DeKalb County AL Detention Center

DeKalb County AL Detention Center basic information to help guide you through what you can do for your inmate while they are incarcerated. The facility's direct contact number: 256-845-8565

The DeKalb County AL Detention Center is a medium-security detention center located at 2801 Jordan Rd SW Fort Payne, AL which is operated locally by the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office and holds inmates awaiting trial or sentencing or both. Most of the sentenced inmates are here for less than two years. DeKalb County accepts inmates from surrounding towns, municipalities, the US Marshal's Service and the Fort Payne Police Department who do not have their own long-term lock-up.

The Corrections Division of the Sheriff's Office is responsible for housing incarcerated persons who are awaiting trial or transfer to the State of Alabama's Department of Corrections, or who have been sentenced to serve time less than one year. The DeKalb County Jail houses inmates arrested by some of our county’s municipal police departments as well, including Fort Payne, Fyffe, Sylvania, Rainsville, Geraldine, Henagar, Collinsville, Crossville, Powell, Valley Head, and Hammondville.

In 2008, the Sheriff’s Office entered into a contract with the United States Marshal’s Office to house federal inmates. In return for housing these federal inmates, the County receives $47 per day, per inmate. The money received for federal inmate housing is funneled directly back into the county’s law enforcement budget.

The Corrections Division processes approximately 2,800 inmates in and out of jail annually, and maintains an average population of 235. There are 46 staff members assigned to the Detention Center facility. The staff, headed by Chief Jail Administrator Jonathan Langley, is dedicated to providing a safe and secure environment for inmates, as well as for visitors to the facility. It is our goal to treat everyone in a respectful and professional manner.

The Detention Center has an on-site medical unit staffed by a full-time registered nurse and a part-time contracted medical doctor. Both Nurse Allen Kay and Dr. Robert Theakston are APOSTC certified law enforcement officers.

The Detention Center has a fully equipped law library and on-site video conferencing. Preliminary hearings and some other court appearances may be held on-site, without the necessity of transporting inmates to the courthouse.

The Detention Center also has video terminals set up for scheduled inmate visitation. To visit an inmate, you must MAKE AN APPOINTMENT. To make an appointment you may come to the Sheriff’s Office and set it up on Kiosk in the lobby or by going to Telmate.com. Each inmate is limited to 3 visitors per visit, and each visit is limited to 30 minutes.

The Sheriff’s Office operates two Inmate Work Crews out of the Detention Center, and has an additional crew on standby. The Work Crews travel many miles per week, cleaning up DeKalb County roadways, collecting an average of 1,400 pounds of garbage per day. They also maintain county property by mowing grass and doing other miscellaneous tasks at county offices such as the County Commission Office, the DeKalb County Courthouse, and the DeKalb County Library. Additional inmate workers maintain the Sheriff’s Office and Jail property, inside and out. All of our inmate workers are non-violent offenders.

Other non-violent, sentenced inmates participate in a Work Release Program, in which they leave the facility in the morning, work all day for an outside employer, and return in the evening.