How to Find Someone Incarcerated In North Carolina

Incarceration is the final stage for an offender going through the criminal justice process. Indeed, the process, which starts from suspicion of committing an offense to criminal investigations that lead to the arrest, detention, trial, and sentencing of the offender, can take weeks or years to complete. Hence, it can be challenging for family and friends to keep tabs on the whereabouts of an individual going through the criminal justice process.

Then, are you trying to locate an inmate serving time in North Carolina? If so, here are three options you can explore: -

• Statewide Offender Lookup

North Carolina Department of Public Safety has an online offender search portal, providing free access to up-to-date information about inmates in North Carolina state prisons, probationers, and parolees. The inmate locator uses unique search tools for retrieving lists of absconders, escapes/captures, and released inmates. Plus, it accepts bulk downloads for purposes of statistical analysis.

Here is a step-by-step guide to using the North Carolina statewide offender lookup: -

1. Go to https://www.ncdps.gov/dps-services/crime-data/offender-search
2. Click on “Offender Public Information Search/Inmate Locator”
3. Select the offender status to generate separate results for all inmates, escapes/captures, absconders, and released inmates
4. Specify the name of the offender
5. Narrow your search by providing the offender number, gender, race, ethnic group, birth date, and age range
6. Click search
7. The search will generate the following offender details: -

• Name and mug shot
• Offender number
• Probation/parole/post release status
• Gender
• Race
• Ethnic group
• Birth date
• Age
• Sentence History – Sentence number and type, conviction date and county, commitment date and type

Jail Roster Lookup

A jail roster lookup is an online search portal allowing anyone to scrutinize online, inmate rosters by city or county jails. These online search platforms are usually available on the local law enforcement agency’s official website under the corrections division. Use it to view the following details about a detainee at a county or city jail: -

• Personal Details – Name and Mug shot, Age, Gender, Race, Height, Weight, Eye Color, Hair Color
• Arrest and Booking Details – Arrest Date and Time, Arresting Agency, Arrest Location, Booking Number and Date
• Criminal History – Name and Type of Offense,
• Custody Status – Current Holding Facility, Custody Security Level
• Visit the Arresting County or City Jail

If you cannot locate an inmate using the statewide search or online jail rosters, take note of the physical address of the arresting law enforcement agency to book an appointment with the jail administrator. That way, you can visit the jail and scrutinize the jail roster in person.

North Carolina Jails Roster

North Carolina Sheriff’s Departments and Police Departments are the primary law enforcement agencies in counties and cities, respectively. The two operate county and city jails as their primary holding facilities. More so, the departments maintain elaborate jail rosters detailing who is in custody at the city or county jails at any given time. Further, some departments provide an online link to the jail roster on their official website. Other departments require the public to scrutinize the jail rosters in person by booking an appointment with the jail administrators.

North Carolina Prison System 

The North Carolina prison system comprises all holding facilities in the North Carolina criminal justice system. These include state and federal prisons, county and city jails, police lock-ups, and remand centers.

• North Carolina State Prisons

There are 53 state prisons in North Carolina. The state prisons, run by the North Carolina Department of Public Safety (NC DPS), hold 29,000 inmates under minimum, medium, close, and multi-custody security levels to serve their sentences of at least one year.

Second, NC DPS oversees the North Carolina Community Corrections System, comprising parolees and probationers on conditional release. As of 2019, there were 76,905 probationers and 14,212 parolees.

• Federal Prisons

There are six federal prisons and a federal camp in North Carolina. The federal holding facilities accommodate 3,988 inmates under administrative, minimum, low, and medium custody security levels. The Mid-Atlantic Regional Office oversees five of the six North Carolina federal prisons. The sixth prison, CI Rivers, is privately operated by The GEO Group.

• County and City Jails

North Carolina has 97 jails scattered in its 100 counties. As of 2019, there were 20,960 detainees in North Carolina city and county jails. The jails serve as the first holding facilities for individuals suspected of violating local and state laws.

Types of Correctional Facilities in North Carolina

North Carolina Prisons and Jails