3 Ways to Search for Inmates in Florida – Tips & Tricks

Searching for an inmate in Florida is easy if you know where to look. There are several databases that can be used by anyone, usually for free, as long as you have some information about the incarcerated individual. For starters, you need to know where they’re incarcerated.

1. How to Find Someone In the Floridan Jail System

Contrary to popular belief, jails and prisons aren’t the same things. Jails are low-security institutions that hold people for less than a year, usually for civil crimes or misdemeanors. Jails are also used as holding cells for people awaiting trial for a civil or criminal court case.

State Department of Corrections

To find someone in jail, the best place to start is the State Department of Corrections. On your state’s homepage, you’ll find resources like Offender Visitation forms, the Sex Offender Registry, and Offender Contact information. You can also search via an inmate search.

Inmate Search

For example, you can use this tool for locating inmates in Florida or anywhere else in the country. Within the United States, these locators can find or track down just about anyone.

Keep in mind that if an inmate was just arrested, it might take a week or two for their information to populate. However, if they’re awaiting trial, it may take even longer. Start searching for an inmate at least a month after they’ve been arrested to have an easier time locating them.

2. How to Find Someone In the Florida Prison System

Prisons are facilities for people who have received their sentence. If a person was sent to prison, they either have a history of several misdemeanor/civil charges or committed a criminal offense, like assault, kidnapping, vehicular homicide, or first-degree murder.

Bureau of Federal Prisons

Finding a prison inmate is similar to finding someone in jail, except you’ll start your search at the Bureau of Federal Prisons website. You can either use their locator, but the Alleghany Sheriff locator used in the jail section can search jails and prisons in any state. 

Locator Tools

Once you input the name, address, or date of birth, the page will populate with information, such as their ID number (needed for mail communication), age, race, sex, and release date. If you didn’t know the prison location or address already, you’ll have it now.

State’s Homepage

If you have the address, you can use the state’s homepage instead. Since we’re assuming that you know the inmate you’re looking for is in Florida, you could head to the Florida Department of Corrections homepage to conduct an inmate search or volunteer at a local prison.

3. How to Find a Released Inmate In Florida 

The way you find a released inmate in Florida depends on the circumstances of their arrest. 

News Media

If the inmate’s case was high-profile and/or followed closely by the public, you can usually find their release date on local news stations or newspapers that covered their arrest and trial.

Database Tools

However, you probably have to search for the inmate using a database. When you look up an inmate, the locator tool will provide a release date. If you’ve confirmed that the inmate was already released, you may have a difficult time locating them once they enter society.

Social Networks

We recommend searching for them online via social media sites, like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Instagram, if you want to obtain knowledge of their whereabouts. 

Contacting Family or Friends

If you were close to the inmate before they were incarcerated, you could try calling their families, friends, or loved ones. If they were aware that you provided support to said inmate in their time of need, they might be willing to divulge their current whereabouts to you.

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