Use these steps on a phone or computer:

1. Open the Sheriff's inmate lookup.
2. Enter the last name. If nothing matches, try fewer letters, a maiden name or another spelling.
3. Write down the inmate number if one appears. The jail uses that number for deposits, and staff find people faster with it.
4. Still stuck? Search VINELink, which covers New York's county jails and state prisons, using the name or date of birth.
5. Call the jail at 315-379-2367 so staff can confirm the booking and read off charges and bail.

The jail holds people 18 and older who are waiting on a case or for sentencing, plus people serving terms of up to one year. It has 164 single cells, or up to 186 when the state Commission of Correction approves double cells.

A blank result has several likely causes:

• Just booked. Booking takes time, and records lag.
• Already gone. A judge may have released the person at arraignment, or bail was posted.
• Never jailed. Many people get an appearance ticket at the police station and go home with a court date (CPL 150.20).
• Elsewhere. Check a bordering county's lockup, then DOCCS, then federal and ICE locators.
• Younger than 18. Teens are sent to juvenile detention, never this adult jail.
• Spelled differently. Try a nickname, hyphenated name or middle name.

Jail staff at 315-379-2367 give the quickest answer. If the arrest just happened, the Sheriff's Office at 315-379-2222 can say which agency made it.

Arrests in this county normally lead to the jail in Canton. Picked up close to Jefferson, Lewis or Franklin territory, or wanted on a warrant from there? These five jails border the North Country:

• Jefferson County Correctional Facility, 753 Waterman Drive, Watertown, NY 13601, booking 315-786-2688
• Franklin County Jail, 45 Bare Hill Rd, Malone, NY 12953, booking 518-483-6795
• Lewis County Jail, 5252 Outer Stowe St, Lowville, NY 13367, 315-376-3511
• Herkimer County Correctional Facility, 711 Middleville Rd., Herkimer, NY 13350, 315-867-1252
• Hamilton County Jail, 102 County View Drive, Lake Pleasant, NY 12108, 518-548-3113

Ask the jail in Canton at 315-379-2367 whether the person was moved, and where.

New York's Freedom of Information Law says releasing a booking picture counts as an unwarranted intrusion on privacy unless police need it out there for their own work, say to track down a fugitive (Public Officers Law § 89(2)(b)(viii)). Expect a name and custody status, not a photo.

• Reporters and others with questions about a photo can contact the Sheriff's Office at 315-379-2222.
• For a picture snapped by immigration officers, file a FOIA request on ICE's request portal.
• Most federal booking pictures stay sealed. The Marshals sometimes publish one when chasing an escaped or wanted person.

It can. The Sheriff's correctional page links VINE, a no-cost service running day and night. It tracks custody status and location for people in New York's county jails and state prisons.

• Look the person up on VINELink, then sign up there to get texts or emails.
• Or call 888-846-3469 (1-888-VINE-4-NY) from a touch-tone phone.
• Signing up takes an active step; no one is enrolled for you. Registered callers get an automatic call when custody changes.
• Once a sentence moves to state prison, DOCCS runs a separate victim notice list for parole and release news; enroll with its online form.

Calling the jail at 315-379-2367 remains the surest way to learn about a move today.

New York's bail reform has applied since January 1, 2020, with later changes in 2020, 2022 and 2023. Facing most misdemeanor or nonviolent felony counts, a defendant walks out on their own word to come back, or under conditions a judge picks (CPL 510.10(3)). Money bail or remand stays reserved for a named list of qualifying charges (CPL 510.10(4)).

• If bail is set, the judge names three or more ways to pay it (CPL 520.10).
• At least one choice is a partly secured or unsecured bond, so little or no cash changes hands.
• The jail takes bail around the clock in lobby room LO102, by cash, credit card or bail bond.
• Paper checks and money orders won't be taken.
• Card bail can also be paid remotely through GovPayNet, which the jail's bail page names, at 877-392-2455. Call the jail first for the fact sheet.

