If you’re interested in sending photos to inmates at Shelby County Jail, consider using Inmate Photos to take care of all of the details. We send pictures to more than 4,000 correctional facilities across the United States. We already know what each prison requires and how to package your pictures, so they get to that important person in prison.
If you would like to learn how to send photos yourself, read on to learn more about Shelby County Jail and its mailing requirements.
History of Shelby County Jail
The Shelby County Courthouse and Jail has undergone many changes since its establishment in 1821. The original building was a log courthouse, remarked to be too uncomfortable for court members to meet in. Only three years later, commissioners chose a new location north of Wolf River. It was said to be a small frame building before it was reinforced with brick in 1834, making the building 40 by 50 feet and two stories high.
In 1860, committees began discussions for a new courthouse, but due to the Civil War, the new building, The Overton Hotel, wasn’t purchased until 1874. Nearly 150,000 went into repairing and appropriating the building for a courthouse. In 1866, J.B. Cook and J.J. Powers began to design and build a more expensive jail on top of the original, built in 1820. This jail exceeded its budget of $144,000, which would be around 4.7 million dollars today. The current jail averages around 3,000 inmates a day and 56,000 bookings per year.
The jail for male inmates is located in downtown Memphis, while the jail for female inmates is in East Memphis. The downtown jail was built in 1981 and can house 2,813 inmates. The building for female inmates opened in 1999 and can house 382 with an average length of stay of 7 days.
Notably, the Shelby County Courthouse completed in 1909 is known for its feature in Silence of the Lambs and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
How To Send Photos to Shelby County Jail
If you are sending mail, including pictures, to inmates at Shelby County Jail, you must know their booking number and which facility they are staying in. Shelby County does have an inmate search on their website so you can find information about where the inmate is staying. For male inmates, address the envelope accordingly:
Inmate’s full name
Booking Number
Floor and Pod where housed (if known)
201 Poplar Ave.
Memphis, TN 38103
For female inmates, address the envelope like this:
Jail East Women’s Facility
Inmate’s full name
Booking Number
Location where housed (if known)
6201 Haley Rd.
Memphis, TN 38134
How To Use Inmate Photos to Send Pictures
- Create an account on inmatephotos.com using your email.
- Using your Facebook, Instagram, or by uploading directly from your device, upload photos into your gallery.
- You can order straight from your dashboard by selecting a pre-approved size.
- At checkout, you can use our inmate locator to find the current address.
- Keep track of your contacts through your account to make re-ordering easy.
- Earn rewards for sending photos with us to be redeemed with free photos, free shipping, or free orders.
Rules For Sending Mail
Sending mail to inmates at Shelby County Jail does require a few rules to be followed.
Some of the restrictions include:
- A full return address must be provided.
- Photos can be no bigger than 4″x6″
- They can’t have more than 3 photos in their possession
- Content must be family-friendly
- Packages can only include reading materials ordered and sent directly from a retailer to the prison. No hard-back books may be included.
- No pens or pencils may be mailed. Inmates can purchase those at the commissary, or they will be provided by the jail.
- Do not send money through the mail. Funds can be added by calling 1-855-836-3364, or by kiosk in the visitation lobby using cash only. A maximum of $200 can be uploaded in a one-week period.
If you would like to make return mail easier for the inmate you are corresponding with, the jail recommends including a pre-stamped envelope with your message.
Inmate photos sends pictures to men and women in facilities all over the country. Download our app or visit our website to get started sending pictures, today!