Learn How to Find Out if and Where Someone is in Jail
How to find out who is in jail is common question. In many cases, a person is taken to jail immediately after being arrested. That person will typically remain in jail at least until their arraignment. Unless the person is released on his or her own recognizance or posts bail, he or she will remain in jail throughout the duration of any hearing. If found guilty, the judge will determine exactly how long the person must remain in jail.
If someone you know has been arrested and you want to know if he or she is in jail, or if you know someone who was in jail and want to know if he or she is still there, there are several ways to find out. Here’s a look at the best ways to find someone in jail, either online or offline.
Understanding the Jail System
Before you start looking for a person in jail, you must first understand how the jail system works. Although not necessary, it’s helpful to know what stage of the jail legal process the person is at to make sure you are searching the right jails.
- Recently Arrested: Immediately following an arrest, the offender is usually taken to the local jail in the county where the arrest took place. If the arrest took place in the same county as the crime, the offender will likely remain at the same jail until the trial, unless bail is posted. If the crime occurred in a different county from the arrest, the offender will most likely be transported to a jail in the county where the crime took place to stand trial. It may be difficult to find information on an inmate’s location until this transfer takes place.
- Awaiting Trial: Unless the charges are dropped, a defendant is released on his or her own recognizance or bail is posted, he or she will remain in jail in the county where the trial is to take place. In most cases, the defendant will remain in this jail until the conclusion of the trial or until sentencing.
- Post Sentencing: Sentencing will determine what type of jail the defendant will be in for the duration of sentencing. Sentences of less than one or two years — depending on the state and county — generally allow the defendant to remain in the county jail. Defendants that must serve longer sentences will be sent to state prison. The location of the state prison inmates are sent to will depend on location and which prison has space available. Defendant may change prisons several times throughout their sentences.
- Federal Crimes: Anyone arrested for a federal crime may initially be brought to the county jail, but will then be transferred to one of the federal prisons to await trial.
How to Do a Direct Jail Search Online
If you know the county where the arrest or the crime took place, you may be able to answer the question, “How to find out who is in jail,” just by checking the county’s website. You also can check out the website for the local sheriff’s office or police department. Many counties now offer a free online database of all inmates being housed at the county jail. You will need to know the person’s gender and first and last names in order to search the database. If possible, try to find out the person’s age or date of birth to make sure that you find the right person and not just someone with the same name.
If your county doesn’t have an online inmate database, it may provide online court records. Check the county’s Municipal Court portal and see if it provides court docket information. This data usually includes the jail or prison where the person is being held, or if the person has been released from custody.
If you cannot find the person you are looking for, check all neighboring counties just to be sure. Keep in mind that it may take several days or weeks for the online information to be updated. So if you don’t find what you’re looking for right away, you may want to keep checking.
How to Do a Third-Party Jail Search Online
How to Find Out Who is In Jail can be accomplished online. There are many third-party vendors that offer online inmate search services. In many cases, you only need to enter the person’s first and last names and the database will provide you with a list of everyone that matches that criteria. These third-party vendors typically charge a fee for these services, but offer a good way to find someone in jail even if you don’t know where the arrest or the crime took place. You need to be careful with this approach — make sure that you are dealing with a legitimate online vendor. Always read the fine print and look for hidden fees, such as a monthly subscription fee, before authorizing these services.
How to Do an Offline Jail Search
The good news is that you don’t even need to use the internet to find someone in jail. You can simply contact the local jail or police department where the arrest or crime took place. Be sure to use the non-emergency phone number, which can be found on the county website or in the local phone book. You may have to call several county jails and police departments, but you should have no problem finding the information you need in the end. A faster method is contacting the arresting officer directly. As long as you know the officer’s name and phone number, he or she should be able to tell you exactly what jail the person is in. Hopefully, being able to find out who is in jail has become a bit easier with this information. Please feel free to reach out and ask any questions in our comments section at the bottom of the page.
