How to Know If Someone Is In Jail in the US
To find out whether your family member or friend has recently been arrested, you may need to exercise some patience. In the US, once an individual has been arrested, they need to be booked and have their details gathered and updated in the state or local correctional facility’s system before you can later on know about it.
Furthermore, there is no common criminal justice system in the US. There are thousands of correctional facilities holding millions of individuals serving jail time, awaiting trial, or being released by bond. As of 2022, there were more than 1,500 state prisons, 100 federal prisons, 1,500 juvenile facilities, and 2,800 local jails.
Nevertheless, if you are suspecting that a loved one may have been arrested or is serving time in a US correctional facility, this article is for you. We will take you through the inmate search process.
Inmate Booking
How long it may take for an inmate’s data to be updated varies from one correctional facility to another, however, it may take an hour up to several hours. Sometimes it may even take days. The time varies depending on the police station booking procedure, the number of arrestees that need to be booked, and the number of available or on-duty police officers.
During the booking process, personal information about an individual is collected, for instance, their name, mugshots, fingerprints, health screening, clothes, and other personal items. The final stage of the booking process is a routine question that will help the officers decide which jail conditions best suit the individual.
Factors to Figure Out Before Searching For an Inmate in the US
Suppose you suspect someone has been arrested and would like to find out whether it is true; there are personal facts about that person you should figure out. Ensure these factors are accurate so that they can provide you with accurate results in the end.
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The Individuals Name
Personal details are needed when booking an arrested individual—for instance, their first and second name. Therefore, before searching for an individual you suspect has been arrested, make sure you know their full name.
Sometimes a person’s nickname may help when the actual name is unknown to you. Also, ensure you know the accurate spellings of the name or nickname.
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Physical Description
It is essential that you can physically describe the individual you are looking for. For instance, you should know their gender, race, hair, or eye colour. Such a physical description may help narrow down your search results.
Other descriptions you should know apart from the individual are their age, ID number, and date of birth. They may not be of too much help as their name and physical description, but they will make your search process easier by narrowing your results.
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Whether an Individual May Be In Prison or In Jail
It is difficult to know whether your loved one is in jail or prison, especially if they have been missing for months. However, suppose they have been missing for days or weeks, it could be they are arrested, are currently in jail, yet to be prosecuted, waiting for a trial, waiting to be released on bail, or have already been convicted and are serving a jail time of less than one year.
Therefore, if your loved one has been missing for a few days to weeks, you may begin your search by going through the United States’ county jail rosters. Inmates serving time in prison in the United States are those convicted of more serious crimes and are serving longer sentences.
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Location of the Correctional Facility They Would Most Likely Be In
As already stated, the US has more than 1,500 state prisons, 100 federal prisons, 1,500 juvenile facilities, and 2,800 local jails. Knowing where an individual may be held is not easy. Primarily since no government-sponsored system exists to allow an individual to gather inmate information on the entire US.
This means that if you know the status of the suspected arrested individual, you are likely to get data on their whereabouts faster than someone who has no idea. However, a person is likely held in the county jail where they got arrested. In most cases, it is often their home county unless they leave it without anyone’s knowledge.
Sometimes when an individual has already been sentenced, they may be transferred from one county to another due to the high population within the facility. Therefore, there is also a chance you may be looking for an arrested individual in their home county jail, yet they have been transferred to another county in the state to serve the rest of their remaining jail time.
Inmate Search in the US
Once you have known all the valuable details there is to know about an individual you suspect to be arrested, use the following methods to find out if they are in any jail within the US. The best place to begin your search is via an online search. Use an online search engine, especially if you know the individual’s home county or the county where they might have been arrested.
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Search For the County Sheriff’s, the Municipal County Court, Or the Police Department’s Website
Most counties today have online search platforms that allow individuals within the county to search for inmate data on the internet. For instance, if you suspect your loved one was arrested in Wyoming, you must access the Wyoming Department of Corrections website and identify their inmate lookup tool.
The same goes for another state like Idaho, where you will need to access the Idaho Department of Corrections website and their Idaho inmate locator tool.
In most cases, all you need for inmate search after accessing these pages are the inmates first and second names, and additional helpful information like age, gender, race, and the color of eyes and hair.
However, remember that not all county jails have created an online platform that allows inmate search. Suppose the jail you were searching for has no search platform; you may physically call the facility for further assistance.
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Search for Inmates in the Neighboring County Jail Websites
Since there are chances that an individual may have been arrested in another county and may be awaiting trial in that county, consider visiting neighboring county jails websites. They may also have already been sentenced and transferred due to space.
