Any phone or laptop will do. Here are the steps:

1. Visit the county inmate search.
2. Enter the surname, and add a given name when the form allows.
3. When several people share a surname, use birth dates to tell them apart.
4. Read the custody status shown next to the name.
5. Jot down any booking number on screen, since it saves time on the phone.

This tool answers a single question: does the county hold this person right now? For the charge, the bond amount or release timing, ring the Sheriff's Office at 601-635-4401.

Look at these common causes:

• Paperwork is still moving. Fresh arrests take some hours to show on a screen.
• A town department holds them. A city officer may keep a person at the police station for a while before the jail takes charge.
• They walked out already. A judge or a bondsman may have arranged release.
• Another facility has them. Small Mississippi counties sometimes rent beds in a regional lockup or a neighboring county's building.
• The name is typed differently. Try a nickname, a second name or a former surname.
• The person is a minor. Young people are sent through Youth Court instead.

Phoning is quicker than guessing. Call the Sheriff's Office at 601-635-4401 and ask where the person sleeps tonight.

The Sheriff is the jailer, so look first to the Newton County jail run from the Sheriff's Office, 300 Access Road, Decatur, MS 39327, 601-635-4401. We cannot say which building houses inmates, so ask before you drive. We also found nothing about extra buildings such as a work-release site or a town lockup, so ask whether one applies.

If officers arrested the person close to the county line, these jails may be worth a call:

• Kemper-Neshoba regional jail, 374 Stennis Industrial Park Rd., DeKalb, Mississippi 39328, 601-743-5767. It is a shared regional jail. Ask the Sheriff whether it takes anyone from this county.
• Neshoba County jail, 920 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, MS 39350, 601-656-1414.
• Lauderdale County detention facility, 2500 Courthouse Boulevard, Meridian, MS 39301, 601-482-9801.

Federal and state prisoners are kept elsewhere. The last answers on this page point you to those systems.

A mugshot is the picture snapped when a person is booked. We cannot say that the county search shows one. Ask the Sheriff's Office at 601-635-4401 whether it will hand out a photo.

Under state public records law, the incident report filed by police is a public paper. Anyone arrested and charged appears by name in it (Miss. Code § 25-61-12(2), with § 25-61-3(e) as the definition). Copy costs fall under § 25-61-7. No state law we found orders a photo itself to be released. Families and reporters may ask the arresting agency, meaning the Sheriff or a city department.

To seek a picture from ICE, use the ICE records page. Federal agencies usually keep their booking pictures private. The U.S. Marshals Service can release one, say of a fugitive it wants to find.

Yes, Mississippi's VINE service sends alerts, and the state prison agency runs it. It covers county and state offenders and warns you about moves, releases, escapes and returns to custody. A later move into a state prison does not cancel your alert; it stays attached to the person.

• Call 888-967-7284, open all day and night, with help in English and Spanish.
• Or look the person up on VINELink.

We cannot promise every county jail feeds this service. When no match appears, ask the Sheriff at 601-635-4401 about release news.

Officers who arrest without a warrant must get the held person before a judge within 48 hours. A deputy's arrest in the county usually leads to Justice Court. A city officer's arrest leads to that city's Municipal Court. Before the bench, the person hears the accusation, learns about counsel, and finds out if release is possible.

Judges usually weigh a plain promise to return, or an appearance bond, before anything stricter. Conditions can include a ban on contact, a curfew or drug tests. Ways to put up a bond:

• Cash deposit. The clerk keeps 10 percent of the bond or $250, whichever is greater. Not everyone qualifies.
• Property. The pledger files an affidavit covering land inside Mississippi.
• Bondsman. Expect 10 percent of the bail, never under $100, plus a $50 processing fee that stays with the agent. Check any license by phoning the Mississippi Insurance Department, 601-359-3582.

Jail officers do not choose the amount. If the arrest involves domestic violence, nobody goes free until a judge sees them. Call the Sheriff's Office, 601-635-4401, to learn where payment is taken. Our Newton County bail page adds detail, and the Mississippi bail laws page gives the wider picture.

Try these in turn:

1. Ask the jail by calling the Sheriff's Office, 300 Access Road, Decatur, MS 39327, 601-635-4401.
2. For a felony, the Circuit Clerk at the courthouse, 92 West Broad Street, Decatur, MS 39327, 601-635-3368, keeps the file.
3. For a misdemeanor, the Justice Court, 601-635-2367, takes calls. Its mail goes to P.O. Box 69, Decatur, MS 39327.

Each call goes faster with the spelled-out legal name and birthday. A docket lookup called Mississippi Electronic Courts serves some courts. The District Attorney prosecutes felonies from P.O. Box 603, Philadelphia, MS 39350, 601-656-1991.

Anyone accused of a crime may have a lawyer. The judge rules on court-paid counsel no later than the first appearance. If money is short, the person should say so aloud. You need not wait for a hearing to start looking.

We found no public defender office run by the county, so the court itself names a lawyer when someone qualifies. Ring the Justice Court, 601-635-2367, to ask how that request is made. The courthouse stands at 92 West Broad Street, Decatur, MS 39327.

A family may instead pay a private attorney. Share the charge and the next hearing date with them. In Jackson, the State Public Defender's Office, 601-576-4290, mostly takes felony appeals and death-penalty cases, so it will not stand beside someone at a first appearance.

The jail writes its own visit rules, and they shift. Stay home until you call. Put these questions to the Sheriff's Office at 601-635-4401:

• Do they happen in a room, on a screen, or both?
• Which weekdays and time slots are open?
• Is a booking slot or a pre-approved list required?
• Which ID and clothing rules apply?
• May a minor tag along with an adult?

