Men waiting for trial are held at Nashua Street, a maximum-security building beside the Museum of Science stop run by the Sheriff's Department. Women of any status, and men serving sentences of two and a half years or less, are held at South Bay on Bradston Street. South Bay's bed count is 1,892, and its average daily population runs near 840, according to the Sheriff's Department.

Yes. After a Boston, Chelsea, Revere or Winthrop arrest, the person stays at the station house until bail is decided by a commissioner or clerk, or until arraignment. People who cannot post it are moved to Nashua Street, or for women and sentenced men to South Bay. - Boston Police, One Schroeder Plaza, Boston, MA 02120. - Chelsea Police, 19 Park Street, Chelsea, MA 02150. - Revere Police, 400 Revere Beach Parkway, Revere, MA 02151. - Winthrop Police, 3 Metcalf Square, Winthrop, MA 02152.

Each station's phone number is in the police list near the end of this page.

Call the Suffolk County jail records office for the right building. For Nashua Street, dial extension 3005 on the jail's main line. For South Bay, use extension 2017 on the House of Correction line. Have the full name and birth date handy before calling. Records staff can confirm where someone is housed and give the booking or ID number needed for mail and deposits.

Release in Boston-area cases comes from a judge, a clerk-magistrate or an after-hours bail commissioner. At Nashua Street the commissioner works weekday evenings from 5 p.m. and is on call Saturday and Sunday; Jail Records can tell you who is working. A judge can also release someone at arraignment on their own recognizance. Our bail page explains cash bail, surety bonds and refunds.

Boston Police at One Schroeder Plaza, along with officers in Chelsea, Revere and Winthrop, carry out warrants here. The Sheriff's records office at South Bay, 617-635-1000, extension 2017, can say whether a person was committed on a warrant. To check status, phone Probation headquarters, 617-727-5300. That office answers for the whole state, while MassCourts lists charges and hearing dates without warrant status. To clear one, go to the issuing court with a lawyer, turn yourself in at the Nashua Street Jail, or call the clerk about a new date. Chelsea District Court's clerk is at 120 Broadway, Chelsea, MA 02150, 617-660-9200.

Under G.L. c. 276, section 58, the Suffolk official begins with personal recognizance and may set cash only when needed to bring the person back, taking finances into account. A surety company bond can stand in for cash. Arrests involving domestic abuse carry a six-hour wait before bail unless a judge acts in open court.

Suffolk County jails are outside VINELink in Massachusetts, which covers the Department of Correction's state prisons; the mass.gov lookup page says only that department takes part. For release from Nashua Street or South Bay, call the records line for that building. For state prisoners use VINELink or 866-277-7477.

Boston Police arrestees are normally arraigned the next court day in the Boston Municipal Court division covering the place of arrest. Chelsea and Revere arrests go to Chelsea District Court, and Winthrop arrests go to East Boston. Courts sit Monday through Friday, so someone picked up late on a Friday may not see a judge before Monday morning.

For a Boston Police arrest, the Boston Municipal Court division is set by the town or neighborhood of the arrest. Downtown, the North End and Beacon Hill go to the Central Division at 24 New Chardon Street, Boston, MA 02114, 617-788-8600. Dorchester, Roxbury, South Boston, Charlestown, Brighton, East Boston and West Roxbury each have their own division, listed on our court page. Indicted felonies move to Suffolk Superior Court, 3 Pemberton Square, Boston, MA 02108, 617-788-8160.

At arraignment in Boston Municipal Court or Chelsea District Court, the judge screens the defendant for a lawyer paid by the Committee for Public Counsel Services. Public defenders work from the Boston Trial Office, 75 Federal Street, 6th Floor, Boston, MA 02110, 617-209-5500. Legal Services at Nashua Street, extension 3085, can help a detainee reach a lawyer.

Search the person's name on MassCourts or call the clerk of the court handling the arraignment. Jail records staff confirm bookings, while the court clerk is the place for the complaint and docket.