Just checking to see if he was arrested
Rose, we are happy to help you find out who is in jail and who was arrested. First, we’ll need to know the full name of the person in question as well as his age and state of residence.
How do I find out if Nicholas Williams is in jail?
David, we’ll need to know the full name, age and state of residence to perform a jail record search for you
I\’m looking for dana
Ewing
Angela, if you can provide us with the person’s age and state of residence or where they were jailed we are happy to run a search for you
Need to know when & if he will be on the streets before his 4 yr sentence
Christine, you will need to contact the Department of Corrections in the state where this inmate is in jail. Unfortunately we do not have that information in our jail record databases
Yes my husband is from mx and and jail in tx how do I find him
Latisha, visit the Texas Department of Corrections website and try using their free offender search. If you still cannot find him, call the Texas DOC directly
Looking to see if
SHANE LEE DENNY HAS BEEN ARRESTED
DATE OF BIRTH
APRIL 25,1973
We are happy to help you find out who is in jail but we’ll need to know what state she lives and/or was potentially arrested in. We can also assist you with looking up any potential criminal charges associate with that arrest.
I’m looking for my brother. We haven’t seen or heard from him in 5 years! He has been arrested in NC under the name of Kenneth Orville Kelly in the past on 5/23/2014. He also served time in the California prisons under the name Kenneth Orville Baker. I have no idea how to go about finding out if he’s in prison or dead. I really don’t even know what state to look for because I heard he was moving all over before everybody lost contact.
Unfortunately we don’t have the ability to search for inmates or who is in jail on a nationwide basis accurately without additional information. That being said, you can use the Department of Justice website to perform a national federal inmate search. Hopefully this will allow you to find out what jail or prison your brother is located in.
I am looking for my sister. She was arrested in atlanta Vs but there are a bunch of counties and I can\’t find her. Her name is Katheen Roberson.
Unfortunately Amanda if this was a recent arrest you will want to contact an Atlanta law enforcement agency to inquire about this. We do not have her information in our Georgia criminal records database. You might start by contacting the Atlanta sheriff department and they should be able to perform a search through their network to find your sister. The Atlanta sheriff department phone number is 404-612-5100
I haven\’t heard from my best friend Erana Blair we are in Colorado I want to know if she went to jail she is 45
Alicia, we don’t show any record of your friend in jail in Colorado but our resources can be delayed depending on the reporting of the jail inmates to public record repositories. Another way for you to look into this is to contact the relevant Colorado county jail or the Colorado Sheriff Department and inquire with them about your friend.
My fiance is at SCI PHOENIX for a probation violation. I haven\’t heard from him in a week,and getting in contact with his probation officer is damn near impossible. I want to find out how much time he\’s facing, How do I go about finding out this information?
To find out how much time someone has in jail at SCI PHOENIX you might be better off contacting that jail facility directly. Unfortunately the time someone has left in jail is not part of the public record that is typically available for 3rd party websites.
Find How Much Jail Time Someone Got
Contact the jail facility that person was incarcerated at and inquire within. It will be helpful to know the date the person was sent to jail as well as their age and their full name and any other identifiable information
Hi can u find my dad he was last in jail 2007 murtuza Mateen in greater Manchester he will be 57/58 now. He may be out now I don’t know but worth a try
The best way to lookup who is in jail, or inmate information, is to contact the relevant state Department of Corrections. Typically the state DOC websites have a free offender search where you can lookup inmates that are currently incarcerated or that have been released.
My husband said he was in prison long time ago am i able to find out
Knowing how to find out who is in jail can be daunting if you don’t know the type of facility or what state they are located in. If you can give us your husbands full name we will perform a jail inmate search for you. Another option, if you know what state your husband was incarcerated in, is to visit the relevant Department of Corrections website. They all typically have a free statewide offender search where all you need to begin is a first and last name. A third option is to visit the Department of Justice website and use their nationwide inmate search.
