Lock Down Phone Calls



There are different kinds of lock down at the Bexar County Jail.  A single inmate can be in permanent or extended lock down or a whole unit can be in lock down.

An individual inmate that is in lock down must spend 23 hours of the day in his cell.  Because of these restrictions, the inmate is allowed to make his phone calls during the hour he is out of his cell regardless of what time it is.  Each call is limited to 15 minutes.  At the end of the 15 minutes the call is automatically disconnected.

A whole unit can be placed on lock down.  This is usually done for a major infraction that involved several members of the unit.  While in lock down the inmates are not allowed to make any phone calls.  Once the lock down has been lifted they return to the usual regulations regarding phone calls from a unit.

38 thoughts on “Lock Down Phone Calls

      • Sarah

        The jail is on lockdown and my bf has absolutely no money to get a stamp to write to me. Will he still be able to get hold of a stamp off human resources or will they be closed due to the lockdown?

      • admin

        Sarah – This situation is new for us too. We suspect he will not be able to get stamps until the lockdown is over.

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  1. connie

    My boyfriend is in protective custody lockdown he gets one hour out of his cell should i be worried if its almost the end of the day and he still hasnt called me? Meed answers please

    • admin

      Connie – Each lock down person must get one hour out of their cell. The other lock down inmates can’t be out of their cell at that time. That means for 24 lock down inmates it takes at least 24 hours to give them all their hour out. Your boyfriend can get his hour out of his cell anytime during a 24 hour period.

  2. manda

    Is tell mate the same as ic solutions im still waiting for my fiances call hes in lockdown I guess I have to still wait im sire hes gotten his hour but nothing

    • admin

      Manda – His hour can be given to him at any time in a 24 hour period. The only phone system that the jail uses is ICSolutions.

    • admin

      Erica – It depends on what they feel the infraction deserves. Usually it is not longer than 48 hours.

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  3. Tawni

    I ordered an Icare package for a friend, delivery day is today. his pod went into lockdown yesterday until today at 5pm. Will he still receive his package?

    • admin

      Michelle – There can be a lot of reasons. The jail just recently had three individuals with capital murder charges escape from the facility. They were in lockdown for at least 48 hours after that. We don’t know if other limitations have been put on the inmates. Or the inmate might have had his privileges revoked due to some kind of infraction. Or maybe he just chooses not to call. We recommend you try visiting him so you can ask him what’s happening.

      We would like to ask our readers to help spread the word about our website. Please recommend us to people you know. Thank you.

  4. Lydia

    Hi, I was worried because today was the very first day I did not hear from my husband since he was locked up. Then a fellow inmate of his called with a message from my hubby ,(it was very sweet) and the reason he didn’t call was because of a lock down. It’s a county jail but how is it that the other guy got phone privilege? I don’t know if I’m being paranoid but it worried me that something was wrong. I was told my husband was not part of the reason for the lock down so I don’t get why he had to send a message through some one and was unable to call himself? Should I be worried or am I paranoid? Lol

    • admin

      Lydia – It’s understandable to be worried. The concern of family and friends of incarcerated individuals is one of the reasons we started this website. But it’s not unusual for a whole section to be put on lockdown even if some of them were not involved.

      We would like to ask our readers to help spread the word about our website. Please recommend us to people you know. Thank you.

  5. cynthia

    my son got arrested saturday, ihavent received not a single call from him..does he get a chance to do a one call without any money?? how does this work? what do i do?

    • admin

      Cynthia – Yes, he can make a call without having any money but it will come in as a collect call. You will need to accept it.

      We would like to ask our readers to help spread the word about our website. Please recommend us to people you know. Thank you.

    • admin

      Dawn – You can try calling the Front Desk, 210-335-6300. Ask them if he is in medical or has been placed on lockdown. If he got in trouble he could be on restriction. If they won’t help you, contact sheriff’s administration, 210-335-6010. You may have to be persistent about speaking to someone who can help you. Salazar has made the process very unfriendly to the general public.

      We would like to ask our readers to help spread the word about our website. Please recommend us to people you know. Thank you

  6. Emarie

    It’s been 6 days since my boyfriend has called getting a little worried I called commissary & they said he still had the money I put in there Friday Dec 3 . They told me he is on a locked down unit but that it shouldn’t stop him from getting his phone call .

    • admin

      Emarie – While it is true that inmates still get calls when in lockdown, they can get disciplinary action that causes that privilege to be taken away. The loss of phone privilege is usually in the vicinity of 5 – 7 days.

      We would like to ask our readers to help spread the word about our website. Please recommend us to people you know. Thank you

      • Anna

        Hey there. I didn’t hear from my husband for two days, then we had a video visit last night. He told me that the whole unit was on lockdown because an elevator was out of order….?? Then he told me that it may last 60 days!!? Have you ever heard of something like this? Or to anyone else reading this, have you heard anything like this from your loved one? I’m just confused. My husband is not a trouble maker at all and is just in there awaiting trial. How can it be legal for them to keep a whole unit on lockdown for a reason that’s not even in their control? Admin, have you heard of this?

      • admin

        Anna – This would not be the first time something like this has happened. I’ve heard that it was an issue in Master Control (one of the things they control are the elevators). However, I’ve never seen the issues go for that long. Sometimes they have to wait for a part, but they do everything they can to get it in as quickly as possible. But that’s how other situations have been. I don’t have any specific information on this one. Do any of our readers know more about this?

        We would like to ask our readers to help spread the word about our website. Please recommend us to people you know. Thank you

    • admin

      Shaquitta – People in lockdown units usually get 1 hour outside of their cell. The time is rotated so each day will be a different time. I don’t know how the rotation works, scheduled times or random.

      We would like to ask our readers to help spread the word about our website. Please recommend us to people you know. Thank you

    • admin

      Nia – It’s understandable that you’re worried. However, inmates are not required, nor can they be forced, to call anyone. If you’re worried that something has happened to him you can call the sheriff’s office and ask if he’s in the infirmary or some other place. They should be able to help you. Good luck.

      We would like to ask our readers to help spread the word about our website. Please recommend us to people you know. Thank you

  7. Susan

    I need to find out when my son will get out of lockdown for something he did not do? Because this person that got beat up did not like my son, he lied and said it was my son who beat him up. My son says he wasn’t even around when this took place. Unless you have some solid proof to back up what someone says happened, these officers should not be aloud to hold anybody on lockdown, and then not give any information about what’s goin on, and just leave them and forget about them. I am not goin to stop looking until I find some answers as to what’s goin on with my son, and why you have him in lockdown on false accusations and lies. This does not sit well with me and I will not stop til I get answers or get to the bottom of this nonsense.

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