Inmate Search
A brief overview of online inmate searches.
Inmate searches are the most popular and most frequently visited
pages of all government agency websites. Most searches are peformed
by the family members of incarcerated individuals, although many queries come from employers and
investigative agencies concerned with connecting children
with their parents. Since the early 2000's, the Illinois Department
of Corrections, one of the largest department of corrections
in the United States and hosting probably the largest inmate search database, has maintained records on nearly 100,000
inmates and parolees, including links to most wanted fugitives
and sex offenders.
Most states have already made searchable listings for ex-convicts
available publicly on the internet. In the interests of public
safety most states have long maintained public records of
current and past prison inmates offline and online since at
least the late 1990s. State inmate searches, such as the Kentucky
Offender Lookup, can average over three million hits per month.
New York State's department of criminal justice services
has offered
inmate lookup services on former state offenders since
the 1970s, and today offers a current inmate
locator tool that includes case information as well as
a sex
offender registry. For a full list of inmate search tools
provided by state departments of corrections, refer to the
list on the right.
Local courts also already provide public information on
case-files such as traffic tickets and child custodies, and
the FBI maintains sex offender databases.
Detailed records of all inmates in Wyoming prisons was established
in 2001, whereby the public can access a prisoner's name,
picture, list of crimes, sentence, projected parole and release
dates, and where they are currently being housed. Wyoming
had among the most restrictive laws against publishing inmate
records and making inmate searches available at the time (Associated
Press Newswires, 2001, "Inmate Disclosure Law goes
into effect").
But publishing the names and personal details of ex offenders
in an online searchable database carries with it certain ethical
risks. One argument against online records is that the publication
of personal information compromises the rehabilitation of
the offender once out on parole. While the public do have
a right to protect themselves and their families from known
harm, the loss of individual rights over one's privacy can
aggravate some of the very same goals the prison holds when
it incapacitates and reforms offenders in the interests of
public safety.
One positive impact that such online inmate search tools
provide is an indirect kind of deterrent to crime. Criminologist
John Braithewaite has argued for many years that modern day
"shaming rituals" still exist, and indeed often
serve very functional purposes for society, as a whole. Many
argue that online databases can serve particularly well as
shaming tools by reinforcing the deterrent effect of public
outrage and public exhibition of one's crimes.
However, some states are more reluctant than others to share
personal information on inmates to the public. South Dakota,
for instance, has only until very recently maintained the
secrecy of its inmate records from public searches, excluding
sex offenders and prison escapees. The Department of Corrections'
spokesperson, Michael Winder, said in a recent Associated
Press article as saying that he "hopes to" in the
future include a public inmate search service that includes
photographs and other personal information of offenders and
parolees. The original legislation was rejected in 2001 on
grounds that hackers could corrupt the information on the
website and expose the personal details of innocent people
and defame them using "fictitious" criminal records.
Who is in Jail
Already the public has online access to inmate lookup and inmate
search services for most states in the U.S. However, data on
personal information is usually limited to fields such as full
name, conviction, sentence length, the name of the institution,
institution number/identifier, inmate status, admission and
release decision dates, parole date, discharge date, tentative
discharge date, and sometimes the complete history of where
the inmate was incarcerated throughout his or her prison life.
Often, vital characteristics are also listed, including distinguishing
marks, gang tatoos, and race/ethnicity. Recently, the Costa
Mesa Jail in Orange County, as part of their public arrest
log, has expanded these inmate data and opened up an inmate's
immigration status to the public, as well, making it the only
jail in the county to make such information publicly reviewable.
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