Step-by-step posting help sits on our bail and release page.

Jail staff at 315-379-2367 can read you the booking charges. The court paper filed at arraignment, usually a complaint, lists the formal charges with their Penal Law numbers.

• Felonies, graded A down to E, are the grave ones; a conviction may mean state prison.
• Misdemeanors, class A or class B, top out at 364 days locally (Penal Law § 70.15).
• Violations rank below both, aren't crimes at all, and allow no more than fifteen days behind bars (Penal Law § 70.15(4)).

The District Attorney decides which charges go forward. The office is at 48 Court Street, Canton, NY 13617, 315-379-2225. Charges can change after a grand jury votes on a felony.

Under the state's assigned-counsel standards, someone sitting in jail is presumed eligible for a free lawyer. Executive Law § 832(4) also calls for counsel at the arraignment itself. The judge makes the final call on eligibility.

• Public Defender: 48 Court Street, Canton, NY 13617 (Corner Building), 315-379-2115. Alternative number: 315-379-2393. The office also takes eligible Family Court parties.
• Office of Indigent Defense handles applications: 48 Court Street, Canton, NY 13617 (Public Safety Building), 315-379-2401, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Bring court papers and proof of income.
• Assigned Counsel Program, for cases the defender can't take: 2 Judson Street, Canton, NY 13617, 315-386-8544.

Hiring a private lawyer is allowed at any stage. Calls with a lawyer are never cut off as punishment.

Contact visits happen only on Wednesdays and Sundays, by housing unit:

• E and F Units: 9:00 to 10:00 a.m.
• D Unit: 10:15 to 11:15 a.m.
• C Unit: 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.

Each person gets two one-hour contact visits a week, first come, first served. Arrive 20 minutes early; latecomers wait until that person's next scheduled hour. Two visitors may come, plus one child under 5 who stays on a lap or in arms. Minors arrive alongside a parent, or a guardian carrying court papers proving that role.

• ID: a driver's license, non-driver ID, passport, military, school or work ID, immigration card or Social Security benefit card. Children need a birth certificate.
• First visit: within 24 hours of admission, one non-contact visit of up to 30 minutes can be requested. A TB skin test must follow before any further visits.
• Dress: no tube tops, see-through clothes, plunging necklines, midriff tops, short shorts or short skirts. Shoes stay on.
• Lockers: 25 cents. Phones, smart watches, bags, keys, wallets, food and cash stay out of the visit room.

No visits take place on major holidays, and the schedule can change, so call 315-379-2367 first. Our visiting guide has more tips.

A commissary account opens at booking. Deposits need the person's name and inmate number. Pick a method:

• Phone: 866-394-0490.
• Online or app: through the jail's deposit service. Card deposits by web, app or phone carry a $4.95 vendor fee.
• Lobby kiosk: at 17 Commerce Lane, Canton, NY 13617, open 24/7, with a $4.00 fee per deposit and a $300 limit.
• Mail: checks and money orders are refused.

Any package has to come directly from a business that sells and ships such goods for a living. Allowed items include plain underwear, white socks, plain white T-shirts without pockets or logos, paperback books, magazines, newspapers, photos and approved religious items. Fees and timing are in our money guide; what the store stocks is in our commissary guide.

Everyone may make phone calls on admission and must be told of that right (9 NYCRR 7002.8). After that, outgoing calls run through the jail's phone provider. To accept collect calls, set up an account by calling 866-230-7761.

• Phone use can be suspended for rule breaking or security reasons, but calls with a lawyer continue.
• No one can phone into a housing unit; the person calls you.
• To ask about messaging or tablets, call the jail at 315-379-2367.

Lines are monitored and taped, so keep facts of the case off them. Our phone guide and inmate messaging guide go deeper.

