned to the sender.

How to Call an Inmate

You can't call an inmate who is housed at the Etowah County Detention Center, but they do have access to phones, and are allowed to make outgoing calls. 

Inmates and detainees may not take more than 20 minutes per call. Calls (local and long distance) are billed at a per-minute rate, with no connection fees. International calls are also billed at a per-minute rate. Three-way calls are prohibited.

The calling rates for the Etowah County Detention Center are shown below:

How to Send Money

During the booking process at Etowah County Detention Center, a commissary account is set up for each inmate. If the inmate has money in their possession during the booking process, the money will be taken and placed into their inmate commissary account.

To deposit money into a person’s phone or commissary account, visit the JPay kiosk at the Etowah County Sheriff’s Office, located near the dispatch at the front door. An additional kiosk station is located inside jail visitation.

Cash and credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express) are accepted.
Money may also be deposited into an inmate's account by visiting http://www.JPay.com.

You can also send a money order to:

Secure Deposits
Etowah AL
PO Box 12486
St. Louis, MO 63132

Programs For Inmates

This information is not publicly available.

Pictures of Etowah County Detention Center

Careers at Etowah County Detention Center

If you are interested in a career with the Sheriff's Department and would like more information about the job openings at the Etowah County Detention Center, click here.