A button on the jail's web page opens the records site in a fresh browser tab. From there:

1. Pull up the inmate records search on any phone, tablet or laptop.
2. Key in the surname the same way it is printed on their ID card.
3. Dozens of results? Type the first name as well to trim them.
4. Tap the right entry. Jot down any jail ID number shown, because letters to the jail need it.
5. Write the clock time of your check, so later you know how stale it is.

Came up blank? Ring the jail at 419-774-5678, where an officer can run the name and birthdate while you stay on the phone.

A blank screen rarely means the worst. One of these is usually behind it:

• Paperwork first. Fingerprints, a photo and intake forms come before the entry goes live.
• A ticket, not a cell. Mansfield and Ontario officers often cite shoplifting or trespass suspects, hand over a court date and let them leave.
• Bonded or released. Someone may have paid the bond already. A judge can also release someone on their signed word that they will come to court.
• Picked up outside the county. Then the jail where the arrest took place has them. Browse our statewide jail index to find it.
• Moved by a bigger agency. State prison time, federal charges or an ICE hold can send someone to a different place.
• Younger than 18. Kids are placed in juvenile detention, never on the adult list.

To be sure, phone 419-774-5678. Office hours run 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays. Dial 911 for any emergency.

All adults booked in this county end up at one building: the Richland County Jail, 73 East 2nd Street, Mansfield, OH 44902, 419-774-5678. The Sheriff's Office, 597 Park Avenue East, Mansfield, OH 44905, 419-524-2412, operates it.

• Its job: Opened in 2008 with 266 beds, it keeps adults after arrest. Most are waiting for a plea, a trial or a sentence.
• Who drops people off: Mansfield, Ontario and Shelby police, village officers, deputies and Highway Patrol troopers.
• City prisoners: Every prisoner from the City of Mansfield sleeps here as well.
• The two state prisons in Mansfield: Those house only people already sentenced to prison. Anyone still fighting a case stays at the county jail.

For an arrest outside this county, phone the jail where it happened. Our Ohio jail pages give each address.

Mugshots, the pictures taken during booking, stay with the arresting agency. When deputies handled the arrest, the Sheriff's Office, 597 Park Avenue East, Mansfield, OH 44905, can say at 419-524-2412 whether a copy may be released. If city officers made it, try Records at the Mansfield Police Department, 30 N. Diamond Street, Mansfield, OH 44902, 419-755-9770.

Most police records in Ohio are public under R.C. 149.43. Ohio also shields people from photo shakedowns. A website or paper that shows booking pictures or arrest facts can't charge you to delete them. Demanding a removal fee is a first-degree misdemeanor in Ohio. Whoever was pictured may also file a lawsuit worth no less than $10,000 (R.C. 2927.22).

• To request a photo from an immigration arrest, fill out ICE's FOIA request form.
• Federal mugshots are rarely made public. The U.S. Marshals Service sometimes shares one while tracking down a wanted person.

The Ohio Attorney General's office runs VINE, a free tool. You can use it to check custody status and the current location. Sign up, and it will warn you if the person is let out, moved, escapes or dies.

• Register through VINELink, or dial 800-770-0192, which answers day and night.
• Coverage reaches county jails, ODRC prisons and DYS youth facilities across Ohio.
• Alerts start only after you register for that person.

Since a notice can trail behind real events, a quick call to 419-774-5678 gives the freshest answer.

Ohio's starting point for bail is R.C. 2937.011. Judges use the gentlest conditions that still bring the defendant back, keep others safe and protect the case. Here is what that means:

• Misdemeanors: Courts keep a set price list, called a bail schedule, for these lower charges. Using it, a clerk, magistrate or judge can release someone before their first court date (R.C. 2937.23).
• Felonies: Here the dollar amount is up to a judge or magistrate, every time.
• Timing: Two court days is the limit. By then, anyone still behind bars gets a bail hearing.
• Types: A signature bond with no cash down. A 10 percent cash deposit. A bondsman's surety bond. Land or a house as security. Or the full amount in cash. Follow every rule, and the court gives back 90 percent of a 10 percent deposit.
• Bail agents: Check that the agent is licensed through the Ohio Department of Insurance, 800-686-1526. By law, agents use the premium rate the state approved, tell you about any added fee, and stay off jail and courthouse property when looking for customers.
• Held without bail: With the gravest charges, prosecutors may request a special hearing, and the judge may refuse bail if they prove their case (R.C. 2937.222).

