Open the sheriff’s inmate roster and enter a surname; a partial spelling also works. A match shows the booking details and listed charges. Compare the age or birthday with what you know, because the same name can belong to two different people.

Copy the booking number onto paper; deposits, phone setup, letters and visit requests all ask for it. After that, call 256-236-5561 if something on the record does not make sense, like a hold you do not recognize. The jail is at 400 West 8th Street, Anniston, AL 36201. VINELink can alert you to a release or transfer once you register.

Processing at intake comes first. Fingerprints, photos, a property inventory and warrant checks all happen before a name posts, so new bookings often take several hours to show. The person may also still be at a city lockup, such as the Anniston City Jail at 174 West 13th Street, Anniston, AL 36201, where Anniston police answer at 256-238-1800.

Many low-level stops end with a summons-style ticket and a hearing date instead of a booking. That person won’t be on the roster. Missing the date can bring a warrant. When a name drops off, the person may have bonded out, moved to another county or entered federal custody. Call the jail at 256-236-5561 rather than guessing.

Anniston police also run the Anniston City Jail at 174 West 13th Street, Anniston, AL 36201, so a city arrest may sit there first. The city justice center puts the police department, municipal court and jail in one building. The Anniston Police Department answers at 256-238-1800.

County arrests, felony arrests and people from towns without their own lockup go to the county jail at 400 West 8th Street, Anniston, AL 36201. Its information line is 256-236-5561. City and county holds are released through different offices, so knowing the building tells you where to call about bond, property and visits. If the arresting agency is unclear, call the county jail first.

Booking photos are taken for every adult at intake. A news outlet may seek an unposted mugshot through the sheriff’s office, 400 West 8th Street, Anniston, AL 36201, 256-236-6600. Families with a reason to see one can ask the same office how its records requests work. Remember that a mugshot shows an arrest, not guilt.

For an ICE mugshot, submit ICE’s FOIA form. ICE must approve it. Federal booking photos stay private, even for reporters. Rarely, the Marshals Service shares one: for someone who escaped, when sharing it aids an arrest or a public warning, or if there is an urgent safety need.

It can. VINE is a free custody tool open to anyone. Steps:

1. Go to VINELink and choose Alabama.
2. Enter a name, AIS number or booking number.
3. Open the right record to see status and facility.
4. Sign up for an alert the moment the status changes.

VINE is a good backup when the sheriff’s site will not load. Notices sometimes arrive a bit late, so confirm any big change with the jail at 400 West 8th Street, Anniston, AL 36201, 256-236-5561.

A warrantless arrest needs a judge’s probable-cause finding within 48 hours, or release on minimum bond. A warrant arrest with unpaid bond means a first appearance within 72 hours. Family-violence charges need a magistrate before bond, but only for up to a day.

The first appearance is where the judge goes over the accusation, sets or reviews bond, and asks if appointed counsel is wanted. Most of these hearings happen at the county courthouse, 25 West 11th Street, Anniston, AL 36201. For the date and time, call the District Court division at 256-231-1850.

Cash bonds are paid to the court, not at the jail, and even a paid bond needs a release order from a judge before the person walks out. The circuit clerk is at the Calhoun County Courthouse, 25 West 11th Street, Anniston, AL 36201, 256-231-1750. The office is open weekdays and closes for lunch from noon to one.

Schedule amounts include $300 to $1,000 for a Class C misdemeanor and $5,000 to $30,000 for a Class B felony. Other paths are a bondsman, pledging real estate, or a judge releasing them on signature. The state adds 3.5% of the bond plus $35. A judge can refuse bail in some violent cases under Aniah’s Law. See our bail guide.

Each line shows the charge as written by the arresting officer, and it can change once prosecutors file. Felony convictions can bring state prison. Misdemeanors are capped at a year locally. A charge on the roster is an accusation, not a conviction.

To read the actual court file, search Alacourt Access, where a name search is $9.99. The clerk’s public terminals are free, unlike paid Alacourt. They are at the courthouse, 25 West 11th Street, Anniston, AL 36201. If a code makes no sense, call the Circuit Clerk at 256-231-1750 and ask what it stands for.

