The directory has three sections: county jail, with contact information for the jail facility; inmate search, to locate an offender in custody; and state prison, housing for long term, sentenced prisoners. Access and security policies differ by jurisdiction; results of each individual lookup will vary. Law enforcement officials are best qualified to answer questions. Archives may be available from the court records division.
You can find the jail, prison or inmate search you need just by making a few choices on the following pages. There are two initial options to narrow your search, county or state. Listings contain addresses and phone numbers with more information if online reports are available at that location. The directories list only official resources.
The directories were compiled by using official websites, search engines and hundreds of phone calls verifying the location(s) and/or existence of each county's corrections division and CJIS. Maintenance and accuracy checks are a matter of using the site like everyone else; making sure searches and the data with it aren't misleading. This area on most pages will connect you to the others by well marked links. Related services will be here also; Felon jobs, prison pen pals and inmate programs.
Unique terms based on geographic regions will be explained here on individual state pages. Whether it's tradition or incidental, notable differences between agencies or how they are referred to is usually based on what the locals like to call it. Anywhere they can lock up criminals, there's going to be an inmate search.