Salt Lake County Jail

• Most inmates go through a pre-sentencing process before actually being booked and sent into quarantine. At this stage, depending on how severe your crime is, you may actually get to go home. Most cases, you are told you are now an inmate of the Salt Lake County Jail.
• You will stay in jail until you get a court date and are sent to see the judge. At this time the judge may release you with conditions, or you may be sentenced.

Life in Jail

• Inmates
• Getting a-long with inmates is an experience of its own. Everyone is different, so here are a few things we have heard that may help.
• Avoid saying things abruptly.
• Try to make some friends quickly.
• Avoid confrontation.
• Keep to yourself and stay our of the typical drama that occurs day to day.
• You are not able to choose which inmate you share a cell with, so do your best to get along with him/her.

• Based on your good behavior, you are allowed time off at times. It is different case by case, but usually it can be 5 days a month, or 2 months out of 6. Information we receive is from former inmates in the Salt Lake County Jail.
• Good behavior is based off of not getting any write-ups, don’t steal, fight, become disorderly, do not disobey officers, and avoid confrontations with other inmates.

• There are around 25-30 pods in each block. (A Block, B Block, C Block, D Block, etc.)
• There are pods for medical problems, quarantine pods, minimum security pods, medium security pods, maximum security pods, and super max pods.
• Most inmates will be sent to a quarantine pod until they can be classified into one of the other sections.
• Worst case scenarios are being in a pod with an arrogant or unruly guard / peace officer.
• Minimum security pods are generally a bit better, as the guards act a little more human and you are allowed more time out of your cell.
• Some blocks allow you to watch TV for a specific amount of time during the day. Every case is different, so do not go in expecting anything.

• There are a few items of personal entertainment that may help pass the time.
• T.V. for when you are able to watch it.
• Reading Books
• Handball in the Concrete Court Area
• Playing Cards
• The entertainment that you, yourself will create in your head.
• LDS church services are held on Sunday, but recent reports say that peace officers are only allowing specific individuals to attend the services. We are assuming this is due to bad behavior, but if you know otherwise, please submit a complaint.

• Visitation is sometimes twice a week depending on which block you are in.
• Visits last around 30 minutes.
• Your visit takes place in a room with 5 small windows that you can see through.
• You may speak through the vents on each side of the window, but hearing is sometimes heard, especially if the visit is full and everyone is talking or screaming.

• As an inmate you will receive 3 meals per day.
• The food as described by an inmate: “Substandard lifeless nutrition deprived depressed pig shop”
• The food has the nutrients you need to survive, but as for what you are easting, most inmates rate it on a scale of 1-10 a “3”
• A favorite food would be cold cereal, and most inmates least favorite food is what they call “Cat Food”, the left over scraps of bologna, spam, turkey and whatever else mixed with mayonnaise, served with cheap white bread.
• Snacks can only be payed for through commissary.

• Each inmate is issued a colored uniform. Red, Blue, Gray, Yellow.
• Shoes are similar to VANs style shoes but are not the greatest for walking or running around in.
• Men are issued underwear like shorts, Woman are issued “granny panties”.

• Check out books from the library as soon as possible, drink 5 or more cups of water at night to keep you from feeling too hungry. Get a commissary order in as soon as possible, don’t front anybody food off of commissary, go to all the 12-step meetings, go to LDS services, get in a program if possible, apply to work in the kitchen or as a house-mouse or any other job as soon as possible, call as many people as you can before you are taken from the area where you get checked in (the calls are free), find some friends, do physical exercise as much as possible, and just stay busy however possible.