How to Conduct a Department of Corrections Search

A Department of Corrections search is aimed towards accessing inmate records, finding out about death row inmates, and accessing information on offenders who are currently sentenced to a probation or parole term. In some states the Department of Corrections is also responsible monitoring state prison inmates and the supervision and enforcement of parolees and prison inmates. All the states in the country have their respective Department of Corrections which maintain a database of inmates and records of offenders in the state. This is done in order to facilitate easy Department of Corrections Search for the residents of the state.

The task of the Department of Corrections is not solely to ensure the safety of the society from the offenders but also to maintain an updated repository of their records. This is done especially for public reference and also for law enforcement agencies. The websites of the different state Department of Corrections feature a list of the inmates along with the correctional facilities in which they are placed.

Offenders who are found to be guilty of violating federal laws are held in custody by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. While some of them are kept in the federal prison, most of these are sent to the various correctional facilities. You can search for these inmates on http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/LocateInmate.jsp. The easiest way to make a Department of Corrections Search is by typing in the ID number of the inmate.

State Department of Corrections Websites

As far as the states are concerned, citizens as well as legal officials often need access to Department of Corrections Search. The records are made available to the residents of the state through the respective Department of Corrections website. In Michigan, for example, visit the Michigan Department of Corrections at http://www.michigan.gov/corrections. You can make a search of the various prisons or correctional facilities in the state, probation or parole offices, or gain information about the various camps. You can make an offender search and also browse the list of the most wanted in the state.

The North Carolina Department of Correction at http://www.doc.state.nc.us/ lists all parolees, prison inmates as well as probationers. You can even get a breakdown of the total number of female and male inmates housed at all the correctional facilities in the state. The Department of Corrections Search in the state can be made by both the local residents as well as the law enforcement agencies.

If you are resident of the state of Minnesota, search the Minnesota Department of Corrections http://www.doc.state.mn.us/ website for inmate records. You can use the inmate locator tool available at http://info.doc.state.mn.us/publicviewer/main.asp.

While most the states facilitate an online search of their inmate database through the website of their respective Department of Corrections, there are some states which do not offer this facility. Massachusetts, Alaska, Hawaii, North Dakota, California, Louisiana, South Dakota, Delaware, Wyoming, Maine, Oregon and Wisconsin do not facilitate an inmate search through the websites of their respective Department of Corrections.