Use this order:

1. Open the official inmate lookup and enter the name as it would appear on an ID.
2. No luck? Call 201-395-5600 and request the inmate desk. That desk handles inmate lookups and bail questions.
3. Spell the legal name and share the birthday. Ask whether the person is there, what the charges are and what their jail ID number is.
4. Write the ID number down. You will want it for mail, deposits and visits.
5. Still stuck? Search VINELink by name.

The jail lets people go at any hour, every day of the week, so call again if the answer was hours ago.

Here are the usual reasons:

• Still at the police station. A person charged on a complaint-summons goes home from there with a court date and never reaches Kearny.
• Booking isn't done. Intake takes time after police drop someone off.
• Already released. Many people now leave after a first hearing within 48 hours, often with no money paid.
• Held for another county. Passaic and Union also house people here, and a local person wanted on another county's case may be sitting in that county's jail.
• Spelling. Try hyphenated last names, a maiden name or a middle name.
• Under 18. Youths never go to the adult jail.

The jail's records room keeps the official history. Ask for it by calling 201-395-5600.

The Kearny jail is the only county jail here. Families should still know these nearby lockups:

• North Bergen Municipal Jail, 4233 Kennedy Boulevard, North Bergen, NJ 07047, 201-392-2141. Township police keep people arrested in North Bergen here for up to about a day, then release them or drive them to Kearny.
• Essex County Correctional Facility, 354 Doremus Avenue, Newark, NJ 07105, 973-274-7500. Union's Sheriff sends people both here and to Kearny.
• Bergen County Jail, 160 South River Street, Hackensack, NJ 07601, 201-336-3500. It also takes Passaic prisoners.
• Passaic County runs no jail. Its Sheriff, at 435 Hamburg Turnpike, Wayne, NJ 07470, answers where-held questions at 973-881-4200. Passaic women are always kept in Kearny, and some men at times.
• Union County people may be in Essex or Kearny.

An arrest across the river in New York means a New York jail, so ask the arresting agency there.

Your best step is to ask the jail. Call 201-395-5600, reach the inmate desk, and ask whether a photo can be shared. Under New Jersey's public records law, police booking photos are usually treated as criminal investigation records and can be withheld. The state's records council said so in a 2013 ruling about Camden police photos.

• ICE booking photos can be sought through its records request portal.
• Federal agencies keep their photos private. The U.S. Marshals Service may put out a photo when it is hunting a fugitive.

It can. VINE watches custody in every county jail and state prison in New Jersey, at no cost. Families can join, not just victims.

• Search or register on VINELink or in the VINELink app.
• Prefer the phone? Call 877-846-3465. The TTY line is 866-847-1298.
• Choose phone, text, email or app alerts. Sign up for each alert type separately.
• State prison alerts include parole actions and trips out to court.

VINE can lag behind real events. For an answer right now, phone the jail at 201-395-5600.

Often within two days, and often for free. New Jersey's Criminal Justice Reform law began on January 1, 2017 (N.J.S.A. 2A:162-15 to -26). Since then, a judge looks at a Public Safety Assessment within 48 hours of jail intake. Most people are then freed on a promise or with check-ins run by Pretrial Services.

• Cash bail is kept for rare cases where nothing else will bring the person back.
• Prosecutors can ask to hold a person until trial. A judge decides at a detention hearing.
• Jersey City town court bail after hours is paid only in cash, at the jail.
• Bail and release questions go to the jail at 201-395-5600.

Read our bail and release guide for each step and where to pay.

Ask the jail first at 201-395-5600. Then look at the court record:

• Indictable crimes, New Jersey's word for what other states call felonies, show on Promis/Gavel public access.
• Town court charges, called disorderly persons offenses, show on the Municipal Court Case Search.

The first charge isn't always the last. The Hudson County Prosecutor's Office, Administration Building, 595 Newark Avenue, Jersey City, NJ 07306, 201-795-6400, decides what goes forward. The Superior Court's Criminal Division answers record questions at 201-748-4400, extension 60170.

At the first hearing, the judge can assign the Office of the Public Defender to anyone charged with an indictable crime who can't pay. A 5A form covering income and bills goes to the court, which decides.

• Regional office: 438 Summit Avenue, 5th Floor, Jersey City, NJ 07306, 201-795-8922
• Learn how it works on the state public defender's apply page

In a town court case, the person can request a municipal public defender from the town judge. It costs up to $200, and the judge can cut that. Families may also hire a private lawyer at any point.

All visits must be booked ahead. On-site visits are scheduled through a website, and video visits from home need an online account. Questions go to visitation through 201-395-5600.

• Book your slot before you travel to Kearny.
• Read the jail's dress code before you go, and ask what ID to bring.
• Ask staff about rules for children before you bring one.
• Lawyers have their own visit process.

Booking links sit on our visitation page.

The jail takes deposits three ways:

1. Cash at the kiosk in the lobby at 30-35 South Hackensack Avenue, Kearny, NJ 07032.
2. A postal money order mailed to the person.
3. A credit card at the kiosk or online.

The account pays for canteen items like snacks and hygiene goods. Families can't drop off food or supplies, and the jail serves three meals a day. Commissary staff answer through 201-395-5600. Our money page lists the deposit links, and our commissary page shows what can be bought.

Calls from the jail run through a paid phone account. To stop calls you don't want, refuse the call, or press 9 when the system asks if you accept, and the number will be blocked.

The jail also uses tablets, and families set up a tablet account online. Case details are best kept for conversations with the lawyer. See our phone page and our messaging page for setup steps and prices.

Every piece of incoming mail is scanned. Address it like this:

• The person's full name and jail ID number
• Hudson County Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation
• 35 Hackensack Ave, Kearny, NJ 07032

Your return address goes on the envelope, with your name. Get the ID number from the inmate desk through 201-395-5600, and ask about rules for photos and books before sending. Never mail cash. More mail tips are on our mail page.