If they can’t afford one, they ask at the first appearance, and the judge appoints counsel. A sworn financial form comes first, and then the judge rules on it. In this circuit, appointed lawyers are private or contract attorneys whose fees the state covers through the Office of Indigent Defense Services, 100 North Union Street, Suite 680, Montgomery, AL 36104, 334-242-7059.

Jail calls are recorded, so keep the case off the phone. Let the lawyer talk about the facts. Families can ask the Circuit Clerk at 25 West 11th Street, Anniston, AL 36201, 256-231-1750, for the appointed attorney’s name and office number.

Call 256-236-5561, ask for the shift supervisor, and describe medicines and conditions. Name the doctor and pharmacy so staff can verify prescriptions. Keep a record of any arrest injuries for the lawyer.

Be specific. List each medicine by name, with its strength and schedule. Mention diabetes, seizures, pregnancy, heart trouble or a mental health condition right away. Do not bring pills to the jail at 400 West 8th Street, Anniston, AL 36201 unless staff ask you to. Should you fear for their safety, state that clearly and ask that a supervisor call you back.

Screens, mostly. Each visit lasts 20 minutes. On-site visits are limited to two per week, while at-home video is unlimited at $0.20 per minute. Each list holds five immediate family members, and visitors under 17 must come with an adult.

Bring photo ID, and call ahead in case the schedule has changed. The jail is at 400 West 8th Street, Anniston, AL 36201, and staff at 256-236-5561 can explain how to get on the list. See our visitation page for scheduling and our remote visit guide for home video calls.

Deposits can be made online, by phone, and possibly at a lobby kiosk. Call 256-236-5561 to ask about the kiosk and in-person drop-offs. Mailed money orders go in their own envelope. The balance covers commissary orders and calls. Our money guide has more.

List the booking number and legal name with each deposit so the money lands in the right account. Keep receipts. Money on a spending account does not pay a bond, which goes to the court instead. Mail money orders to Calhoun County Jail, 400 West 8th Street, Anniston, AL 36201, with the person’s name and ID number.

Ask the jail how to open a prepaid phone account; people inside can call out, but they cannot take incoming calls. Once your number is funded, the person can call you during phone hours, and every call is recorded. See jail phone accounts.

Keep the talk about family, money and plans, never about the charges. Anything said can reach the prosecutor. If calls stop coming, the person may be in court, in medical care or out of money on the account. To ask about the phone system, call 256-236-5561. Our tablet guide explains messages if the jail uses tablets.

Address every letter with the person’s full name and inmate ID number, then:

Calhoun County Jail
400 West 8th Street, Anniston, AL 36201

Use the full name and booking number on letters. Keep letters simple, and ask the jail about its mail rules before sending photos or anything unusual. Book and magazine subscriptions use the same jail address. Add a return address in the corner so rejected letters can come back to you. For mail rules, call 256-236-5561 and read our Calhoun County guide.

Belongings are logged and returned at release. Clothes, wallet, phone and keys go into storage during booking, and the person signs for them when leaving. Anything taken as evidence stays with the police or the court and comes back only by court order.

If someone else needs to pick up property, such as car keys, ask whether the person inside must sign permission first. Bring photo ID. Call the jail at 400 West 8th Street, Anniston, AL 36201, 256-236-5561, to ask about pickup times. For a city hold, the Anniston police at 174 West 13th Street, Anniston, AL 36201, 256-238-1800, handle property instead.

Remember that a judge’s release order is required even after bond is paid, so release can take time. The jail checks for other charges, holds from other counties, probation orders and immigration detainers. Each one has to be cleared first.

After the order arrives, staff process paperwork and return property. That can take a few hours. Call 256-236-5561 to ask whether release is in progress, and wait for the person to call you before driving to 400 West 8th Street, Anniston, AL 36201. The bond comes with court dates and rules, so write the next date down that day.

Start with the sheriff’s warrants page, which lists people the county is looking for. The sheriff, 256-236-6600, and the clerk, 256-231-1750, can both check. Many families have a lawyer set up a surrender with bond money ready.