However, only correctional facilities with an online presence that allows inmate search will be listed. Therefore, to be thorough, ensure you also get phone numbers to facilities that are yet to develop online inmate search tools and call them physically.
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Search for the Inmate via Victim Information and Notification Everyday” (VINE) Program
VINE is an online platform purposely designed to keep victims of a crime in the know of their offender’s status. The services are available in most states that have contracted VINE services; however, not all counties have access to this service.
To benefit from the VINE services, victims have to register with the program. They must also provide an email or phone number where they will receive occasional notification updates on an inmate. Use the platform by simply searching for them on the internet, registering, and providing the name and ID number of the offender.
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Search for an Inmate in the US via the Federal Bureau of Prisons website.
Apart from county jails, did you know that the person you are looking for may be serving time in a federal prison instead? Therefore, do not forget to visit the Federal Bureau of Prisons website as well.
Like most inmate locator tools, you need the individual’s first and last name. Ensure the spellings of the names are also accurate, or else you may miss correct results.
You should know that you will only find inmates that are being held in federal custody on the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ website. Most of them have committed crimes against federal statute and, therefore, will be sentenced under federal law.
Also, when looking for an inmate on government websites, know that you will only access data on inmates incarcerated from 1982 to date.
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Use Third-Party Websites to Search for an Inmate in the US
Sometimes, finding out whether your loved one has been arrested via all the above methods may not work for you. Either because they have not been arrested, you do not know the correctional facility they are being held in, or you are facing geographical restrictions during the search.
With a third-party website, you will not be geographically restricted; you can use them to search for an inmate in whatever part of the US as long as their personal details have been uploaded and updated into the system.
When searching on a third-party website, in your search engine, type in words like “searching for an inmate or how to search for an inmate.”
Remember that third-party websites are not government-sponsored, and data may differ from one website to the next. However, often the data is accurate and updated as soon as the government websites are updated.
Also, look out for third-party websites whose aim is way more than just giving you the information you need. Such websites are often loaded with turns of ads and may even ask you to sign up for certain subscriptions before they give you the data you need.
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Call the Jail
Calling jails is the last option, often when you have no suitable device or internet connection to gather the needed data. You may need to contact several correctional facilities in the US, especially if you are unsure about the jail location. Also, the person on the other end may be reluctant to give you inmate information, especially if you know very little about the inmate.
Therefore, before making inquiry calls to several jails to find out if someone has been arrested, ensure you have plenty of identification data on the individual. Essential factors include name, ID, age, race, gender, Home County, and eyes and hair color.
Even if you do not get the information you need from calling all these numbers, the person on the other end may actually try and give you the contact of the person you should call. Also, understand that it may take days for the inmate information to be updated on online jail platforms. Therefore, be patient if it has not been more than 24 hours before your loved one went missing.
How to Know If a Person Has Been Arrested By the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
Suppose you want to know whether an immigrant has been arrested by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or if you want to gather information about them. You will need to visit the ICE Online Detainee Locator System.
The system contains information on the immigrant inmates who are either being held in the greater New York area/New Jersey or any other out-of-state facility. The system will also contain information on immigrants released by the ICE within the last sixty days.
You will need the individual’s “A” number and country of birth to search for immigrant information on the ICE Online Detainee Locator System. Additional information, like their name and date of birth, will also be helpful.
However, ensure the details you provide are exact matches, or the results may differ. Also, information on under-18 detainees may not be found on the ODLS online platform.
Suppose the results of your search on the ICE Online Detainee Locator System is “detainee not found,” the chances are you might have provided incorrect details about them, the detainee lied about their identity, or they were arrested under a different branch of the law.
Alternatively, you may consider calling the Enforcement and Removal Operations, an ICE Office, where there is a high chance that the detainee’s case might have begun. For instance, if it is in New York, make a phone call to 212-863-3401 or 212-264-4213.
Once an immigrant’s arrest has been conducted by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), they often notify the individual’s country of origin. Therefore if all the above methods have not given you information on whether the ICE has arrested an immigrant, consider calling the consulate or embassy of the individual’s country of origin.
Lastly, you may opt to conduct each ICE county detention facility in the US. Get their contact details via ICE Detention Facility Locator website. However, ensure you have the individual’s name and “A” number.
Conclusion
There you have it. The next time you suspect that a loved one may be in jail, you have several options of conducting an inmate search. Just ensure you have some basic details such as name and description to help narrow down your search.
