Where to find inmate charges

Visit Bop. Since most states keep an online database of people in the penal system, you can usually find mugshots with identifying information such as the date of the crime and the length of the sentence. To do this, open a search engine like Google and type your state followed by department of corrections to find your jurisdiction's offender database. Like this:. Once you get to your state's Department of Corrections page, you might have to do a little bit of searching for penal records.

Each state has them listed differently; some might have a link to Offender Search or Inmate Search. Every state's penal search form has a couple of things in common. You'll need at least a last name just to get started, and if you have a first name, you'll have even better results. Unless you have a lot of specific information, try a general search first and narrow it down until you find what you're looking for.

If you want a copy of your own individual arrest images, you can go to the jail where the initial booking took place and make inquiries. The process differs by county and state, but you'll most likely need to make a formal records request to obtain this information. If the mugshot is part of an ongoing investigation, it may be exempt from any kind of public records request depending on where you're located.

Unlike the websites above, it isn't offered by the government, but it still provides millions of records, all browsable by state and searchable by name. Not every person who gets arrested gets their picture taken, and arrest information isn't necessarily public record unless you're a celebrity or similar person of public interest.

Nearly every correctional system, prison system, and jail system has implemented a way to find inmates currently or soon to be incarcerated. Inmates in the United States can be located through the website of the law enforcement agency responsible for managing the concentration facility in question, the website for the concentration facility itself, or the federal prison website.

Online databases of people who currently are or those who shortly will be confined at a correctional facility are common if not ubiquitous. State run prisons are typically higher security facilities, but inmate locators exist for every state nationwide. In order to perform an inmate search for a state-run facility, it is recommended to have the following information before beginning your search.

Sites of this nature may have additional fees. Should an inmate prove difficult to find, third party search engines may be able to help refine or complete a search. Online records are usually available through government websites or websites of organizations that handle such duties.

Interested parties can navigate to these websites to view online directories or pay a small fee to perform an inmate lookup. Counties, cities, and municipal correctional facilities typically have online inmate locators. These locators are usually operated through county government or sheriff websites, and city or local law enforcement websites. Each local, city, and county inmate locator will operate independently, meaning results may vary.

To perform an online search for inmate records through a local, city, or county law enforcement website or incarceration facility website;. Federal inmates can be found using the Federal Bureau of Prisons BoP inmate locator providing the interested party has access to certain information about the inmate. Inmates kept in federally run incarceration facilities can be found in two different ways. Additional information on incarceration facilities in a specific state may be found in the list above.

While the name detention center is often used to refer to any kind of facility that detains a prison population, officially detention centers have a different meaning. They are the locations that detainees are held while waiting for their trial. This includes trials and hearings for deportation, non-criminal acts, mental health evaluations, and for civil hearings involving mental hospital commitment.

Each prison has its own rules for visitation, including visitation hours, though each federal inmate gets a minimum 4 hours of visitation per month. Local, county, and city prisons and jails often reward additional visitation hours, though results may vary depending on the jurisdiction.

Search by name for former inmates at each location to see if they served time there. Include the following information about the inmate in your request:. You can file a complaint about a prison, policy, or procedure. You can also file a complaint about claims of abuse. File a formal complaint directly with the state or local correctional facility.

Contact the state Department of Corrections office if the issue remains unresolved. Give the complaint a reasonable amount of time to progress before going on to the next step.

Qualified legal advice , as always, remains an option. Ask a real person any government-related question for free. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainee locator database to view current detainees or those released within the last 60 days. Find public records by category Select a different public record category below to view all online resources for that category.

Find public records by state Go to the public records pages for any state. Immigration and Customs Detainees Search the U.