The Sheriff's Office publishes an inmate lookup through its Sheriff's Office and Corrections Center page; type a last name and the results show who is currently housed, the booking date and any bond amount already ordered. If the lookup turns up nothing for a recent arrest, booking may still be under way, so wait an hour and try again or ask the River Street desk. VINELink also covers this jail and can send a text or email when a person is released or transferred.

The Allegan County Corrections Center sits beside the Sheriff's Office on River Street, just west of downtown Allegan. Its housing units take adults waiting on 57th District and 48th Circuit cases, people finishing local sentences capped at twelve months, plus a few held for other agencies. It is a full-service county jail rather than a short-term holding cell, so stays can run from a few hours to many months.

Every arrestee brought to River Street is searched, photographed and fingerprinted, and deputies check for medical needs and other holds before assigning housing. Property is bagged and inventoried. Intake on a crowded night can stretch past midnight, which is why a name may not show on the lookup right away.

The Allegan County Sheriff's Office main line, 269-673-0500, confirms whether a warrant is on file once it has a name and date of birth; city officers in Plainwell and other towns serve their own.

The 57th District Court record search lists charges and hearing dates, though an active warrant is never mentioned.

Clear it by turning yourself in at the River Street jail with a lawyer present, or by asking a clerk to reschedule the hearing. The 57th District Court clerk in the courthouse at 113 Chestnut Street, Allegan handles misdemeanors at 269-673-0400; the 48th Circuit Court, 269-673-0300, takes felonies after bind-over.

Bond is set by a 57th District Court judge or magistrate, usually at arraignment, though a short list of minor offenses carries a preset interim amount. Once an amount appears on the lookup, it can be posted, and our bail page explains cash, ten-percent and surety bonds in Allegan.

Arraignment for an overnight River Street booking typically comes the following weekday, with the defendant on a video screen and the 57th District bench on Chestnut Street. A Friday-night arrest may sit through the weekend unless bond is posted. At that hearing the charge gets read aloud, the bond amount is fixed or adjusted, and an eligible defendant gets a Public Defender.

Both trial courts sit in the county building at 113 Chestnut Street, Allegan. The 57th District Court handles misdemeanors, arraignments and felony preliminary exams; the 48th Circuit Court takes felony trials and sentencing after a case is bound over. See our court process guide for the steps in between.

Personal letters need the inmate's full name and the address of the Allegan County Corrections Center, 640 River Street, Allegan, MI 49010, and include your return address. Staff open and inspect everything except legal mail, so leave out stickers, glitter and anything glued. Our mail guide lists the common rules.

Allegan relies on video visiting, with sessions booked in advance through the jail's provider and held either from home or at the lobby terminals. Have the person's full name ready and expect a short identity check. Our visitation guide walks through the scheduling.

A prepaid calling account lets an Allegan inmate phone home from the housing unit; setup is covered in our phone guide. Families can also trade electronic messages with the tablet system described in our messaging guide, and they can add funds for the canteen as explained in our money guide and commissary page.

Booking photos are records of the Sheriff's Office, so ask the records unit at the main number or file a written Freedom of Information Act request. For an image from immigration custody, write to ICE's FOIA office. Federal mugshots stay out of public hands, Allegan cases included, unless U.S. Marshals circulate one for a wanted fugitive.

The Allegan County Public Defender's Office, 3255 122nd Avenue, Suite 103, takes appointed adult cases; its line is 269-686-4720. Appointment normally happens at the first appearance in the 57th District Court.

The Allegan County Prosecuting Attorney reviews police reports and files charges for every agency in the county; the office is reached at 269-673-0280.

Once Allegan jail staff accept a bond or a judge orders release, paperwork and property return usually take one to two hours. People leave through the River Street lobby, so wait there rather than in the Sheriff's administrative entrance, and bring a charged phone in case the timing slips.

Juveniles under 18 are not held in the adult Corrections Center. Their cases go to the Family Division of the 48th Circuit Court, 269-673-0534, which decides on detention or release to a parent.

The Allegan County Probate Court, 269-673-0250, deals with estates, guardianships and mental health commitments, which sometimes intersect with a criminal case when a defendant needs treatment instead of jail.

Allegan sits in the Western District of Michigan, whose main courthouse is the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, 110 Michigan Street NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503, 616-456-2381. The U.S. Marshals there, 616-456-2438, take custody of federal defendants, and the BOP inmate locator lists people after sentencing.

Yes. A Form I-247A detainer asks River Street to delay a release for a maximum of 48 hours (8 CFR 287.7(d)) for ICE pickup. Use the ICE detainee locator to follow a transfer; the regional office is the ICE Detroit Field Office, 985 Michigan Avenue, Suite 207, Detroit, MI 48226, 313-771-6601.

A felony term over twelve months moves the person from River Street to the Michigan Department of Corrections. Search MDOC OTIS for a prisoner number and location, and see our Michigan prisons directory.

Allegan borders five counties that each run their own jail, and an arrest just over the line will be booked there.

• Ottawa County Adult Correctional Facility, 12130 Fillmore Street, West Olive, MI 49460, 616-738-4650
• Kent County Correctional Facility, 703 Ball Avenue NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503, 616-632-6400
• Barry County Jail, 1212 W. State Street, Hastings, MI 49058, 269-948-4804
• Kalamazoo County Jail, 1500 Lamont Avenue, Kalamazoo, MI 49048, 269-383-8821
• Van Buren County Jail, 205 S. Kalamazoo Street, Paw Paw, MI 49079, 269-657-2171

• Allegan County Sheriff's Office, 640 River Street, Allegan, MI 49010, 269-673-0500.
• Allegan Police Department, 269-673-2115.

For an emergency, dial 911.