How Do I Find Someone in a Local Jail?

When an individual is missing, friends and immediate family members become concerned. The government has laws requiring the authorities to notify the public of the whereabouts of someone arrested. Below is a list of ways to locate someone in the local jail.

Using an Inmate Locator

To find out whether someone is in jail, you can visit your State Department of Corrections. If you visit the state’s web page, you will find a mobile number to contact. You’ll also find resources, including offender contact information, sex offender registry, and offender visitation forms. Most states have a search feature in an inmate search or an offender database. Some countries don’t have an online search feature, so you must contact nearby jails to check whether the person is there. The person’s information might fail to appear in the system. If the person you’re searching for gets held in jail for a period exceeding one month, you can visit this site to assess their location.

Call the Local Police Department

Once you have a good idea of the county or city or the person’s last location, you should contact the local police department with the help of a non-emergency number and communicate with a desk officer who answers the phone. Securing information from the police department depends on how busy or big the department is. Larger and more active departments may not relay information about arrests over the phone. Some departments have specific phone numbers to call. If you can’t locate the number, the employee at the general non-emergency contact will tell you what to do. You can also verify whether the person has been arrested by assessing the police precinct in person.

Communicate to the Individual Likely Companions

If you know who was seen last with the individual you’re trying to locate, you should contact them first. Such individuals will provide you with additional information about the whereabouts of the person you’re searching for. You should investigate if you aren’t aware of the individual’s close friends by trying to call their phone number and any other number belonging to a mutual friend. If they’re workers in a given company, ask other employees for their whereabouts or try the emergency contact they provided. You may not find someone who was with them during their arrest, but you can get an idea of what they were doing and where they were.

Ask the Desk Officer Whether the Individual Has Been Arrested

The officer on duty should provide you with the information regarding the person you’re looking for. When speaking to the desk officer, you must provide them with the individual’s legal name to establish whether they are in custody. Note that the person may possess a different legal name than the one you know. An arrest record occurs when the person goes into custody, even if the individual hasn’t gone to jail yet.

Contact a Bond Agent

The offices of bond agents are near criminal courts and local jails. They have a lot of information regarding arrested individuals or any filed charges. Bond agent offices are open during the weekend and late hours, making it easier to track a bond agent than call a jail facility. Request bond agent information regarding the person you’re looking for to establish whether the individual is at a local prison. The bond agent can willingly provide you with information, especially if you aren’t aware of the person’s legal name. The bail and booking hearing occurs within 48 hours from the time of a person’s arrest. If the person has special medical needs, you should talk to someone at the jail to secure the required medication.

Consider Checking Neighboring Counties

If your search generates no leads, you should consider checking neighboring areas. Check arrest records in neighboring regions and talk to people who know the individual to see if you can get additional information regarding their whereabouts. Ensure you’ve accurate information about the person to improve the chances of success. Most online databases enable you to provide further information regarding a person, including age, gender, and birth date.

Narrow Down Possible Locations

You must know where the person was seen last. Since each county and city has a law enforcement department, you can save yourself enough time if you have an idea of the person’s latest location. Unless you’ve different information from those you’ve contacted, you should start with the county or city where the individual resides.

To locate a person who has been arrested, you need to know basic information regarding the individual, including their legal name. You can figure out ways to help a person in jail and justify whether their arrest was legal or illegal.