Pay misdemeanor bond to Mansfield Municipal Court, 30 N. Diamond Street, Mansfield, OH 44902, 419-755-9632, or Shelby Municipal Court, 29 Mack Avenue, Shelby, OH 44875, 419-342-2896. Both accept credit cards. Felony bond goes to the Clerk of Courts, 50 Park Avenue East, Mansfield, OH 44902, 419-774-5549. Before you go, ask the jail at 419-774-5678 if a scheduled bond can be posted there.

Our bail guide for this county lays out each step, and JE's Ohio bail law overview fills in the state rules.

Booking charges are a first guess. Jail staff at 419-774-5678 can read them to you. What counts in the end is the charge written in the court file, so phone whichever clerk has the case and give the person's name and birthdate:

• Misdemeanors, plus the first stage of any felony: Mansfield Municipal Court, 30 N. Diamond Street, Mansfield, OH 44902, 419-755-9632, or Shelby Municipal Court, 29 Mack Avenue, Shelby, OH 44875, 419-342-2896.
• Felonies once a grand jury acts: The Common Pleas Clerk of Courts, County Administration Building, 50 Park Avenue East, Mansfield, OH 44902, 419-774-5549.

The Prosecuting Attorney chooses what felony counts to bring before the grand jury. That office sits at 38 South Park Street, 2nd Floor, Mansfield, OH 44902, 419-774-5676, and keeps weekday hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This county gives free defense through private lawyers the court appoints. It works like this:

1. At that opening court date, the person lets the judge know their budget can't cover a lawyer.
2. Next comes a financial form about jobs, income and bills.
3. The court looks it over and decides. Municipal courts may collect an application fee, capped at $25.

On a felony, the Clerk of Courts, 50 Park Avenue East, Mansfield, OH 44902, 419-774-5549, can point you to the right courtroom. For general questions about free defense, the Ohio Public Defender is at 250 East Broad Street, Suite 1400, Columbus, OH 43215, 614-466-5394. Paying for a private attorney is still possible for any family that prefers it.

Visits here happen on screens, through two-way video. Pick the setup that suits you:

• Lobby stations: Head to the southwest corner of the jail, 73 East 2nd Street, Mansfield, OH 44902. Stations run Monday through Friday from 7 to 11 a.m., noon to 4 p.m., and 5 to 10 p.m.
• Your own device: Join by phone or computer seven days a week, in those same three windows.

A session lasts 20 minutes. Reserve it through IC Solutions (ICS) online or at the lobby sign-up kiosk, anywhere from one day to two weeks ahead. The first remote visit each week is free; after that, each one is $5. Two visitors at most may take part, and at least one has to be an adult. Grown-ups show valid photo ID, and kids come only with an adult.

Scheduling trouble? Phone 419-774-5678. JE's visiting tips help with the rest.

Cash on a person's jail account covers phone time and snacks or hygiene items from the store. Two routes work:

• Lobby kiosk: Swipe a credit card at 73 East 2nd Street, Mansfield, OH 44902. The lobby opens Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Online: Send a deposit through Access Corrections.

Personal checks and money orders get refused, so don't bring them, and never slip bills into an envelope. A deposit is separate from bail and frees no one. Any questions, call 419-774-5678.

See JE's deposit guide for each method. JE's commissary guide lists the kinds of items on sale inside.

IC Solutions handles phone service. Open an account or check prices at 888-506-8407. Digital messages travel online or through the GettingOut app, and tablets are in use inside.

• Assume someone besides your loved one could hear or read every word.
• Case details belong in meetings with the defense lawyer, not on jail lines.
• The same ICS account also books video visits.

