The Pima County Adult Detention Complex sits at 1270 West Silverlake Road, Tucson, AZ 85713, just west of Interstate 10 near downtown. Its main number is 520-351-8111. The sheriff's department (1750 East Benson Highway, Tucson, AZ 85714, 520-351-4600) runs it along with patrol across the county's unincorporated areas.

The sheriff keeps a small Ajo District Jail (1249 West Ajo Well Road, Ajo, AZ 85321) at its western district office, phone 520-387-8511. It holds people for a short time near the Ajo justice court (111 La Mina Ave., Ajo, AZ 85321, 520-387-7684). Anyone held longer is usually driven to Tucson, about two and a half hours away.

Go to Pima County Inmate Search and enter a last name with a first name, or the booking number. Note the booking number for bonds and deposits.

Booking in Tucson includes a medical screening, prints, photos and a records check for warrants, and weekend crowds slow it. Tucson police (270 South Stone Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85701, 520-791-5032) may also hold someone at a station while detectives talk to them. Phone 520-351-8111 and spell out the full legal name plus the date of birth. If the jail (1270 West Silverlake Road, Tucson, AZ 85713) has nothing, ask the arresting agency.

Under Arizona's citation law, an officer can release a person arrested for a misdemeanor with a signed promise to appear. That is common here for minor theft, drinking in public or trespass. The ticket names Tucson City Court (103 East Alameda Street, Tucson, AZ 85701, 520-791-4216) or a Pima County justice court (Ajo: 111 La Mina Ave., Ajo, AZ 85321, 520-387-7684; Green Valley: 601 N. La Cañada Drive, Green Valley, AZ 85614, 520-222-0200; Pima County Consolidated: 240 North Stone Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85701, 520-724-3171) and a date. Domestic violence cases are booked into the jail rather than cited and released with a court date.

Within 24 hours of arrest, or the jail (1270 West Silverlake Road, Tucson, AZ 85713, 520-351-8111) must let the person go. Pima County runs initial appearances every day from the jail. The judge reads the allegations, deals with a lawyer and sets release conditions. Tucson City Court (103 East Alameda Street, Tucson, AZ 85701, 520-791-4216) handles its own in-custody city cases.

Arizona presumes a person goes home on their own promise unless more is needed. A Pima judge may add pretrial supervision, a cash bond, a secured bond posted by a bail agent, or rules like no contact with the victim. A few serious charges can mean no bond after a hearing. See our Pima bail guide for how each kind of bond works.

Call 520-351-8111 to learn the amount and which payments work at that hour. Carry photo ID and the booking number. A bail agent you hire can post a secured bond for a fee the agent keeps. A hold from another county or from immigration can block release even after bond.

Felony cases go before Pima County Superior Court (110 West Congress Street, Tucson, AZ 85701, 520-724-3200) downtown. Misdemeanors outside city limits go to the consolidated justice courts (Ajo: 111 La Mina Ave., Ajo, AZ 85321, 520-387-7684; Green Valley: 601 N. La Cañada Drive, Green Valley, AZ 85614, 520-222-0200; Pima County Consolidated: 240 North Stone Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85701, 520-724-3171), also downtown, or the Ajo and Green Valley justice courts. City charges stay in Tucson City Court (103 East Alameda Street, Tucson, AZ 85701, 520-791-4216). The state's online case lookup shows hearing dates. Our Pima court steps lay out each stage.

Pima County has a public defender office and a legal defender office for conflict cases. A judge appoints one when the person lacks the means to pay for counsel, so they should say so at the first hearing. Remind them that jail phone lines are recorded.

Border-region federal and out-of-county holds are common. Phone the sheriff's department (1750 East Benson Highway, Tucson, AZ 85714) at 520-351-4900 about warrants or detainers. The DPS warrant search gives a quick statewide pass; the Public Access lookup shows other counties' cases. Defense counsel can get bond set in one go. Superior court (110 West Congress Street, Tucson, AZ 85701) questions go to the clerk at 520-724-3200. Locally, holds run through the adult detention complex, 1270 West Silverlake Road, Tucson, AZ 85713 (520-351-8111), where turning oneself in and posting bond leads to release.

Most visits are by video, done remotely from a home device or at kiosks inside the Silverlake lobby. Visitors need an approved account first. After booking a visit, families can call the visit hotline at 520-351-8114 to ask about extending it. Hours change, so look online or call the jail (1270 West Silverlake Road, Tucson, AZ 85713, 520-351-8111). See Pima visitation and remote video visits.

People inside call out on a prepaid or collect system. Money for the store and phone can be added online or at the jail (1270 West Silverlake Road, Tucson, AZ 85713, 520-351-8111) kiosk. Find steps here: Pima jail phones, messaging, tablets, deposits, Pima commissary.