The county jail, located at 400 West 8th Street, Anniston, AL 36201, takes surrenders, so call 256-236-5561 first to ask about bail. Court cases also show on Alacourt Access for a fee. A city warrant belongs to that city’s court, such as Anniston Municipal Court at 174 West 13th Street, Anniston, AL 36201, 256-231-7614.

Juvenile cases go through Calhoun County juvenile court, and detained youth are held apart from adults at the Coosa Valley Regional Juvenile Detention Center, 4625 McClellan Boulevard, Anniston, AL 36204. Kids held in custody get a detention hearing within three days, even over a weekend.

Teens 16 and 17 charged with serious felonies may be tried as adults. The Family Court division at 25 West 11th Street, Suite 500, Anniston, AL 36201, 256-231-1740, handles juvenile intake and helps a parent learn the placement and the next court setting. Juvenile records are sealed, so the adult roster is the wrong place to look.

These arrests come from groups such as Homeland Security Investigations or the ATF. Federal cases from Calhoun County are heard in the Northern District’s Eastern Division, meeting at 1100 Gurnee Avenue, Anniston, AL 36201, 256-741-1533. Case questions go to the clerk’s office in Birmingham at 205-278-1700. Pretrial services first talks with the person and writes a report to the judge.

During the case, the Marshals may place federal prisoners in a nearby jail by contract. Phone 205-829-6611 or go to 1729 5th Avenue North, Room 240, Birmingham, AL 35203. Following a prison sentence, follow the person with the federal inmate locator.

• At booking, their prints are shared with the FBI and Homeland Security. ICE sometimes places a detainer.
• A paid bond doesn’t end an ICE hold; it just starts the 48 hours.
• Rather than walking out, they may stay for at most 48 more hours for ICE. Weekends and holidays count toward that limit.
• ICE agents often pick them up within that window. If ICE never comes, that should mean they are released.
• Only ICE picks the detention center.
• Alabama is handled by ICE’s New Orleans ERO office: 181 James Drive West, St. Rose, LA 70087, 504-318-2360.
• Look on the ICE locator with the A-number and home country. If the A-number is unknown, use first and last name, birth date and birth country.

Prison sentences longer than a year are served through ADOC. First, most people wait in the county jail until the state has room, sometimes for weeks. Once a bed opens, they are taken to an intake or reception center to be processed. There, staff review health and mental health needs, gang connections and how much security they need. The final step is the prison that suits them.

To find them, open the state inmate search. Our Alabama prison guide lists visits and mail. The jail at 400 West 8th Street, Anniston, AL 36201, 256-236-5561, can say whether the transfer happened.

Fake bondsmen and “deputies” ask for gift cards or app payments. The jail won’t do that. Hang up and call 256-236-5561.

A scam caller may know the person’s name, the charge and even the booking number, because those details are public. That proves nothing. Real bonds are paid at the court or through a licensed company you chose. Deposits for commissary go through the jail’s own payment options. If you already paid a scammer, report it to the sheriff’s office at 400 West 8th Street, Anniston, AL 36201, 256-236-6600, and keep the phone number and receipts.

Calhoun has several cities with their own officers, so the arresting agency matters for bonds, city court and paperwork:

• Anniston Police Department, 174 West 13th Street, Anniston, AL 36201, 256-238-1800
• Oxford Police Department, 600 Stanley Merrill Drive, Oxford, AL 36203, 256-831-3121

Smaller places such as Weaver, Hobson City and Ohatchee, and the rural parts of the county, are served by their own small departments or by sheriff’s deputies. State troopers handle many stops on Interstate 20 and U.S. 431, and campus officers work at Jacksonville State University. If the person is not in Anniston, check nearby county jails:

• Etowah County Detention Center, 827 Forrest Avenue, Gadsden, AL 35901, 256-549-5408
• Cherokee County Detention Center, 110 Cedar Bluff Road, Centre, AL 35960, 256-927-6435
• Cleburne County Jail, 140 Lambert Drive, Heflin, AL 36264, 256-463-7336
• Talladega County Jail, 150 East Renfroe Road, Talladega, AL 35160, 256-761-2000
• St. Clair County Jail, 100 18th Street North, Pell City, AL 35125, 205-814-3525