The Sheriff's Office offers two tools. One looks up a single name. The other shows everyone in custody.

1. Open the jail lookup page. It is run by the Sheriff's Office.
2. Put the last name in the search box and press Search Inmates.
3. A crowded result calls for the first name as well.
4. To see the whole list, press View Roster, or open the roster page directly. Then use your browser's find feature.
5. Copy down anything useful, such as a booking date or number.

A web page is only a snapshot. Staff at 601-825-1480 can confirm the right person is in the building.

Every lookup misses some people. These are common causes:

• Fresh arrest. Booking can take a while, and the list may lag.
• City station. A city arrest may have a different first stop before the person reaches Brandon.
• Gone home. Family or a bondsman may have already secured release.
• Different county. The arrest could have happened across the line.
• Odd spelling. Try short forms, nicknames or a maiden name.
• Under 18. Children follow separate rules. See the question about minors below.

Phone the jail at 601-825-1480 and ask if anyone with that name was booked. If you know which town made the arrest, call its police too. Numbers are in the final question.

The county's adult jail is the Rankin County Detention Center, 221 N. Timber Street, Brandon, MS 39042, 601-825-1480. The Sheriff runs it. The county describes two programs there:

• Trusty Inmate Program. Some non-violent offenders plead guilty and serve their time here, not with state prisons. They take classes and work on jail and county crews.
• Work Release. Late in a sentence, people with good conduct may hold outside jobs. Their pay is split into set accounts.

Ask the desk where a person sleeps and which program, if any, they are in. Arrests near the border may land in one of these jails:

• Hinds County Jackson Detention Center
• Hinds County Raymond Detention Center
• Madison County Detention Center
• Simpson County Adult Detention Center
• Scott County Jail
• Smith County Jail

People wanted by another agency can be moved with little warning, so ask about holds.

That depends on the page. Click through to a result and look for a picture. The jail can tell you if mugshots are part of its lists.

Mississippi's open records law treats police incident reports as public. Each report names the individuals taken into custody and charged (Miss. Code 25-61-3(e) defines the term, while 25-61-12(2) requires the listing). What an agency may charge for copies is in 25-61-7. State law does not name booking photos among the records that must be released.

• To ask for a photo, reach out to the department that arrested the person. If deputies did it, call 601-825-1480. For a city arrest, use that city's police number in the last question.
• Ask ICE for its photos through its records request form.
• Federal mugshots generally stay private. The U.S. Marshals Service sometimes shares one when it is hunting a fugitive.

Mississippi's VINE alerts come from a program called SAVIN, run by the state corrections agency. Alerts go out for moves, releases, escapes and returns to custody, and they cover county offenders too.

1. Open VINELink and search by name.
2. Register for calls, texts or email.
3. Or phone 888-967-7284. The line runs around the clock and speaks English and Spanish.

It is unclear which county jails feed the system. Treat alerts as an extra layer, not your only plan. Keep checking the Sheriff's search too. When a county inmate is sent to MDOC, the registration goes with them.

A judge must see anyone who is held, and soon: right away; 48 hours is the cutoff, counted from the arrest. After an arrest by county deputies, this is typically Justice Court, 601-824-2668. A city's municipal court usually takes that city's arrests. The judge reads out the accusation, notes that counsel may be requested and then rules on how the person may go free.

• The usual starting point is release on your own word or on a signed appearance bond. A judge might add conditions such as curfews or staying away from certain people.
• You can post a cash deposit bond. The clerk holds 10 percent of the bond, or $250 if that is more. Not everyone qualifies. Land pledged under oath or a bail agent also work.
• A bondsman keeps a fee of 10 percent (at least $100) plus $50, or a higher 15 percent for capital charges and for defendants living outside the state. You do not get it back.
• For felonies with a ten-year cap, guide amounts run $5,000 up to $50,000.
• For a domestic violence charge, no bail applies until the person appears before a judge, who may then order one more day of holding.

State law lets the Sheriff, who holds the person, accept bail. Ask the jail desk which forms of payment it takes. The bail page has every step. For state law, see JE's Mississippi bail laws page.

Call the jail first at 601-825-1480. Request the charge and the bond amount. A birth date helps staff match the right record.

Once a case reaches court, the clerk's file shows the formal charge. For a felony, contact the Circuit Clerk at the courthouse, 215 E. Government Street, Brandon, MS 39042, 601-825-1466. Misdemeanor files sit with Justice Court, 601-824-2668.

Mississippi Electronic Courts (MEC) is a docket site with a single login. Only participating courts appear, so a clerk's answer is firmer.

A judge picks who gets a free lawyer, and must do it by the first hearing at the latest. The person should say that money is a problem and ask for one. Papers showing income can help.

• To learn who was named on a case, call the circuit and county court office at 601-825-1465.
• For appeals and death-penalty work, the state's Public Defender office in Jackson can be reached at 601-576-4290.
• A private attorney can be hired whenever you choose.

Once chosen, a lawyer can ask the court to lower bond by motion. Until then, keep case details off recorded calls.

The jail decides when visitors may come and what they must follow, and that can change. Phone 601-825-1480 before you drive in. Good questions to ask:

• Which days and times fit this person's housing?
• Do I book a slot first or just show up?
• What ID counts, and are minors allowed?
• What can I wear and carry?
• Are video visits possible?

The jail is at 221 N. Timber Street, Brandon, MS 39042. Ask where visitors check in. Anyone who breaks a rule can be sent away. For general advice, read our visiting guide.

A jail account covers store items, such as food and toiletries, plus phone time. Call 601-825-1480 and ask which deposit services the jail points families to, plus any limits. Have the full legal name ready.

Our money guide compares deposit choices, and our commissary guide lists store items. Never put cash in the mail.

