How to Reach the Editorial Team
Got a correction, a dial-test failure, a question, a press request, or a privacy inquiry? You’re in the right place. This page sets out the right channel for each kind of message and the right places to go for emergencies, complaints about specific facilities, and FCRA-permissible-purpose use cases — none of which we can handle.
jailinmatesearches.org/ is editorial only. We do not respond, dispatch, or accept reports. For an active emergency, contact the right authority directly:
- 911 — any active emergency, threat to life, crime in progress
- Local police non-emergency line — for reports that aren’t time-critical
- National Domestic Violence Hotline — 1-800-799-7233
- National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) — 1-800-843-5678
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — call or text 988
- RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline — 1-800-656-4673
- FBI tips — tips.fbi.gov or 1-800-CALL-FBI
jailinmatesearches.org/ is not a consumer reporting agency. You may not use information from this site or the public-record portals we link to for employment, tenant screening, credit, insurance, or educational decisions. For those purposes, use a licensed FCRA-compliant CRA. Misuse exposes you to civil liability under federal law.
Pick the Right Subject Line
All inquiries go through one inbox: info@jailinmatesearches.org. The right subject line gets your message to the right person fastest.
Dial-test failure / broken contact
You called a phone number on our site and it didn’t work, or the address is wrong. Expedited 48-hour path because families miss visitation and bond windows while wrong contacts are up.
Subject: Dial-test failure 48-hour expedited updateCorrection
Wrong sheriff name, outdated procedure, redesigned interface that no longer matches our walkthrough, fee schedule update, vendor change.
Subject: Correction Response within 7 business daysGeneral editorial
Suggestions for new content, missing counties or topics, requests to expand a section.
Subject: Editorial feedback Response within 14 business daysSealed / expungement notice
If you believe a record we link to was sealed or expunged. We will hold the page and refer you to the originating agency, which is the only body that can update the underlying record.
Subject: Sealed-record notice 5 business days; page held immediatelyPress & media
Reporters, policy researchers, and broadcasters wanting to discuss our methodology, comment on a national corrections story, or interview our editorial team.
Subject: Press inquiry Same-day or next-business-day responsePrivacy & data
State-privacy rights — access, correction, deletion, opt-out of sale/sharing, portability — under CCPA/CPRA, TDPSA, FDBR, and similar state laws.
Subject: Privacy request Within 45 days where required by state lawDMCA & copyright
Copyright complaints, DMCA notice and counter-notice submissions, trademark concerns. See our DMCA Policy first.
Subject: Legal — DMCA Acknowledgment within 5 business daysAccessibility
If something on the site doesn’t work for you with a screen reader, keyboard navigation, magnification, or another assistive technology.
Subject: Accessibility issue Priority — usually 1–3 business daysWhat to Include in Your Message
- The page URL on jailinmatesearches.org/ you're referring to
- The county and state your question relates to
- What you expected to find or what you think is wrong
- For a dial-test failure: the number you called and what happened (no answer, disconnected, wrong agency, voicemail full)
- If possible, the link from the official sheriff’s office or DOC page that supports the correction
- A contact email so we can reply (we don’t share your email — see our Privacy Policy)
Please don’t include Social Security numbers, full bank-account information, medical or mental-health information, photos of confidential documents, or other sensitive data in messages to us. We don’t need it and we can’t act on it.
What We Cannot Help With — Routing Table
| If you need… | Go to… |
|---|---|
| Find an inmate at a county jail | The county sheriff’s office inmate roster — every county page links to it |
| Find a federal inmate | BOP Inmate Locator at bop.gov/inmateloc |
| Find an immigration detainee | ICE Online Detainee Locator at locator.ice.gov |
| Schedule a visitation | The contracted vendor (Securus Video Connect, GTL/ViaPath, HomeWAV) or the jail’s in-person scheduling system — every county page links to the right one |
| Deposit money for commissary | The contracted vendor (JPay, Access Corrections, GTL/ViaPath ConnectNetwork, TouchPay) — every county page identifies the vendor |
| Set up inmate phone calls | The contracted phone provider (Securus, GTL/ViaPath, ICSolutions) or Pigeonly for reduced rates |
| Send inmate mail | Address as set out on the jail’s inmate handbook; many jails are postcard-only |
| Post bond | A licensed bail bondsman (in states that allow commercial bail) or directly through the court for cash/PR bonds |
| Find an attorney | State bar lawyer-referral panel; public defender’s office for indigent representation under Gideon v. Wainwright |
| Register for victim notification | VINELink at vinelink.com or 1-866-277-7477 |
| Request a record sealing or expungement | State court of conviction; legal aid; state bar lawyer-referral panel |
| File a complaint about jail conditions | Agency internal affairs; state commission on jail standards; U.S. DOJ Civil Rights Division (CRIPA, 42 U.S.C. § 1997); 42 U.S.C. § 1983 federal court |
| Federal court records | PACER at pacer.uscourts.gov |
| State court records | The state court system’s public-access portal — every state page links to it |
| Background check for employment / tenant / credit | A licensed FCRA-compliant CRA (we are not one) |
| Crisis or mental-health support | 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline · 1-800-799-7233 Domestic Violence · 1-800-656-4673 RAINN |
How We Operate
jailinmatesearches.org/ is a digital-only publication. We don't have a physical office open to the public, do not accept walk-in visitors, and do not publish a postal address for general correspondence. Email is the way to reach us. We do not monitor email 24/7 — for emergencies, use the resources at the top of this page.
What We Won’t Engage With
- Abusive, threatening, or harassing messages — these are not acted on and may be reported to authorities
- “Mugshot removal” demands tied to payment — we do not host mugshots, and pay-to-remove operations are predatory
- Bulk SEO outreach, link-insertion requests, “guest post” pitches not relevant to our editorial focus
- Requests to remove factual statements about a specific facility, agency, or vendor that are accurate and properly sourced
- Service complaints — we don’t dispatch deputies, intervene in jail conditions, or investigate misconduct
- FCRA-permissible-purpose background-check requests — those go to a licensed CRA
- Bail-bond solicitations from non-licensed operators
- Generic marketing emails, sales pitches, and unsolicited proposals not specific to our work
Ready to Send Us a Message?
Pick the right subject line, include the page URL and any supporting documentation, and we’ll respond within the time stated for that channel. For emergencies — see the resources at the top of this page.
📧 info@jailinmatesearches.org