Jail records are public information provided for free. This means that you can easily find your arrested friend or family online, as long as you have the name and birth date of the person.
The easiest way to start is to search for the jail’s website online. If the person you are looking for is incarcerated in a state prison. The best method is to find people’s records on The National Victim Notification Network, which has a free service called VINElink for crime victims. 37 U.S. states are working with this service; another eight provide some information. If one is incarcerated in a federal prison, then one will need to go to the Bureau of Federal Prisons website.
Of course, the search will depend on where the person is incarcerated. The two
Once you find the information on one of the two platforms above, call the jail to double check, as inmate information is not updated immediately. If the jail does not have a website, call jail directly.
If you cannot locate the person looking for, check with the state prisons under “Department of Corrections,” (e.g., Texas Department of Corrections). Call the prison if you could not find the person’s name online.
Unfortunately, not all databases are the same for different counties and cities. Some smaller counties do not have the budget to list information regarding each offender. In these types of cases, you should be able to find contact information on the website so that you can call the facility.