Oregon inmate search

In Oregon, county sheriffs run local jails. One example: the Deschutes County Adult Jail is operated by the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office. It serves as the county's main detention center and takes in people from several local police departments.

In Hillsboro, the Washington County Sheriff's Office operates the Washington County Jail. Washington County has no other county jail. People awaiting trial and people serving sentences under 365 days are held there. After an arrest, deputies take the person there for property collection, fingerprints, and a charge review.

A county roster shows who is locked up in a local jail now. For Washington County Jail, open the roster page and pick a last-name initial. Custody details, charges, and the bail amount appear in the listing. You can also use Oregon's statewide notification tool to check county custody.

Because the booking process takes several hours, a recent arrest won't appear right away. A contraband search, property logging, photos and fingerprints, charge entry, and a deputy review must be completed by staff. Call the jail directly and ask if the person is there if the arrest was only a few hours ago.

State prisons are managed by the Oregon Department of Corrections, or DOC. The Oregon Offender Search locator lets you look up people in state custody. The Oregon Department of Corrections has a victim services page that also tells how this public tool works.

County jail rosters differ from state prison searches. Local jails hold people before trial, just after an arrest, or when serving short jail terms under 365 days. People convicted and sent to state custody are held in state prisons. A person arrested last night won't be in the DOC system, so look at the county jail first.

The Victim Information System in Oregon, or VISOR, is Oregon's statewide custody tool. The way the system works is explained by the DOC and by the Oregon Department of Justice. You can sign up for alerts and check custody status at a state facility or a county jail through this free computer service.

You can also check the Oregon VINELink page for custody updates. For help with VISOR, call the state voicemail line at 888-749-8080 or email visor@doc.oregon.gov. You can also call the Appriss support line at 1-866-277-7477.

You won't use a bail bondsman in Oregon. You pay the court or the jail directly instead. Release happens in 1 of 3 ways, and it depends on the jail:

• A recognizance release is your promise to return to court with no money paid.
• Forced release, which occurs when a jail is crowded.
• Oregon's court term for bail is security release.

A 10% deposit of the total bail is usually what you pay if security release is set by a circuit court judge. Pay in cash or use a credit card under Multnomah County Circuit Court rules; 15% of your deposit is kept by the court, from $5 to $750. Washington County Jail payments go through the Sheriff's Office Records Unit with a government photo ID. Pay by cash or credit card 24 hours a day, by mail, or by cashier's check during bank hours. Adults in custody get their remaining account balance back once they're released.