Envelopes should read:

First and last name of the person held
St. Lawrence County Correctional Facility
17 Commerce Lane, Canton, NY 13617

• Letters are unlimited, as long as they follow the jail's mail policy.
• Officers can slit open personal letters hunting for contraband; actually reading one takes a written order stating reasons (9 NYCRR 7004.3).
• Attorney and court envelopes stay sealed until the addressee is standing there (9 NYCRR 7004.4).
• Stamped envelopes and writing paper are sold in commissary. Anyone broke receives paper and postage for two or more one-ounce letters weekly (9 NYCRR 7004.2(a)).
• Never mail cash, checks or money orders.

Our jail mail guide covers photos and books.

Whatever the person carried at booking is logged and stored. Lobby room LO102, called Bail/Property Drop, is where items are handed in. Phone 315-379-2367 about a pickup time, and ask how a leftover commissary balance comes back.

• Bring photo ID to 17 Commerce Lane, Canton, NY 13617.
• Collecting on someone's behalf? The jail may want a signed release from them first.
• Only items on the approved list, sent from a company, are accepted for people inside.

The jail has its own medical unit and mental health space, with nursing coverage up to 12 hours a day. New York law requires officers holding someone to attend to medical and mental health needs (Civil Rights Law § 28).

• Call 315-379-2367 about medicine, giving the drug, dose and prescribing doctor.
• The jail asks visitors to speak up if they worry about a loved one's emotional state.
• Under the HALT law, people 21 and younger, 55 and older, pregnant or disabled can't be placed in long cell confinement except in narrow cases.
• Complaints about treatment inside reach the state agency that inspects county jails, the Commission of Correction: 80 S. Swan Street, Albany, NY 12210 (Smith building), 518-485-2346.

For a true emergency, call 911.

Sheriff's deputies handle warrants across the county, with city and village officers covering their own streets. Phone the Sheriff's Office at 315-379-2222 to ask, or view its Warrant Alerts (Most Wanted) page. Tips can stay anonymous. The State Police wanted page covers statewide cases. The clerk of the court involved can also check. A lawyer should help clear any warrant: the person turns themselves in at the issuing court with counsel, or the lawyer calls that court for a new date. Felony warrants usually trace to County Court, 48 Court Street, Canton, NY 13617, 315-379-2219.

Each court tracks its own docket. Have the full name handy and phone the clerk:

• County Court (felonies), 48 Court Street, Canton, NY 13617, 315-379-2219
• Ogdensburg City Court, 330 Ford Street, Ogdensburg, NY 13669, 315-393-3941, open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Town justice courts: find each one, with phone numbers, in our court guide.

The state's WebCrims search shows future dates only for certain courts statewide. For someone in custody, the jail at 315-379-2367 knows the next transport date.

Federal cases from this county go to the Malone/Plattsburgh Division of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, Gateway Building, 14 Durkee Street, Suite 360, Plattsburgh, NY 12901, 518-247-4501.

1. Soon after arrest, a magistrate weighs pretrial lockup versus release at a detention hearing (18 U.S.C. 3142(f)).
2. Until sentencing, Marshals deputies decide where the defendant sleeps, frequently a county jail renting them beds. Its Northern District office in Syracuse, 100 South Clinton Street, 10th Floor, Syracuse, NY 13261, 315-473-7601, can say where.
3. Docket entries appear on PACER, for a small fee.
4. After sentencing, try the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator. FCI Ray Brook, one federal prison in this district, takes mail at P.O. Box 900, Ray Brook, NY 12977 and answers visiting questions at 518-897-4000.

1. ICE first lodges Form I-247A, a detainer, asking the jail for a hold.
2. The hold it asks for lasts up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Officers then collect them at the jail door.
4. Upstate detainees often end up at the Buffalo (Batavia) Service Processing Center, 4250 Federal Drive, Batavia, NY 14020, 585-344-6500 (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.), or to the Clinton County Jail, 25 McCarthy Drive, Plattsburgh, NY 12901, 518-565-4343.
5. Track them using birth country plus name, or the alien registration number, on the ICE Online Detainee Locator.