A deposit is not bail. If a stranger says a deposit will free the person, or asks for gift cards, hang up and call the jail yourself.

Outside companies often run jail phones, and their rates differ. Call 601-825-1480 and ask how the person inside can phone you, what each call costs, how to fund calls, and whether tablets or messages are offered. Also ask whether the line is recorded.

Assume everything is heard. Save the details of the case for the attorney. See our guide to jail phones and the guide to email and texting.

The jail sets its own letter rules. Call 601-825-1480 first and ask three things: how to write the name line, whether an inmate number is required, and whether photos and books may be included. The street address is 221 N. Timber Street, Brandon, MS 39042.

Plain envelopes work best. Print the legal name of the person first, then place your return address in the upper corner. Cash must stay out. General tips are in our mail guide.

Clothes, wallets and phones taken at booking are held in storage. They come back at release, or a helper may be allowed to pick them up. Call 601-825-1480 and ask for Jail Information or Records.

Ask what ID is needed, when you can come and if a signed release is required. Then go to 221 N. Timber Street, Brandon, MS 39042. Cash and phones may be handled apart from clothing, so ask about every item.

Call the jail at 601-825-1480. Ask to speak with jail medical staff or a supervisor. List medications with doses, plus a doctor's contact, and give the person's name.

Find out from the jail what steps the person takes to ask for care. If life is in danger, dial 911. Warn staff immediately if the person might harm themselves or seems to be having a psychiatric emergency.

Sheriff's deputies deliver warrants written for people in the county. Call 601-825-1480 and ask. You can also scan the statewide Mississippi Most Wanted page. For a court check, bring the name and birthdate to the Circuit Clerk, 215 E. Government Street, Brandon, MS 39042, 601-825-1466, or to Justice Court, 601-824-2668. For help clearing a warrant, speak with an attorney. Then call the issuing court and ask about a surrender or a new hearing.

Different courts, different calendars:

• Justice Court. Misdemeanors outside city limits, plus early hearings in felonies. Call 601-824-2668.
• Circuit Court. Felony trials, once a grand jury has indicted. The clerk is at 215 E. Government Street, Brandon, MS 39042, 601-825-1466. This is the 20th Circuit Court District, shared with Madison County. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• County Court. It sits in the same courthouse, and youth cases are heard there.
• Municipal Court. City ordinance cases stay with the city. Call that city, listed in the last question.

Use the court page to learn what each hearing means.

Federal charges here belong to the Southern District of Mississippi's Northern Division. Hearings take place in Jackson, in Suite 2.500 at 501 East Court Street in Jackson, MS 39201. The main line is 601-608-4000.

1. Federal detention hearings, governed by 18 U.S.C. 3142, decide who goes home and who waits for trial in custody.
2. Before trial, the U.S. Marshals Service controls where the person is kept. Its Jackson office is Suite 1.150 at 501 East Court Street in Jackson, MS 39201, 601-608-6800.
3. The BOP's inmate locator finds federal prisoners once they are sentenced.

What generally happens:

1. The process begins when the jail desk gets a detainer from ICE, filled out on Form I-247A.
2. Under 8 CFR 287.7(d), the jail may then keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released.
3. ICE then collects the person and chooses a detention site.
4. To find them, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator Enter the full name plus birthplace country.

Mississippi sits under the New Orleans Field Office of ICE. ICE also has a page for its Jackson, MS, office. When a search comes up empty, contact the field office for help. A lawyer who handles immigration cases can advise you.

Deputies from the county transport someone sentenced to prison to an MDOC reception site. Classification can last 14 days to 45 days. No visits are allowed then, and phone use is limited. People from central Mississippi often start at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, 3794 MS Hwy 468, Pearl, MS 39208, 601-932-2880.

• The MDOC inmate search finds state prisoners by name or ID. It never lists county detainees.
• JE's Mississippi prisons guide covers visits and mail.
• Parole choices belong to the State Parole Board.

In Rankin, a trusty plea can mean serving the sentence at the county jail. Ask the jail if that applies.

Cases for children go to Youth Court, which here is tied to the County Court judge. Call 601-591-4788 and ask where the child is. The county has a Juvenile Detention Center at 100 Court Cove, Pelahatchie, MS 39145, 601-824-2553. Phone to confirm a child is there. As a rule, a child is kept out of an adult jail (§ 43-21-315).

• A judge's signature is needed to keep a child locked up beyond a day, with a detention hearing owed in 48 hours (see §§ 43-21-303 and 43-21-307).
• Section 43-21-151 sends some cases to adult court. Those are cases against a youth aged 13 and up that involve a possible life or death sentence, or a deadly weapon.
• For a youth defender, call 601-576-4206.

A court can send a committed youth to the Oakley Youth Development Center, run by the state's Department of Human Services, at 2375 Oakley Road, Raymond, MS 39154.

Check the arrest report to see which agency took the person in. These departments work here:

• Sheriff's Office, 221 N. Timber Street, Brandon, MS 39042, 601-825-1480. Deputies cover areas outside city limits.
• Brandon Police, 601-825-7225. City Hall, 601-825-5021.
• Florence Police, 601-845-7508. City Hall, 601-845-2462.
• Flowood Police, 601-932-5400. City Hall, 601-939-4243.
• Pearl Police, 601-939-7000. City Hall, 601-932-3500.
• Puckett Police, 601-825-8074. This is also the city hall number.
• Richland Police, 601-932-3100. City Hall, 601-932-3000.
• Pelahatchie City Hall, 601-854-5224. Ask there about police.
• Mississippi Highway Patrol, Troop C, 3851 Highway 468 West, Pearl, MS 39208, 601-420-6342.

To reach campus police, call the school's main office.