Contact an inmate

There are 8 adult correctional and remand centres in Alberta. If you believe someone you know is an inmate in one of these centres, you must wait for them or their lawyer to contact you – before you can communicate with them.

Once you’ve been contacted, you can communicate with the inmate through:

• in-person or video visits
• phone calls
• the mail

Inmate privacy

Inmate information is protected by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. This means correctional and remand centres can’t confirm or release information like:

• whether or not someone is in custody
• an inmate’s criminal record

Visits

Most centres

You can visit an inmate in person at any of Alberta’s adult correctional and remand centres – except the Edmonton Remand Centre.

To arrange a visit, call the appropriate centre.

Edmonton Remand Centre

In-person visits are not possible at the Edmonton Remand Centre.

You can connect with an inmate at this centre through a videoconferencing visit. To arrange this, follow these steps:

Step 1. Arrange your video visit

To do this, call the Visitation Centre:

Hours: 8:30 am to 9 pm (7 days a week)
Phone: 780-638-5454
Toll free: 310-0000 before the phone number (in Alberta)

Step 2. Attend your video visit

The rules for video visits will be given to you before your visit. Make sure you understand them.

You’ll need to arrive at least 15 minutes before your visit:

Visitation Centre
Centre 170
10403 172 Street NW
Edmonton, Alberta

Open in Google Maps for directions.

Visiting Hours: 9 am to 11 am, 1 pm to 4 pm, 6 pm to 9 pm (7 days a week)

Phone calls

Correctional centres

To speak with an inmate, you can either:

• call the centre to speak with them
• accept their call from the centre’s phone line

Edmonton Remand Centre

You can only receive a phone call from an inmate. This call – from the centre’s phone line – will be recorded.

Other remand centres

To speak with an inmate, you can either:

• call the centre to speak with them
• accept their call from the centre’s phone line

Mail

You can send letters and packages to an inmate. They must be:

• sealed in a basic white envelope
• clearly addressed
• written in traditional blue or black ink
• free of:
  • stickers, crayon, paint or marker
  • perfumes and liquids
  • contraband, money, cheques, money orders

All incoming mail is searched by the centres’ staff. If they find any illegal contraband, such as drugs, they’ll turn it and the mail over to the police.