The Alachua County Jail sits at 3333 NE 39th Avenue, Gainesville, FL 32609, near the airport on the city's northeast side. Gainesville police, UF police and deputies all bring arrests here. Jail staff answer at 352-491-4459; the sheriff's main office takes other calls at 352-367-4000.

Type a last name into Alachua County Inmate Search. A Saturday-night arrest may not post for a few hours while booking finishes. Sign up on VINELink and it will text or email you if your person is moved or let go.

Within a day of arrest, each person goes before a judge for first appearance at the Alachua County Criminal Courthouse. That judge may release them on their own word (no money), set a cash bond, or set a surety bond.

• With a cash bond, the whole sum goes to the jail or the clerk.
• A licensed bondsman charges a fee of 10 percent, never under $100 per charge, and that fee is not returned.
• Bond paid but still inside? A probation violation or a warrant out of another county may be the reason.
• Skipping a later court date can mean a new warrant and a lost bond.

More payment detail is on our Alachua County bail page.

Deputies at 352-367-4000 can tell you whether an Alachua warrant is active. Court dates are on the Alachua Clerk's site, or call 352-374-3636. Talk to a lawyer before turning yourself in.

The Eighth Circuit public defender covers Alachua cases once a judge finds the person can't pay. Florida charges a $50 application fee for this, and a judge can waive it.

Visits must be booked ahead, and video visits are an option. Times change, so check with the jail at 352-491-4459 the day before. Our guides cover in-person visits and video visits.

People in the Gainesville jail can make outgoing calls only; you can't ring in to them. You fund a prepaid account to accept calls or trade messages. See our notes on phone calls, messaging and tablets.

Account money pays for commissary such as snacks, soap and writing paper. Use only the deposit methods the jail lists. Read about deposits and the commissary before sending cash.

Address Alachua letters with the person's full name and jail number above the jail's NE 39th Avenue address. Plain paper works best; tape, glitter and stickers get mail sent back. Current rules are on our mail page.

Anyone under 18 goes to juvenile court instead. A detained teen gets a hearing within 24 hours and is usually held at the Alachua Regional Juvenile Detention Center, 352-955-2105, a short drive from the adult jail. Parents can ask the sheriff's office at 352-367-4000 where their child was taken.

Call 352-491-4459 right away about seizures, diabetes, heart trouble or any risk of self-harm. Have the drug name, dose and the prescribing doctor's number in front of you.

FBI, DEA or ATF charges bypass the Alachua courthouse and land in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Florida, which sits in Gainesville at 401 SE 1st Ave., Gainesville, FL 32601.

A federal magistrate judge sees the person first. No bond schedule exists in federal court, so a magistrate settles custody at a detention hearing. While the case runs, the U.S. Marshals (352-378-2082) may board them in a county jail. After a sentence, the Bureau of Prisons picks a prison, which you can find with the BOP inmate locator.

• Step 1: Fingerprints taken at booking go to federal databases, which ICE can see.
• Step 2: If ICE wants the person, it sends Form I-247A, a request to hold them.
• Step 3: The jail may keep the person up to 48 hours past their normal release time. Saturdays, Sundays and holidays all count toward the 48.
• Step 4: Under F.S. 908.105, the judge setting bond must learn of the detainer, it goes in the court file, and the prosecutor is told.
• Step 5: Under F.S. 907.041, a person charged with a forcible felony who is found to be in the country unlawfully cannot get release before first appearance, and at that hearing the law starts from keeping them held, which the defense can fight.
• Step 6: F.S. 908.11 requires every Florida sheriff who runs a jail to sign a 287(g) deal with ICE. ICE lists Alachua's sheriff under the Task Force Model and the Warrant Service Officer program.
• Step 7: Once ICE takes over, Gainesville families can check the ICE online locator (A-number, or name and birth country) or call the Miami field office, 2805 SW 145th Ave., Miramar, FL 33027, 954-843-5800.

After a state prison sentence, the person waits in the Gainesville jail until the Florida Department of Corrections picks them up. They first go to a reception center for medical checks and classification, then on to a prison. Track them on the FDC offender search, and use our Florida state prisons list for addresses.

Yes. Alachua mugshots show up in the sheriff's inmate lookup, one beside each name. For a copy, ask the office at 352-367-4000; F.S. 119.071 can hold some back.

Photos taken by ICE need an ICE FOIA request. Federal booking photos aren't given to families or the press, except when the U.S. Marshals share one to help catch a fugitive.

• Gainesville Police Department: 352-955-1818
• Alachua County Sheriff's Office: 352-367-4000

Towns without their own police force are covered by deputies. In an emergency, dial 911.