Miami Dade County Boot Camp

The Boot Camp program utilizes an Inmate Management System known as “Shock Incarceration” and “Regimented Inmate Discipline” that integrates academic, vocational, rehabilitative programs, the Thinking for a Change model, structured activities, and a wide array of services. The inmates sleep in barracks, march in formation, and live a military-like existence.

The Boot Camp Program (BCP) in Miami/Dade County is focused on reducing jail crowding and the recidivism rate among youthful offenders.

"The Boot Camp program is one of our success stories and a source of enormous pride," says Judge Nushin Sayfie. "When these young men and women leave Boot Camp, they are completely new individuals – respectful, confident, law-abiding, proud of themselves, and thankful for the chance they have been given."

The Miami-Dade Corrections & Rehabilitation Department (MDCR)

The MDCR is a County Department that serves all of Miami-Dade County's 30 municipal police departments, the county police department (MDPD), as well as state agencies. It is the 7th largest county jail system in the United States, but is still often referred to by its former name, DCJ for Dade County Jail. 

The MDCR operates six detention facilities with a system-wide average of approximately 7,000 inmates, and books approximately 114,000 inmates annually.

Inmate Search

To find out if your loved one is being held in Miami/Dade County, click here, call 786-263-5809, or use VINE (see below). Be prepared to provide the inmate’s full name and date of birth when using the VINE website.

Florida VINE

The Florida VINE system is a service through which victims of crime can search for information regarding the custody status of their offender, and to register to receive phone calls and e-mail notifications when the offender’s custody status changes. 

This service is provided to assist Victims of Crime who have a right to know about their offender's custody status. Click this link to register.

Inmates being held for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Florida Department of Corrections (DOC), or charges from other counties will not be found by going to the VINE Link above. You will have to call the jail.

Prison Insights

Visiting Hours and Rules

As part of the Boot Camp program, inmate visitation is considered a privilege and granted only during graduation and family night.

All mail must be addressed to the inmate and sent by the US Postal Service. Mail sent by other couriers will not be accepted. To address mail to a Boot Camp inmate in Miami-Dade County, include their full name, booking number (jail number), cell location and facility address.

Your return address including your first and last name, street address, city, state, and ZIP code must be included on your envelope and letter.

Incoming inmate mail must be written on plain white or originally lined paper such as white, loose-leaf lined notebook paper; white, lined tablet paper; or white, lined legal tablet paper.

Paperback books, magazines, newspapers and religious materials must be mailed directly by the publisher or a bookstore. The mail parcel must contain an invoice with a company logo or a company packing slip with business name and contact information.

Mail Items Not Allowed:

• Hardcover books
• Publications containing any nudity or sexually-oriented material.
• Greeting cards
• Postcards
• General mail containing newspaper or magazine clippings
• Colored paper and colored envelopes
• Any handwritten or typed personal correspondence on any paper other than plain white, lined paper.
• No stamps, envelopes, papers, pens, pencils, inappropriate pictures/photos, Polaroids, plastic cards, phone cards, stickers, lipstick marks, padded or bubble mailers, or glued items.

How to Call an Inmate

Inmates at the Boot Camp cannot receive incoming phone calls, however, they have access to phones and can make outgoing calls from the inmate housing area daily. Phone calls are recorded and may be monitored at any time.

Friends and family members can stay in touch with an inmate by setting up a prepaid collect calling account that allows the inmate to call your phone number using deposited funds. You can click here to set up the account online.

Deposits can be made securely through the AdvancePay® website, mobile app or phone.

You can set the service to send a text alert if the fund balance is getting low, or just set the account to auto-reload to automatically replenish your account.

How to Send Money

When an inmate is admitted into custody, any money they have at the time of intake is deposited into their individual trust account. Funds are automatically used to pay for the intake processing fees, outstanding debt from previous accounts, and daily subsistence fees.

The remaining balance can be used to purchase commissary items and pay recurring expenses like subsistence fees, co-payments for non-emergency medical care, and self-bonding.

Touch Pay

Friends and family can make deposits into an inmate's trust account 24/7 using one of the several methods offered by TouchPay.

You’ll need the following information to deposit funds into an account:

• Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation, facility number 233101
• Inmate name
• Inmate identification number (ID number) - jail number

After intake, 50% of all future deposits made to an inmate trust account will be applied to the inmate’s outstanding debt (if applicable) and the remaining deposit will be credited to the inmate trust account. Cash must be deposited directly at a lobby kiosk.

• Lobby Kiosks at the Boot Camp accept cash, credit cards, and debit cards.
• Visit the TouchPay website payment portal to make deposits online with MasterCard/Visa credit cards and debit cards.
• Call TouchPay at 1-866-232-1899 and make a deposit over the phone using MasterCard/Visa credit cards and debit cards.

Care Packages

Friend and family can order and send pre-packaged gifts to inmates using iCare by following the instructions below:

• Visit the iCare Website
• Click the "Find an Inmate" icon or the "Start Shopping" button
• Select the state you are shopping in—Florida—and search for your loved one by their last name or inmate number
• Browse products and add to your cart. Click Proceed to Checkout when you are ready to complete your order
• Enter your payment information and Submit Order
• Contact: (888) 439-5020 if you have any questions

Programs For Inmates

Participants in the Boot Camp program receive General Equivalency Diploma preparation, vocational training, postsecondary education assistance, financial literacy, skills training, job placement, and volunteer opportunities. 

The Boot Camp Program has remained accredited by the American Correctional Association, a national benchmark for the effective operation of correctional systems throughout the United States since 2004.

Pictures of Miami Dade County Boot Camp

Careers at Miami Dade County Boot Camp

If you are interested in a career with the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department, and would like more information about the job openings at the Boot Camp, click here.

Miami-Dade County offers competitive pay, and all employees are eligible for automatic enrollment in the Florida Retirement System. They also offer a generous leave package to employees, including:

• two weeks of annual leave
• military leave
• family medical leave for eligible employees
• up to 13 paid holidays in accordance with pertinent bargaining agreement
• 12 sick days for full time employees