Anchorage Correctional Complex

A state correctional complex for men in Anchorage, Alaska — the Anchorage-region booking and intake hub of Alaska's unified jail-and-prison system, holding both pretrial and sentenced men across two buildings (ACC East and ACC West).

Overview

Anchorage Correctional Complex is a state correctional facility for men operated by the Alaska Department of Corrections. It is in downtown Anchorage, the state’s largest city, in south-central Alaska. The complex serves as the primary booking and intake point for the Anchorage region and houses men at all custody levels.

Alaska runs a unified system, meaning the state Department of Corrections operates both jail and prison functions — there is no separate county jail system. As a result, Anchorage Correctional Complex holds both people awaiting trial or sentencing and people who have been sentenced. Classification assigns each person to one of four custody levels — Community, Minimum, Medium, or Close — and a person’s custody level and housing assignment can change during incarceration. The custody class and housing unit a person is in determine whether visits are contact or non-contact, so families confirm the arrangement that applies to the specific person before a first visit.

What Makes the Anchorage Correctional Complex Different

Anchorage Correctional Complex is the main booking and intake hub for the Anchorage region. Because Alaska’s corrections system is unified and the state has no county jails, intake happens at the state facility nearest the place of arrest rather than at a single statewide reception center. People arrested in the Anchorage area are typically booked here, screened, and assigned a custody level before being housed at this complex or transferred to another facility based on classification and bed space.

The complex is made up of two buildings. ACC East is the older building (the former Anchorage Jail), and ACC West (the former Cook Inlet Pretrial facility, opened in 1993) is at the adjacent 1300 East 4th Avenue address. Because the complex functions largely as a booking and intake facility, it holds a mix of unsentenced (pretrial) and sentenced men, and the population turns over frequently. The complex also operates an acute psychiatric unit and a medical unit. Some federal and immigration detainees are also held here under contract.

Visiting

The statewide AK DOC rules above — the approved visitor list, the dress code, ID, and item limits — apply at the Anchorage Correctional Complex. The facility’s own arrangements:

Getting There and Parking

Anchorage Correctional Complex is at 1400 East 4th Avenue in downtown Anchorage, with the ACC West building nearby at 1300 East 4th Avenue. The complex is a short distance east of the downtown core and is reached from the Glenn Highway and 5th Avenue. Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport is to the southwest of downtown.

Visitors confirm current entry procedures, the visitor-processing location, and what may be brought onto the grounds with the facility before arriving, because electronic devices and personal items are generally not permitted inside. Visitors typically bring only a government-issued photo ID.

Nearby Services

Anchorage is Alaska’s largest city and has a full range of lodging, dining, fuel, and other services downtown and throughout the surrounding area. Hospitals and emergency medical care are available locally. Visitors traveling from outside the city generally find the most options for overnight stays, food, and fuel in and around downtown Anchorage and along the Glenn and Seward highway corridors.

Mail

Alaska DOC does not use an off-site mail vendor. Incoming personal mail goes directly to the facility, where mail staff open and inspect it for contraband before delivery. Address personal mail with the person’s full name and prisoner number, the facility name, and the facility’s mailing address:

[Prisoner’s full name and number] Anchorage Correctional Complex 1400 East 4th Avenue Anchorage, AK 99501

Use a plain white envelope and white paper, and write only in blue or black ink or pencil. Mail without a complete return address that includes the sender’s name is destroyed. Greeting cards must be commercially produced, single-fold, on standard card stock, and no larger than 6 by 8 inches. Photographs must be printed on plain white or photographic paper and unaltered. Stickers, labels, glitter, tape, and anything attached with adhesive are not allowed (postal-service labels are an exception), and sexually explicit material is prohibited.

Legal and other privileged mail (for example, mail with an attorney) goes to the facility marked “Privileged” and is handled separately. Books, magazines, newspapers, and other publications must be ordered from an approved vendor and shipped directly to the facility — a family member can place the order, but the person must have funds to pay for it in advance. Packages are accepted only from approved vendors through the commissary; friends and family cannot send gift packages. Contact the facility for its current approved-vendor list.

Learn More

• Visiting an Alaska prison — Approved visitor lists, the per-facility scheduling and appointment norms, dress code, ID, and what to expect at remote facilities.
• Sending mail in Alaska — How to address personal mail to the facility, the white-envelope rules, and how to order books, publications, and packages from approved vendors.
• Phone calls and video in Alaska — Setting up a Securus AdvanceConnect account, how calls are billed, free monthly calls, and the rules on three-way and forwarded calls.
• Sending money in Alaska — How to put money on an Offender Trust Account in person or by mail, who is allowed to deposit, accepted forms, and the monthly limit.
• Medical care in Alaska prisons — How health, dental, and mental-health care work in DOC facilities, co-pay amounts, and how to request care.
• Intake, classification, and transfers in Alaska — The booking process, the four custody levels, and how people are housed in Alaska’s unified jail-and-prison system.