Choosing between state prison or county jail
Know the difference between institutions where you can locate inmates.
Prison inmates have felony conviction(s) and are housed by the state department of corrections on a long-term basis. People waiting for court dates or serving time for misdemeanor offenses are confined in a detention facility or jail that's traditionally operated by the Sheriff; state and city police, local law enforcement agencies or courts have them also.
What type of inmate are you trying to locate?
Choose between searching the county jail directory or state prisons list. From there you select the individual state where additional references for comparing results or researching another type of facility. If they were recently arrested click County Jail.
How to know what you're looking for
Regional designations for the nouns "county" or "state" include "parish" and "commonwealth", confusing for non-residents. Localized terminology is indicated using headings to match users, not operators, like a phone book. Regional designations for the nouns "county" or "state" include "parish" and "commonwealth", confusing for non-residents. Localized terminology is indicated using headings to match users, not operators, like a phone book.
Keeping you up to speed
Terminology can get confusing, especially if the location has a different vocabulary when talking about confinement. After looking at every possible agency website, we note the most common expressions used locally with synonyms. New features are being designed and tested improving search ability to your experience easier.