New York adds its own limits. In People ex rel. Wells v DeMarco (2018), an appeals court ruled New York gives sheriffs no authority to keep someone past release for a civil ICE request. Since August 25, 2026, Executive Law § 170-k has barred county deals that deputize jail staff under federal 287(g). Civil Rights Law § 28 bars civil arrests at or near court proceedings without a judge's order. ICE's Buffalo Field Office is at 130 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14202, 716-843-7600.

Anything longer than a year means a state term. Most people wait in Canton until county paperwork marks them ready; from that date the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) gets ten business days to collect them. Intake and classification happen before a prison is assigned.

• Search the DOCCS Incarcerated Lookup by DIN, or by exact last name plus birth year. It goes offline nightly around 11:45 p.m.
• Without internet, call DOCCS at 518-457-5000 during business hours.
• Out on parole already? The parolee search covers that.
• Every DOCCS prison has an entry in our New York state prisons guide.

Under 18 means no adult jail. Raise the Age sends 16- and 17-year-olds charged with felonies to the Youth Part of County Court, and they wait in specialized juvenile detention if held. Younger children and teens with misdemeanors go through Family Court or probation intake.

• Officers must contact a parent immediately and tell them the place an interview would happen (Family Court Act § 305.2).
• Questioning happens only in a court-designated youth room, which records video, or in the family home with a parent's okay.
• A youngster not sent home must see a Family Court judge or magistrate by the following court day, 72 hours at most (Family Court Act § 307.3).

The Probation Department, 48 Court Street, Canton, NY 13617, 315-379-2230, knows which detention center has the teen. Family Court shares that building: 315-379-2410.

Some 105,488 residents (2025 Census estimate) are scattered over 2,822 square miles. These agencies patrol it:

• Sheriff's Office, 48 Court Street, Building #8, Canton, NY 13617, 315-379-2222. Deputies on road patrol reach every corner.
• New York State Police, Troop B, Zone 2, one line for all six stations: 315-379-0012. Stations: 49 1/2 Court Street, Canton, NY 13617; 1005 U.S. Hwy 11, Gouverneur, NY 13642; 29 Sterns Street, Massena, NY 13662; 410 Cedar Street, Ogdensburg, NY 13669; 5 River Road, Star Lake, NY 13690; 706 SR 11C, Winthrop, NY 13697.
• Ogdensburg Police Department, 800 Park Street, Ogdensburg, NY 13669, 315-393-1551, staffed 24 hours.
• Massena Police Department, Town Hall, 60 Main Street, Massena, NY 13662, 315-769-3577.
• Potsdam Police Department, 38 Main Street, Potsdam, NY 13676, 315-265-2121.
• Village of Canton Police Department, 60 Main Street, Canton, NY 13617, 315-386-4561. Alternative number (village office): 315-386-2871.
• Gouverneur Police Department, 33 Clinton Street, Gouverneur, NY 13642, 315-287-2121, staffed 24/7.
• Norwood Village Police and Norfolk Town Police: reach them through the Sheriff's Office line.
• SUNY Potsdam University Police, Van Housen Hall Extension, 44 Pierrepont Avenue, Potsdam, NY 13676, 315-267-2222.
• SUNY Canton University Police, Dana Hall, Room 108, 34 Cornell Drive, Canton, NY 13617, 315-386-7777.
• County Park Police: questions go to the Sheriff's Office.

The places below have no department of their own. Deputies and troopers answer calls there, and in the outskirts of towns that do have a village force:

• Towns A to L: Brasher, Clare, Clifton, Colton, DeKalb, DePeyster, Edwards, Fine, Fowler, Hammond, Hermon, Hopkinton, Lawrence, Lisbon, Louisville
• Towns M to W: Macomb, Madrid, Morristown, Oswegatchie, Parishville, Piercefield, Pierrepont, Pitcairn, Rossie, Russell, Stockholm, Waddington
• Villages: Hammond, Heuvelton, Rensselaer Falls, Richville, Waddington