Nashua Street runs visits every day at four sessions: 8 to 10:30 a.m., 1 to 2:45 p.m., 3:30 to 5 p.m., and 7 to 8:45 p.m. Each detainee may have three visits a week, one per day, of up to one hour. Arrive 30 to 60 minutes early with a state ID, license or passport; children need a parent and an original birth certificate, and none may stay after 6 p.m. South Bay requires an approved visitor application and an appointment, with an extension 2097 line for questions. See our visiting guide.

Mail goes to the person's name and ID number at 200 Nashua Street, Boston, MA 02114, or at 20 Bradston Street, Boston, MA 02118 for South Bay, with your return address on the envelope. Letters must be in black ink or non-colored pencil on clean white paper, and every piece is searched. Accounts accept money orders only, and an account may never hold more than $500. Our mail guide, phone guide, email guide and money guide add the details.

For a booking image taken at Nashua Street or South Bay, call the Sheriff's Communications and External Affairs Division at 617-704-6655. The press office is 617-704-6682. Under federal policy, booking images taken by federal agencies stay out of public and media hands; the one exception is a photo the U.S. Marshals Service puts out during a fugitive hunt. ICE booking photos are sought by filing with the ICE FOIA office.

Federal arrests in Boston first see a federal magistrate judge, at the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, 1 Courthouse Way, Suite 2300, Boston, MA 02210, 617-748-9152. The U.S. Marshals in Boston answer at 617-748-2500. Sentenced federal prisoners appear on the Federal Bureau of Prisons locator.

South Bay's visiting chart includes units for immigration detainees. Federal rule 8 CFR 287.7(d) caps an ICE detainer hold at 48 hours beyond when someone would otherwise be released, and a state bail payment leaves it in effect. People already in ICE custody show up on the ICE detainee locator; you can also reach the ICE Boston Field Office, 1000 District Avenue, Burlington, MA 01803, 781-359-7500.

Anyone sentenced to more than two and a half years leaves the Sheriff's custody for the Department of Correction. The Department of Correction lookup and our Massachusetts state prisons list cover those cases.

Youths arrested in Boston, Chelsea, Revere or Winthrop are held by the Department of Youth Services, not the adult jails. For a detention placement in this region, call the Department of Youth Services Metro Region detention line at 617-740-0211. The agency's main office is at 40 Broad Street, 4th Floor, Boston, MA 02109, 617-727-7575.

Nashua Street and South Bay each run their own medical unit. Nashua Street lists a medical line at 617-704-6683, and South Bay reports more than 20,000 medical appointments a year. Families with health concerns should call and ask for the medical or social services office.

At Nashua Street, property is released Monday through Friday, 9 to 11:30 a.m. and 7 to 10 p.m., with a photo ID and a signed release from the detainee; questions go to extension 3035. Property is held only 30 days after release. Court clothes may be dropped off the day before a hearing, and for Superior Court dates not until after 4:30 p.m. South Bay swaps court clothes from 8 to 11:15 a.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. on weekdays.

Parking at Nashua Street is very limited, so the Sheriff's Department suggests the Green Line to the Museum of Science stop, which sits across the street. South Bay is reached by the Red Line to Andrew and the #10 bus to Southampton Street. Leave phones and wallets in the lobby lockers, and know that South Bay accepts no property on weekends or holidays.

These four departments make most arrests that end at Nashua Street or South Bay: - Boston Police Department, One Schroeder Plaza, Boston, MA 02120: 617-343-4500; Operations 617-343-4200. - Chelsea Police Department, 19 Park Street, Chelsea, MA 02150: 617-466-4855. - Revere Police Department, 400 Revere Beach Parkway, Revere, MA 02151: 781-284-1212. - Winthrop Police Department, 3 Metcalf Square, Winthrop, MA 02152: 617-846-1212.

Call 911 for emergencies. The Sheriff's Department main line is shown at the top of this page.