Idaho inmate search

If someone you know gets arrested, police bring them to 1 of Idaho's 37 county jails. Sheriffs and their jail staff operate these facilities at the county level.

Voluntary yearly inspections of the jails are done by the Idaho Sheriffs' Association Jail Standards Committee. All sheriffs in the state take part, and jails that pass earn a Certificate of Compliance.

Expect to work with the county sheriff's office where the arrest took place. In Ada County, for instance, check the Ada County Jail. Both that facility, with its 1,116 beds, and the Community Transition Center are run by the Ada County Sheriff's Office.

Use the search box to enter a name and look through the Ada County Jail roster online. Adults held there for criminal offenses appear on the list. Where release is an option, the roster also lists the bail amounts for those charges. Juveniles are not shown on this roster.

Every 24 hours, the online roster gets updated. With only daily updates, you can't treat the website as real-time. To confirm a new booking or release, you must phone the jail or ask in person.

The resident and client search from the Idaho Department of Correction helps you locate people under state supervision. This state agency is often called IDOC.

Right after an arrest, you check the county jail. For a person serving a state prison sentence, check IDOC. Prisoners in state facilities appear in the IDOC tool. The tool also shows people on probation or parole, which are kinds of supervised release served in the community.

Enter a person's name to search the state database. If you know their IDOC number, you can use that too.

Use Idaho VINELink to check whether a person is held in county jail or state prison custody. Once you've found them, you can sign up for alerts at no cost. When that person leaves custody, the service tells you.

With Appriss Inc, the Idaho Sheriffs' Association VINE program handles sponsorship and management of this system. If you'd rather call, that works instead of the website. You can dial 1-866-984-6343 any time for free support. The phone line stays available to you 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

An Idaho jail release comes through a judge's order or through paying bond. It's possible to pay all of the bail on your own, or to hire a bail agent who posts a bail bond for you. The surety company pledges, through that bond, that the person will attend court.

The agent charges a fee, called a premium, for getting a bond. Resident and nonresident agents get licensed as surety insurance producers by the Idaho Department of Insurance. Every agent must be appointed by a surety company and must keep a $15,000 bond in place.

These rules apply under the Idaho Bail Act in Title 19 Chapter 29, Title 41 Chapter 10, and IDAPA 18.06.01.017:

• No fixed premium percentage is set by Idaho law.
• For any premium payment plan, you need a written agreement.
• It violates Section 41-1314 to extend 0 percent interest credit beyond 90 days.
• For broken release rules, Idaho Code Section 19-2919 says courts can revoke bail and set it again.