Why Calls from San Diego County Jail May Show Up as Spam — and what to know about free calls and call recording

Missing calls from someone at a San Diego County Sheriff's Office detention facility? The problem might be your phone, not them. All calls from inside come from 727-349-1561, and some carriers flag that number as spam - filtering it out before you ever see it ring.

The fix is straightforward: save 727-349-1561 in your contacts so your phone recognizes it as a known caller. If calls still get blocked, contact your carrier and ask them to unblock that number. This one change often makes the difference between getting the call and never knowing it came through.

Having account or technical issues with the phone service? Contact Smart Communications at 1-727-349-1561 (they're also available online).

San Diego County Sheriff’s Office jail calls have been free since July 1, 2021. That includes local calls, long-distance calls, and even international calls, so you shouldn’t be asked to fund an account just to accept a regular phone call.

The tradeoff is time. People in custody can make unlimited calls per day, but each call cuts off at 15 minutes - this keeps the phones available for everyone. Answer promptly and keep conversations focused. If you get cut off, they'll need to call back when they can.

Phone calls are recorded. The one exception: calls to numbers verified by the Detention Investigations Unit (DIU) as belonging to an attorney, physician, or religious advisor. Those numbers get added to the county's "Do Not Record" database.

Need to register a qualifying number so calls won't be recorded? Contact the DIU at (858) 285-2051 and ask about verification for the Do Not Record list.

Quick Steps

• ✓ Save 727-349-1561 in your phone contacts so it doesn’t get treated as an unknown caller.
• ✓ Check your carrier’s spam/scam call settings and ask your phone provider to unblock 727-349-1561 if calls are being filtered.
• ✓ For telephone-service customer support issues, contact Smart Communications at 1-727-349-1561 (or use their online support).
• ✓ If you need an attorney/physician/religious-advisor number protected from recording, call the Detention Investigations Unit (DIU) at (858) 285-2051 to request verification and “Do Not Record” registration.