4 Ways To Find Who Is In Jail
1. Department of Corrections website Offender Search
2. Department of Justice website Inmate Search
3. 3rd Party Public Record websites
4. Contact the Prison or Jail directly
what county is she in currently since being moved from rowan county?
Can you be more specific as to who you’re trying to locate in jail and where?
Idk & looking for Danny Sullivan Jr. In greenville,il
We don’t show a Danny Sullivan Jr. in our Illinois incarceration record database. You might want to check with the Illinois Department of Corrections website. They have a Free Offender Search where you can find out who is in jail in Illinois. All you need to do is enter the name of the person in question or the Illinois Department of Corrections Number and you will be able to review the jail inmate results and find out if that person you’re looking for is in jail.
How to Locate a Jail Inmate
1. Visit the state’s Department of Corrections website
2. Use the state’s Free Offender Search Tool
3. Enter the full name of the person or DOC number
4. View jail inmate results and sometimes mugshots
Looking for my fiancée. He just sent me the message that he is arrested it was last Sunday March 11. His name is Ruben Cabrera 33 yo. He lives in Beaumont Texas. He moved from San Bernardino.
To locate who is in jail in Texas you will want to contact the Beaumont Police Department or Sheriff Department, which ever law enforcement agency that arrested and booked him. Since this is a recent arrest we will not have his arrest record or where he is located in jail as this is not publicly available yet.
Lookup People In Jail
Contact the relevant law enforcement agency that arrested and booked the person in question. State your name and relationship to the person who is in jail. Then find out who is in jail
TRYING TO FIND OUT IF JOANN JOHNSON HAS BEEN IN JAIL RECENTLY OR HAS SHE BEEN CAUGHT FOR FORGERY & THEFT OF THE SENIOR CITIZEN, SHE STOLE FROM!
In order to find out who is in jail we will need more information for our inmate search. We need the middle name, age and state and county of residence. There are several jail record listings for the name you provided so we’ll need additional information to narrow down the jail inmate search.
Hi,
As per your post, we required to find one guy in Kuwait Jail. Basically he is from India, he went for work, after that no response for the past 4 years. Recently we came to know that guy is in Jail. We really doesn’t know whether it’s true or not. Till now his parents awaiting for his arrival. I request you to give us some guidelines to proceed further for next level. It will be great support if we get the positive reply from your end.
We request you to share the detaisl to this i’d – syed.raja88@gmail.com
Regards
Syed
Is your inquiry for a domestic jail record search? We only offer public records for the United States. That being said, if you can provide the state and county of residence in the United States we can help direct you to the correct agency to perform this jail search.
Trying to find my wife Krystal Norris and if she is getting out on her own recognize
If you can give us the state and county and DOC number it will help us find the information you’re looking for. Finding out who is in jail and if they have been released can be found much easier with the additional information mentioned.
IL, SANGAMON COUNTY, ID# 62487
You will want to contact the Illinois Department of Corrections to inquire about an inmate. Since you have the DOC number it will make finding who is in jail a bit easier.
How to Lookup Jail Inmates in Illinois
1. Visit the Illinois Department of Corrections
2. Use their Inmate Search
3. Lookup jail inmates by name or DOC number
4. Access Illinois jail and inmate information
What if I don’t know the county, how do I check?
If you don’t know the county where a person is in jail or prison you can also look them up by their DOC or Department of Correction Number
How To Find Someone in Jail
1. Locate the state in which the person is in jail
2. Perform an inmate lookup via the state or federal website
3. Provide their full name, DOC number and any additional information
4. Search by state or perform a nationwide inmate search
How Can I know where my spouse is house at
I am not sure what your question is referring to exactly. Are you looking for an address? If so we can help you with a people search. We will need the full name of the person as well as his age and state of residence.
Find out if he’s in jail
We are happy to assist you with finding out who is in jail. We will need the full name of the person in questions, where they are incarcerated and their DOC number if you have that available.