What happens to your loved one's cash and belongings during booking at Etowah County Detention Center
Booking is your loved one's first stop at Etowah County Detention Center - and it begins with a search. Staff search everyone during intake. Belongings are inventoried while your loved one is present, then secured. This creates a record of exactly what came in, and those items stay stored until release.
Any cash your loved one has during booking doesn't stay as physical money. Instead, they deposit it into a kiosk, which creates an account. That balance can be used to buy commissary items while they're housed at the detention center.
After booking, there's a shower available in the changing room. Your loved one can use it as part of getting settled in.
Note: Don't assume you can drop off cash or pick up property a certain way without confirming the current procedure directly with the detention center. Rules can be strict, and the details that matter - timing, approved methods - aren't always posted publicly.
- ✓ Confirm the detention center’s current process before you attempt to send money or deliver anything in person.
- ✓ Expect any cash your loved one had at booking to be placed into a kiosk-created inmate account for commissary purchases.
- ✓ Ask the detention center what the pickup/release process is for property that was inventoried at booking, especially if you need an item urgently.
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