Locating Federal Inmates: Federal Bureau of Prisons

Federal inmates are those individuals who have been convicted of breaking or violating federal laws and who are incarcerated in one of the United States federal correctional institutions or prisons. In some cases, although this isn't the norm, an individual who is awaiting trial for violating federal laws is housed in a federal prison.

Additionally, a few state inmates might find themselves housed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. This is a rare occurrence. The county, city, or state jails house the majority of state inmates. A state inmate is an individual who has broken or violated the laws of a particular state. If you are interested in the records of a state prisoner, you need to contact the particular state where the inmate is housed. In most cases, individual websites containing data on state inmates are maintained by each of the states.

In the case of federal inmates, the Federal Bureau of Prisons does collect and maintain data on each of its prisoners. In fact, records have been maintained on many individuals who were charged with breaking federal laws, but who were never convicted or incarcerated. Additionally, federal records might have been kept on individuals who were charged with civil contempt. These records, however, are by no means complete and comprehensive.

To access the inmate locator for federal inmates, follow this link: http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/LocateInmate.jsp.

This link takes you directly to the inmate locator page for the Federal Bureau of Prisons. In addition to providing access for locating federal inmates up to the present, this page includes a number of links that can direct you to additional pages of useful information. One of the most useful ones to be aware of is the link that you would select if you were trying to locate information concerning an inmate who has already been released prior to the year 1982.

Other useful links that you will discover there, in the order that they are listed on the website, include: visiting- general information, visiting hours, who can visit, background checks, business visits, special circumstance, visiting room procedures, conjugal visits, locating inmates released before 1982, and who are federal inmates. These particular links direct you to a new page of information.

Listed directly below the above is an additional set of links, which generate new windows when selected. These links, in the order that they are listed on the website, include: admission and orientation program, inmate legal activities policy, release of information policy, telephone regulations, victim and witness notification program, visiting regulations, and visitor information form.

This website includes links to just about anything that you might want to know concerning the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Located at both the top and bottom of the webpage, you can search for related information by using any of the following links: about (the Federal Bureau of Prisons), (federal) inmates locator, (federal) prison facilities, careers (at the Federal Bureau of Prisons), (federal) inmate matters, (federal) policy/forms, doing business (with the Federal Bureau of Prisons), and news/information (about the Federal Bureau of Prisons).

Once you are ready to search for a federal inmates, you have two options. You can conduct your search using the inmate's name or the inmate's ID number. If you select to search using the inmate's ID number, you must select the type of ID number that you are using from the drop down menu.

This option includes four types of numbers: the inmate's register number, the FBI number, DCDC number, or INS number. Conducting a search using one of the inmate's numbers is the most efficient way to go about the process. This type of search provides the information for this one particular inmate only.

If you don't know any of these numbers for the inmate, it is possible to conduct a search using the inmate's name. Unfortunately, this type of search is not as effective as the one described directly above. Yet, it will produce results. In fact, it is possible to narrow your search by also including the sex, race, and /or age of the federal inmate using the drop down menus.

It's important to note that searching with the inmate's name will generate results that match the spelling entered for the first and last names exactly. It is extremely important that you enter the correct spelling of the inmate's name. The middle initial of the inmate can be used as well, however, this information is optional and not required like the first and last names.

If your search does not produce any results, you can use different spellings for the inmate's name in an attempt to locate the federal inmate. If you are successful, the results to your search are generated in a matter of minutes. The results will include the following information: name, register number, age, race, sex, actual release date, projected release date, and location or federal prison in which the inmate is housed. The register number is the number assigned to the inmate by the Federal Bureau of Prisons Register.

In many cases, the information that you provide when conducting a search by the inmate's name is not sufficient enough to produce limited results. In the event that your search produces multiple results, the information is presented in sets of fifty. The generated results are presented in a grid-like chart, making it easy to read.

If you are interested in learning more about the particular federal facility the inmate is housed within, click on the name of it. This generates information specific to that facility.

Two federal laws, the Privacy Act of 1974 and the Freedom of Information Act, protect the release of the inmate's information. Therefore, if you are interested in additional information about the inmate, you need to contact the Freedom of Information Act Office (FOIA). In most cases, you will be charged a fee for the research effort to locate information for federal inmates.