Our visiting guide offers broad tips. Expect to leave your phone and bag at the door.

Verify the method before any money moves. Phone 601-635-4401 and ask how deposits work, which payment types are taken, what fees are added and how to make sure the right inmate gets credit. Use only the way the jail names. A stranger who asks for gift cards or a wire transfer is a scammer.

Hold on to your receipt. Our money guide and commissary page cover deposits and snack orders in general.

Inmates typically place calls themselves, and families cannot dial in. Ask the jail, 601-635-4401, which phone vendor serves it, how to load a prepaid balance, and whether texting or video chat is on offer.

Expect recording. Say nothing about the case. Background lives in our email and messaging guide and phone guide.

Mail policy comes from the jail. Before posting anything, phone 601-635-4401 and get the exact street or box address, the proper way to print the inmate's name, and whether a number belongs on the envelope. Ask whether only postcards pass, and whether pictures, books or cash get refused.

Write the sender's name and home address on the back. A piece that breaks policy can be sent back. Our mail guide has extra ideas.

Staff usually bag clothing, a wallet and a phone at booking. The jail decides how items are collected or dropped off, so ring 601-635-4401 first. Find out who may claim items, what ID the staff accept, and when the window opens.

A release slip might need a signature. Should the person be transferred elsewhere, find out where their bag goes. Request an itemized list of what was taken in.

Ring the jail, 601-635-4401, without delay. Say the legal name, the health problem and any prescribed medicine. Request that the medical team be told.

The inmate should file a sick-call slip or medical request too. When life is at risk, state that clearly and dial 911. Log each call with the date and the staff member's role.

Serving warrants is a job for Sheriff's deputies. Their office is at 300 Access Road, Decatur, MS 39327, 601-635-4401. Call, supply a name and ask whether one is out. Statewide, Mississippi's Most Wanted shows fugitives.

You can also ask the Circuit Clerk, 601-635-3368, about felony warrants, or the Justice Court, 601-635-2367, about misdemeanor ones. Both offices share the building at 92 West Broad Street, Decatur, MS 39327. If one is real, talk to an attorney before you act. Then call the court that holds it and ask about surrendering.

Call whichever court owns the case. Know the legal name and birthday before dialing:

• Justice Court, for misdemeanors in the county and early felony steps: P.O. Box 69, Decatur, MS 39327, 601-635-2367.
• Circuit Clerk, for felonies after a grand jury: 92 West Broad Street, Decatur, MS 39327, 601-635-3368. The office keeps hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Newton Municipal Court, for city arrests: P.O. Box 300, Newton, MS 39345, 601-683-2042.

Felony trials are meant to begin inside 270 days after arraignment absent a good reason the court accepts for delay. Our Newton County court page lays out every stage.

The Southern District of Mississippi hears federal charges from this area, in its Northern Division at Jackson. The courthouse address is 501 East Court Street, Jackson, MS 39201 (Suite 2.500), 601-608-4000.

1. The judge at a federal detention hearing weighs jail against release until trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. The U.S. Marshals Service oversees federal prisoners. The Marshals work out of the Thad Cochran United States Courthouse, 501 East Court Street, Jackson, MS 39201 (Suite 1.150), 601-608-6800.
3. For sentenced people, the Bureau of Prisons locator is the tool.

Form I-247A is the detainer ICE may send a jail. Under 8 CFR 287.7(d), a jail may keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released, so that ICE can arrive.

1. The ICE New Orleans Field Office oversees Mississippi cases, and ICE names a Jackson, MS location too.
2. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator by full name and country of birth.
3. A blank result is not final. An immigration attorney can help trace a transfer.

Prison time puts the person in state hands first for intake. MDOC does that work at Parchman (the Mississippi State Penitentiary), at Central Mississippi Correctional Facility near Pearl, or at South Mississippi Correctional Facility near Leakesville. Expect two weeks to 45 days of intake, no visits, and few calls. Deputies from here do the driving.

• For names of state inmates, use the MDOC inmate search. County jail inmates never appear there.
• Our Mississippi state prisons page describes life inside.
• Parole is granted, or refused, by a separate panel: the Mississippi State Parole Board.

People under 18 usually appear in Youth Court, not in adult court. Phone the courthouse, 601-635-2367, 92 West Broad Street, Decatur, MS 39327, and ask for the Youth Court clerk. That office can name the place the child is held and the hearing day.

Without a judge's order, a child may not be kept longer than a day (Miss. Code § 43-21-303), and a detention hearing is due inside two days (§§ 43-21-307, 43-21-309). As a rule, children do not belong in adult jails. We found no local youth detention center, so lean on the Youth Court for answers.

A teenager 13 or older with a very grave charge could face adult court. After a court commits a youth, placement can be Oakley Youth Development Center, 2375 Oakley Road, Raymond, MS 39154. The state youth defense office answers at 601-576-4206.

The arresting agency can give you a report and a callback number. These agencies work here:

• Newton County Sheriff's Office, 300 Access Road, Decatur, MS 39327, 601-635-4401. Deputies patrol outside city limits, and this line can also route you to town departments.
• Newton Police Department, Newton, MS 39345. Ask the Sheriff's Office for a direct line.
• Decatur, Hickory, Chunky and Union police: the Sheriff's dispatcher can connect you with each one.
• Highway Patrol: Troop H serves the county, from 910 Highway 11 and 80 East, Meridian, MS 39301, 601-512-0508.