A family member or friend can, once the person fills out a property release form with a social worker. Then:

• Come Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• Bring a government photo ID.
• Go to 30-35 South Hackensack Avenue, Kearny, NJ 07032.

Social workers can be reached through 201-395-5600; ask the operator for them. Need court clothes dropped off? Leave them at the front lobby, no more than one week before trial. Social services sets it up.

Call the jail at 201-395-5600 and ask for medical or for mental health staff. Staff can hear your concerns, though they can't share a diagnosis or treatment details with you.

• Tell them the medicines, doses and doctor's name.
• Say plainly if you fear self-harm.
• Complaints about treatment go to the Internal Affairs Bureau; the main line operator can connect you.

For a medical emergency where you are, dial 911.

The Sheriff's Office at 595 Newark Avenue, Jersey City, NJ 07306, 201-915-1300, serves many warrants, and each town's police serve them too. New Jersey fugitives are posted on the State Police most wanted page. To check for a warrant, call the Sheriff or the court that might have issued it, or search town cases on the Municipal Court Case Search. To clear one, a lawyer can arrange surrender at the jail, 30-35 South Hackensack Avenue, Kearny, NJ 07032. A town warrant can often be fixed by asking that court for a new date. Indictable-case warrants go through the Criminal Division in that same building, 201-748-4400, extension 60170.

It depends on the court:

• Indictable case: Superior Court, County Administration Building, 595 Newark Avenue, Jersey City, NJ 07306, 201-748-4400, extension 60170.
• Jersey City town case: 365 Summit Avenue, Jersey City, NJ 07306, 201-209-6700.
• Another town: call that town's municipal court.

The free Municipal Court Case Search also helps for town cases. Each of the 12 town courts and its phone is in our court guide.

1. Federal charges filed here are heard in Newark at the U.S. District Court, 50 Walnut Street, Room 4015, Newark, NJ 07101, 973-645-3730.
2. At the first federal hearing, a magistrate judge decides on detention (18 U.S.C. 3142).
3. The U.S. Marshals keep custody until trial. The Kearny jail appears on the Federal Public Defender's jail contact list. Call the Marshals at 973-645-2404 to ask where.
4. Court filings are on PACER.
5. A sentenced person can be found in the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator using a register number or name.

1. Immigration agents start with a detainer request on Form I-247A.
2. It asks staff to hold the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)). In New Jersey, the Immigrant Trust Directive allows that only for a listed violent or serious charge or record, an indictable conviction in the last five years, or a final removal order a federal judge signed. The hold must end by 11:59 p.m. on that day, and the person gets written notice.
3. Once ICE takes custody, people may be taken to the Elizabeth Contract Detention Facility, 625 Evans Street, Elizabeth, NJ 07201, 908-282-5700.
4. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator. An A-number works best. Without one, pair the full name with the birth country.
5. ICE's Newark Field Office, 970 Broad Street, 11th Floor, Newark, NJ 07102, 973-776-3274, covers New Jersey.

The Kearny jail held ICE detainees by agreement until 2021, when a state law (P.L.2021, c.199) stopped new or renewed deals.

Sentenced prisoners leave Kearny for a state reception center first. There they are tested, given a custody level and assigned to a prison.

• Search on the New Jersey Department of Corrections offender page.
• Our state prisons guide for New Jersey explains visiting and mail at each site.
• The department's office line is 609-292-4036.

Calls from state prison start after an inmate phone PIN, called an IPIN, is ready.

Under-18s are kept apart from adults and never go to the Kearny jail. A youth who is held goes to a county juvenile detention center while the Family Part of the Superior Court handles the case.

To learn where your child is, call the Family Division's juvenile unit at 201-748-4400, extension 60850. The arresting officers' department can tell you as well. The public defender's office, 201-795-8922, can represent the youth, though parents may be billed for it.

Every town has its own department. Each number below is that department's main line. For emergencies, dial 911.

Bayonne and Jersey City

• Bayonne Police, 630 Avenue C, Bayonne, NJ 07002, 201-858-6900
• Jersey City Police, Two Jackson Square, 356 MLK Drive, Jersey City, NJ 07305, 201-547-5477

Kearny, Harrison, East Newark and Secaucus

• Kearny Police, 237 Laurel Avenue, Kearny, NJ 07032, 201-998-1313
• Harrison Police, 318 Harrison Avenue, Harrison, NJ 07029, 973-483-4100
• East Newark Police, 34 Sherman Avenue, East Newark, NJ 07029, 973-481-2900
• Secaucus Police, 1203 Paterson Plank Road, Secaucus, NJ 07094, 201-867-8000

Hoboken and the northern towns

• Hoboken Police, One Police Plaza, Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201-420-2100
• Weehawken Police, 400 Park Avenue, Weehawken, NJ 07087, 201-863-7800
• Union City Police, 3715 Palisade Avenue, Union City, NJ 07087, 201-348-5790
• West New York Police, 428 60th Street, West New York, NJ 07093, 201-295-5000
• Guttenberg Police, 6808 Park Avenue, Guttenberg, NJ 07093, 201-868-3300
• North Bergen Police, 4233 Kennedy Boulevard, North Bergen, NJ 07047, 201-392-2100

County, state and special police

• Hudson County Sheriff's Office, 595 Newark Avenue, Jersey City, NJ 07306, 201-915-1300
• Port Authority Police, 241 Erie Street, Room 302, Jersey City, NJ 07310, 201-239-3500
• Stevens Institute of Technology Police, 1 Castle Point on Hudson, Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201-216-5105
• New Jersey State Police, P.O. Box 7068, West Trenton, NJ 08628, 609-882-2000