Yes. The Sheriff's lookup, reachable from the Berrien County website, lets you search bookings by name or by booking date, and its records display a booking photo; bond figures appear for bookings made on or after June 12, 2025. New arrests can take up to 24 hours to post, so call the hotline for a fresh booking. VINELink adds release and transfer alerts.

Deputies, Michigan State Police troopers, and city and township departments such as Benton Harbor, Niles, Buchanan and the lakeshore communities all deliver arrestees to Port Street, along with conservation officers working the lakeshore and the river.

St. Joseph booking officers photograph and fingerprint each arrestee, record clothing and cash, screen for medical needs and withdrawal, check for warrants from other jurisdictions, and classify the person before assigning a cell.

The Sheriff's Office keeps active county warrants, and its main line, 269-983-7141, will check a full name and birth date for callers anywhere in Berrien.

The 5th District MiCOURT search and the 2nd Circuit MiCOURT search show charges and hearing dates, but a case listing will not say whether a warrant is still live.

To clear it, surrender at the jail, 919 Port Street, with a lawyer, or have a District Court or Circuit Court clerk reschedule the hearing you missed. The Trial Court main line is 269-983-7111; the Criminal Division is 269-982-8682; the courthouse in Niles answers 269-684-5274.

The county runs a unified Trial Court, so a 5th District Court magistrate fixes the first bond on Port Street, and felony bond payments go through the same courthouse. Our bail page lays out every option.

The 5th District and 2nd Circuit operate together as the Berrien County Trial Court, with the main courthouse beside the jail on Port Street and a second courthouse in Niles. Misdemeanor domestic violence cases go to a dedicated docket. Our court process guide explains each step.

Address mail to the person's full name, Berrien County Jail, 919 Port Street, St. Joseph, MI 49085, plus a return address in the corner. Port Street officers open each piece first; our mail guide lists items that get refused.

Yes. Port Street offers internet visits at $10 for 20 minutes, and each inmate gets one free internet visit a week. Scheduling rules change, so read our visitation guide before booking.

Outgoing calls from the St. Joseph jail use prepaid accounts described in our phone guide; electronic messages are in our messaging guide. Funding commissary purchases is explained in our money guide and commissary page.

The online lookup already shows the jail's booking photo while a person is in custody. For a copy kept after release, file a Michigan FOIA request with the Sheriff's Office. Pictures from immigration custody are handled by ICE's FOIA office, and federal agencies rarely release mugshots except for Marshals fugitive notices.

The Port Street lookup shows who is inside today; VINELink watches the record for you. Pick Michigan, find the person, and add your phone or email so a release or transfer from St. Joseph triggers a message. Registration is free and confidential.

Arraignments happen before a 5th District Court judge or magistrate, typically the following weekday, with the defendant appearing on a video link from Port Street. Weekend arrests generally wait until Monday unless interim bond is posted. The judge explains the charge, considers appointed counsel and sets bond; relatives can watch but rarely speak.

Look the person up on Port Street, copy the booking number, charge and bond, and note the court date. Find a lawyer, pass medication information to the jail, and keep case details off recorded calls.

St. Joseph jail staff hold property taken at intake and return it at release. Signed permission from the inmate lets family collect named items; phone the hotline before driving over.

Port Street releases usually finish one to three hours after the court clears the person, longer during shift changes. Plan a ride to downtown St. Joseph.

Youths are not held at the adult jail on Port Street. The Family Division of the Trial Court decides detention for anyone under 18.

The Twin Cities Area Transportation Authority serves the St. Joseph and Benton Harbor area on set routes and dial-a-ride, but evening service is limited, so arrange pickup if possible.

Domestic violence arrests in this county cannot use interim bond at the jail, so the person stays on Port Street until a judge or magistrate sets conditions, which often include no-contact orders. Misdemeanor domestic violence cases then go to the Trial Court's domestic violence docket.

Prosecutions from the lakeshore and the southern townships belong to the Western District of Michigan, with felony and detention hearings at 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, 616-456-2438, track federal prisoners, and the BOP inmate locator shows them once sentenced.

Immigration may lodge a Form I-247A detainer, asking St. Joseph to keep the person for a maximum of 48 more hours (8 CFR 287.7(d)). The ICE detainee locator lists people after transfer; Berrien is served by the ICE Detroit Field Office, 985 Michigan Avenue, Suite 207, Detroit, MI 48226, 313-771-6601.

A Berrien County Trial Court felony sentence to prison sends the person to MDOC; OTIS tracks them and our Michigan prisons directory lists facilities.

If the arrest happened just over a county line, the person is booked in that county's facility:

• Cass County Jail, 321 M-62, Cassopolis, MI 49031, 269-445-1209
• Van Buren County Jail, 205 S. Kalamazoo Street, Paw Paw, MI 49079, 269-657-2171

Arrests across the Indiana line go to Indiana county jails, which Michigan records do not cover.

• Berrien County Sheriff's Office, 919 Port Street, St. Joseph, MI 49085, 269-983-7141.
• Michigan State Police Niles Post, 1600 Silverbrook Avenue, Niles, 269-683-4411.
• Sheriff's Niles office, 1205 N. Front Street, Niles, 269-684-5274 ext. 6298.

Call 911 for emergencies.