Research has shown that prisoners who maintain relationships with their families and communities while they are behind bars have lower re-offending rates. This is primarily attributable to the expanded support network on which they are able to rely both while they are incarcerated and after they are released.
An online, electronic database that members of the general public are able to access in order to search for an incarcerated loved one is what is referred to as an inmate locator tool. This type of tool was developed by numerous corrections departments in order to simplify the process of locating a state or federal prisoner. On the other hand, these databases can be difficult to track down at times.
Here, we share tips on how to look up federal inmate information so that you can stay in touch with your friends and family behind bars.
What sort of prison are they in?
Inmates in the United States can be held in custody by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, one of the other 50 state prison systems, or even a private prison that cooperates with either the federal prison system or one of the state prison systems. It is important for the families and friends of prisoners to keep this fact in mind. Inmates in the United States can be held in custody by any of these entities.
If you are looking to locate a prisoner but are unsure of the correctional facility they are housed in, then you should do the following:
Conduct a search using the inmate locator provided by the state’s department of prisons to identify the state in which the incarcerated person resided prior to their arrest. These tools for searching for inmates might provide you with the information you are looking for.
Then you could try to use the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ inmate locator to find the person. It is possible that the Bureau of Prisons inmate locator will contain the information that you are looking for. This is due to the fact that state and federal offenses can be committed and prosecuted in every state and jurisdiction in the United States.
Using the BOP Inmate Locator to find someone in a federal prison
The process of locating a federal prisoner is not particularly difficult. Simply go to the tool known as the Inmate Locator on the website of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. You can look for a BOP inmate using the inmate’s BOP Register Number or by the inmate’s first name and last name using the BOP inmate locator. When you do a search by name, you can specify the person’s race, age, and gender to get more accurate results. This can be helpful in situations where the name is common or where the results of a basic search net a large number of inmates.
There are a few caveats regarding the use of the federal inmate locator service that are noted by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
- In general, the Federal Bureau of Prisons only houses federal prisoners who are awaiting trial, prisoners who have been given a prison sentence by a federal court, and felons who have been convicted in the District of Columbia.
- If a federal inmate is released from custody, their record in the BOP inmate finder will remain online; however, the federal prison locator tool will change their release date to “Released on.”
- Only information regarding inmates who have been detained after 1982 can be found using the Inmate Locator Tool provided by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. If you are looking for information about an inmate who was freed prior to 1982, you will need to get in touch with the National Archives in order to obtain any extra information you may require.
- The inmate’s good behavior time release date is shown in the Release Date data point of the record. This indicates that the date provided in the federal inmate locator takes into account any anticipated credit for good behavior time earned by the convict. This date will move forward to reflect the loss of good conduct time incurred by an offender as a result of a disciplinary violation committed while they were imprisoned.
- It is possible for an offender who is serving time for a crime that was committed before to November 1, 1987 to become eligible for parole. This type of inmate is known as a “Old Law” inmate. In this instance, the inmate’s statutory release date is displayed as the value for the Release Date data point in the BOP inmate locator (i.e., the date of their full term of imprisonment minus any good conduct time). If the inmate is given parole by the United States Parole Commission, the date of the inmate’s permitted parole will occur before the inmate’s statutory release date.
- If the location of the convict shows that they are being held at a Regional Office, then it can be assumed that they are being held in state prison custody at this time. This shows that they are serving a state sentence in addition to their federal sentence (i.e., a state term of imprisonment and a federal term of imprisonment at the same time).
- If the Bureau of Prisons inmate locator shows that an offender is located at a Community Corrections Management Center, also known as a CCM, then this indicates that the inmate is presently being held in a contract halfway house. This takes place during the individual’s final year of their sentence to serve in prison.
- If “IN TRANSIT” appears as the inmate’s “location” on the BOP inmate locator, it means that the offender is in the process of being transported from one location to another. Transferring an inmate from one prison to another, transferring an inmate to a halfway home, or transferring an inmate to another judicial entity are all possible outcomes (e.g., court, state prison system, etc.).
If you have followed the guidelines given above and are still having trouble locating a federal convict, we can help We offer free inmate information. Submit the locator form to receive free, confidential inmate and bail information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or call for more information. This site is for the USA only. Information is available in both English and Spanish.