Ashe County Detention Center

The Ashe County Detention Center serves as a critical facet in providing public safety in Ashe County. Our 160-bed facility was built in 2010 as a then state-of-the-art jail which today provides detention services for persons charged with crimes and awaiting a trial date or those who have been convicted of certain misdemeanors who are serving out their sentences.

In order to provide for safe and appropriate classification and housing assignment of inmates, our Detention Center is made up of 7 separate inmate housing units.  All 7 housing units are constantly monitored by a centrally-located, high tech command tower. In addition to the video monitoring from the tower, our 28 detention officers work 24/7 constantly walking through and inspecting every housing unit to provide reliable direct supervision for the safety of inmates and the security of our facility.

The Detention Center operates under the authority of Ashe County Sheriff B. Phil Howell and is under the direction of Detention Capt. Linda Carrow.

The Ashe County Detention Center has partnered with HomeWAV video visitation to allow family members of inmates to virtually visit with their loved ones inside the jail from the comfort of their own home. In addition to virtually visiting with family and friends, inmates are provided an opportunity to meet with professionals like their attorneys or clergy on the HomeWAV video system.

This easy-to-use video visitation system allows you to visit with inmates by using any smart phone, tablet or computer from anywhere. No longer are families required to physically come to the Detention Center lobby to visit with their loved ones.

To view more information about how to access and connect with your family members click {HERE}

The Ashe County Detention Center recognizes the importance of an inmate’s ability to communicate via telephone with their family, friends and their legal counsel. In an effort to facilitate this, our Detention Center has partnered with PAYTEL as our inmate-accessible telephone service. https://www.paytel.com/

Each of the 7 housing units in the Ashe County Detention Center are equipped with two phones for inmates to use for outgoing calls. These phones are available to inmates 7 days per week between the hours of 7am and 11pm.

To learn more about how to set up a telephone account to be able to receive calls from an inmate in the Ashe County Detention Center click {HERE}

The Ashe County Detention Center allows inmates at our facility to order commissary items if the inmate has funds available in their account. All necessary meals are provided free of charge to all inmates at our facility and those items available through commissary are simply additional, non-necessary, items.

Shopping Directly for an Inmate-
We are updating this section at this time. Please contact 336-846-5611 for more information.

Inmates with money on their accounts can shop for themselves. There are three ways you can put money on an inmate’s account:

In-Person Deposits-
To put money on an inmate’s commissary account you can visit our Detention Center lobby where you will find an ATM-style machine which will allow you to select an inmate to add money to their account. This machine accepts debit cards or cash and the money is placed on the inmate’s account instantly.

Internet Deposits-
If you are unable to visit our lobby, you may also use JailATM.com to put money on an inmate’s account. Putting money on an inmate’s account is easy with JailATM.com with the first step being setting up a new user account. Please have an email account ready and visit this link to begin the process {HERE}

Deposits by mail-
Finally, if you feel more comfortable simply mailing money to the jail for an inmate, we do allow that but the payment has to be sent as a US Postal Service money order which you can get at any US Post Office.

Important Money Order Info: Each bank requires that you fill out the money order completely with your name and address as the “Sender”.

The address to send money is:

Ashe County Detention Center
140 Law Enforcement Dr.
Jefferson, NC 28640

NOTE: Please be sure to make the money order payable to the inmate’s name. 

The Ashe County Sheriff’s Office requires all Detention Officers to attended and graduate from a recognized 174 hour D.O.C.C. (Detention Officer Certification Course) academy in North Carolina.

Ashe County Detention Officers must meet or exceed all basic, specialized and continuing education training as mandated by North Carolina Sheriff’s Training and Standards.
Our agency employs seven (7) North Carolina Criminal Justice Standards Division certified Criminal Justice Instructors who are responsible for conducting Mandatory In-Service Training for all Detention Officers annually.

At a minimum, all law enforcement personnel at the Ashe County Sheriff’s Office receive 18 mandatory hours/credits of in-service training, including special group sensitivity and other topics as directed by training and standards. This training is audited annually by North Carolina Sheriffs’ Standards and Training.

Supplemental training is provided based upon the a Detention Officer’s role within within the Detention Center. Certain positions and certain tools require additional training.

The Ashe County Sheriff’s Office is committed to delivering exceptional Detention Officer training to prepare our staff to deliver exemplary service to the community. We constantly strive to provide Ashe County with well-trained and highly-screened Detention Officers who have the most up-to-date information, tactics and training that is available.

The Ashe County Sheriff’s Office is often hiring full-time and part-time Detention Officers. If you are interested in becoming a Detention Officer with the Ashe County Sheriff’s Office please visit the Employment section of our website {here} to check for job announcements and learn more about the hiring process.

“Detention Officer” means: any person performing responsibilities, either on a full-time, part-time, permanent or temporary basis, which include but are not limited to the control, care and supervision of any inmates incarcerated in a county jail or other confinement facility under the direct supervision and management of the sheriff. “Detention Officer” shall also mean the administrator and other custodial personnel of district confinement facilities as defined in G.S. 153A-219.

All candidates must meet the following minimum employment standards by the State of North Carolina:

-Be a citizen of the United States.
-Be at least 21 years of age.
-Be a high school graduate, or the equivalent (GED).
-Have been fingerprinted by the employing agency.
-Have had a medical examination by a licensed physician.
-Have produced a negative result on a drug screen.
-Make full disclosure of criminal charges and Domestic Violence Orders, both  upon application and while holding certification.
-Be of good moral character.
-Have a thorough background investigation conducted by the employing agency, to include a personal interview prior to employment.
-Not have a prohibitive criminal history record.