Put the person's name and booking number on the front and your return address in the corner. Keep cash out of the mail. Check the current mail rules at Pima inmate mail.

Call 520-351-8111 (1270 West Silverlake Road, Tucson, AZ 85713) and ask for the medical unit. Give names of medicines, doses and the prescribing doctor. Inside, jail health staff make the care decisions. Tell them about any suicide risk immediately.

Teens go to the Juvenile Court's detention center on East Ajo Way in Tucson, reachable at 520-724-2150 (2225 East Ajo Way, Tucson, AZ 85713). Youths held there stay off the adult roster. A judge reviews the detention within 24 hours. See our Pima juvenile page.

Both tribes have their own police, courts and jails, which are separate from the county jail (1270 West Silverlake Road, Tucson, AZ 85713, 520-351-8111). The Tohono O'odham Nation's detention center in Sells answers at 520-383-6462. Pascua Yaqui cases go through the tribe's court near Tucson. A tribal inmate stays off the Pima search.

Hang up on anyone who calls asking for gift cards or wire transfers to release a relative. Pay only the jail (1270 West Silverlake Road, Tucson, AZ 85713), the court or a licensed bail agent you picked. Hang up and call 520-351-8111 directly.

Call the Pima County Adult Detention Complex (1270 West Silverlake Road, Tucson, AZ 85713) at 520-351-8111 to confirm that the person is there, the booking number and the bond amount. General sheriff questions go to 520-351-4900.

Federal cases usually involve the FBI, the U.S. Marshals, and Homeland Security Investigations. Border and drug arrests often end up in federal court. This county is part of the Tucson Division (District of Arizona); court dates take place at the federal courthouse, 405 West Congress Street, Tucson, AZ 85701. Clerk staff there answer at 520-205-4200. An initial court date is held fast with a magistrate judge. The court also gets a short report from pretrial services. On a federal case, safety and flight risk come before cash. The magistrate considers safety and the chance of flight at a detention hearing applying federal bail law.

Look them up on the county roster. Many federal prisoners wait in a county jail contracted by the U.S. Marshals. Marshals staff keep records on federal prisoners. Call 520-879-6900. The office is at 405 West Congress Street, Suite 2300, Tucson, AZ 85701. Sentenced people move out of the local jail to a BOP (320 First Street NW, Washington, DC 20534, 202-307-3198) prison after sentencing. Track them through the federal locator.

• During booking, the person's prints reach federal databases. ICE may then lodge a detainer.
• Through the I-247A, ICE wants the sheriff to hold the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released.
• Even with bail posted, the ICE hold stays in place.
• ICE officers may take custody inside that 48-hour window. If nobody comes, the jail (1270 West Silverlake Road, Tucson, AZ 85713, 520-351-8111) has to free them.
• The office for Arizona is the Phoenix ERO office, at 2035 North Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85004, tel. 602-257-5900.
• ICE itself chooses the detention center.
• Look them up on the Online Detainee Locator System after the move, using the A-number with country of birth. No A-number? Use the exact name plus DOB and country of birth instead.

Anyone who gets state prison can expect to do that time in the care of Arizona's corrections department. At first, most people wait in the Tucson jail (1270 West Silverlake Road, Tucson, AZ 85713, 520-351-8111) until the ADCRR (701 East Jefferson Street, Phoenix, AZ 85034, 602-542-5497) has a bed ready, sometimes for weeks. The ride ends at intake, and there they are checked in. Classification staff screen each person based on gang ties, medical and mental care and security risk. Their final stop is the prison that fits them.

The ADCRR online lookup shows their unit when the move is done. The state prison page covers each unit.

For a request for a booking photo not yet released, the media should call the sheriff's office (1750 East Benson Highway, Tucson, AZ 85714) at 520-351-4900. ICE's FOIA form is the way to request an immigration mugshot; ICE decides. U.S. booking photos stay private from reporters and the public. Public requests are refused; the Marshals share one only to find an escaped prisoner, for pressing community safety, or when sharing it aids a capture or a warning to the public.

Tucson Police headquarters is 270 South Stone Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85701; use 520-791-4444 for non-emergency questions. Oro Valley Police station officers at 11000 North La Cañada Drive, Oro Valley, AZ 85737 and pick up on 520-229-4900. Marana's department works out of 11555 West Civic Center Drive, Marana, AZ 85653 and answers 520-382-2000. South Tucson Police staff a lobby at 1601 South 6th Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85713; their main line is 520-622-0655. Deputies belong to the Pima County Sheriff's Department, 1750 East Benson Highway, Tucson, AZ 85714, whose non-emergency number is 520-351-4900.

Sahuarita has its own police department, but for after-hours questions the sheriff's dispatch line above can transfer you. Rural places like Green Valley, Catalina, Vail, Arivaca and Ajo are covered by sheriff's deputies. University of Arizona police and state troopers bring their arrests to Silverlake Road too.