Lost and Found: How to Find an Incarcerated Person Using Technology
As of January 2023, the percentage of incarcerated people in the USA stands at about 0.5%. As small as this number looks, it’s actually the sixth highest rate of incarceration in the world! With so many people in prison, it can be difficult to find one you’re looking for, especially if they’ve been in there for a while.
Let’s take a look at some of the ways you can locate an incarcerated person.
Inmate Locator Services
The easiest way to find someone who’s been incarcerated in the US is to use prison lookup services. These are fairly straightforward and easy to use, though you’d need some basic information to be able to locate them accurately. For example, you need to know the name and gender, but other information like date of birth, inmate ID, and state of arrest is also useful.
Since there are so many inmates, narrowing the list down to the one you’re searching for can be tricky, and that’s why prison lookup services are so useful. These also sometimes give you info on the location, sentencing, and expected release date for the individual in question.
State Department of Corrections
The next option you have is to head to the State Department of Corrections. Each state has one, and they are responsible for the management of the state’s prison system. You can use the website for each of these in a similar way to prison lookup services – that is, you’d need some basic identifying info. The difference is that to use the corrections department’s website, you do need to know which state your inmate is in before you can begin your search.
Check the Federal Bureau of Prisons
If your inmate is incarcerated in a federal prison, you can check the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP)’s website. The BOP manages federal prisons across the country, and you can look up your inmate using their identification number, or their name. This is useful, once again, if you know that the individual is incarcerated in a federal prison.
Prison lookup services, on the other hand, will usually hold information on inmates from different prison systems around the country, which is more useful if you don’t know where to begin with your search.
Contact the County Jail
If the person in question has been arrested recently, they may be held in a country jail, rather than a prison. These are operated by the local law enforcement agency and are usually used for holding inmates who haven’t been sentenced yet or are awaiting trial. The county jail your inmate is kept in will most likely be in the area where the arrest took place, so it’s easier to narrow down the location.
If you know the arrest was fairly recent and sentencing hasn’t taken place yet, you can contact the county jail in the area and ask if the inmate is being held there.
Contact a Lawyer or Public Defender
If you’ve tried all of the above and still can’t find the inmate in question, a lawyer or public defender may be able to help. Because they have access to information about the legal system and the prisoners being held that the general public doesn’t, they’d be able to find your inmate’s location and give it to you.
Depending on the reason you want to contact the inmate, the lawyer may also be able to help you out with the process of how to contact them, and may even be able to offer support from a legal perspective.
Reach Out to Nonprofit Organizations
If the inmate you’re looking for is a family member, you can also turn to some nonprofit organizations for support. There are several that provide help to families of incarcerated people by offering support groups, resources, and information on how to find their family members within the difficult-to-navigate legal system.
Contact the Probation and Parole Office
If the inmate in question has been released recently, is on probation, or on parole, you can contact the local Probation & Parole office. These are responsible for keeping an eye on prisoners who have recently been released to make sure that they are not returning to their old ways, and are abiding by the conditions of their release. If the person you’re looking for is in the area, the probation and parole office would likely have their information and can help you with contacting them.
Search Social Media
In some cases, you may be able to find information about your inmate through social media. By searching their name or any other identifying information on social media platforms, you can get leads from people they may have interacted with recently. Finding an incarcerated person isn’t easy, especially since there are more than 2 million inmates around the US. Hunting down one person isn’t easy, but it’s also not impossible. By using online tools and getting help from the authorities, you can narrow down your search and reach the person you’re looking for.
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