Do you have a loved one who happened to be incarcerated? When was the last time you saw them or talked to them? If you don’t know where they are you can do a quick inmate locator search to open channels of communication especially during festive seasons where they’ll feel more alone than ever. Despite being surrounded by fellow inmates, you can’t take away feelings of rejection, isolation and humiliation. You can help lessen these negative emotions by simply being there, lending an ear and offering comfort. Many people find it difficult to located their loved one. If you are going to do an inmate locator search the following tips may help:
Know Which Correctional Facility They Belong To
Are you aware that there are 3 different kinds of facilities? There’s the city or county, state and federal. For instance, if the inmate you are looking for is in a county jail you will not find his or her name when you do a federal offender inmate search. Similarly, if your loved one is in a federal prison facility, you’ll only be able to find their name if you search in a federal facility database.
Find Out What State They Are In
Unfortunately, even if you get the facility type right if you are searching for an inmate’s name in the wrong state your search will be useless. There are 50 states in the USA, at least know what state your loved one is in to narrow down your search. It’s important to mention that an inmate who is under probation or is in parole will not be included in the database since they are no longer inmates.
Identify Their Registration Number
As part of your search try to check your loved one’s registration number or inmate ID. This number will make your search fast and convenient because it’s more likely to pop up from the system. When you have this number, you’ll be able to locate their profile and gain access to more information about their location. There are correctional facilities that have websites allowing you to find your loved one’s identification number. All you need to do is to type in their name or age and their registration number will show up. You can use this added information for your search.
What Do You Do If You Can’t Find Your Loved One After an Inmate Search?
Assuming you did all those but you still haven’t found your loved one. It’s probably because of the following:
You didn’t enter the correct information – Misspellings and typos will definitely give you zero results. When you type make sure you are typing in the correct information because the system will not generate results if you spelled the inmate’s name wrong if you entered the wrong registration number.
You placed too much information in the system – if you entered too much information there’s a big chance the system will not detect it. Instead, try using your loved one’s last name or the initial of their first name followed by their last name. For example, if your loved one is John Smith you can enter Smith on the box that says LAST NAME and S in the box for the FIRST NAME.
If you searched in the wrong facility – if you can’t find your inmate’s location it’s probably because you searched in the wrong facility. As mentioned earlier, each facility has its own database, which is why it is important that you know where your loved one is at so that you won’t waste time searching for them in the wrong facility. If you don’t know what state they are in you might have to go through every state.
When you feel like it’s the right time to reconnect with a loved one, these search tips will surely help.