If the company can't solve a problem, the jail can at 419-774-5678. JE's phone guide and messaging guide go further.

Letters for someone in this jail head to a Maryland post office box, not to Mansfield. Each one is scanned there, and the person reads it on a screen. Write the address like this:

Richland County Jail
Inmate's full name, jail ID number
PO Box 247, Phoenix, MD 21131

• Your name and return address go at the top left of the envelope.
• Get the jail ID number from the jail search.
• Scans read best when you use dark ink on plain white paper.
• Legal mail from an attorney skips the scanning process.

JE's mail guide lists typical limits. Questions go to 419-774-5678.

Anything the person carried at booking, such as house keys, cash or a cell phone, is stored by the jail during the stay. Phone 419-774-5678 on a weekday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and ask these before making the trip:

• Must the person sign paperwork before family can collect anything?
• Which ID should the pickup person carry?
• When is a good time to come?

Pickups take place at the jail, 73 East 2nd Street, Mansfield, OH 44902. If a release is close, ask staff how the person's own things will be returned to them.

Phone the jail at 419-774-5678 and ask to speak with medical staff. Describe the illness, each drug and its dose, and the doctor and pharmacy who know the person. Keep their pill bottles at home, since outside medicine is refused. A jail nurse confirms what they take by checking with that doctor and pharmacy.

Have your loved one turn in a sick-call slip as well. That leaves a written trail inside the jail. Speak up plainly about any mental health crisis. Dial 911 right away if anyone's life is at risk.

Out in the townships and villages, deputies are the ones who serve warrants. Within city limits, Mansfield officers do it. Ask about an active one at the Sheriff's Office, 597 Park Avenue East, Mansfield, OH 44905, 419-524-2412, or call Mansfield police at 419-522-1234. Police and Mansfield Municipal Court share 30 N. Diamond Street, Mansfield, OH 44902. That court's clerk at 419-755-9632, or Shelby Municipal Court, 29 Mack Avenue, Shelby, OH 44875, 419-342-2896, can look up a misdemeanor case by name. For felony warrants from Common Pleas, the Clerk of Courts answers at 419-774-5549. Settle a warrant by calling a lawyer first, then the court behind it. Felony records belong to the Clerk of Courts, found in the County Administration Building, 50 Park Avenue East, Mansfield, OH 44902.

The spot where the offense happened decides which court sets the dates:

• Mansfield Municipal Court, 30 N. Diamond Street, Mansfield, OH 44902, 419-755-9632. Its area takes in the city itself, Ontario, Lexington, Bellville, Lucas, Butler and most townships.
• Shelby Municipal Court, 29 Mack Avenue, Shelby, OH 44875, 419-342-2896. It serves Shelby, Plymouth, most of Butler Township, and the Sharon, Jackson, Cass and Blooming Grove townships.
• Court of Common Pleas, whose records sit with the Clerk of Courts, 50 Park Avenue East, Mansfield, OH 44902, 419-774-5549. Felony cases land here after indictment.

Five mayor's courts hear local tickets only: Bellville, 142 Park Place, Bellville, OH 44813, 419-886-2245; Lexington, 44 W. Main Street, Lexington, OH 44904, 419-884-7267; Lucas, 101 First Avenue, Lucas, OH 44843, 419-892-2178; Ontario, 555 Stumbo Road, Ontario, OH 44906, 419-529-3723; and Plymouth, 25 Sandusky Street, Plymouth, OH 44865, 419-687-2020.

For any other Ohio court, check the trial court directory kept by the Supreme Court of Ohio. JE's court guide walks through a case from arrest to sentence.

Any federal case out of Mansfield or the countryside around it is handled by the Northern District of Ohio. Hearings happen in Cleveland, in the building named Carl B. Stokes U.S. Court House, 801 West Superior Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44113, 216-357-7000.

1. At the opening hearing, a U.S. magistrate judge can assign the person a defense lawyer.
2. Next comes a detention hearing on whether they stay locked up until trial or go home on conditions (18 U.S.C. 3142).
3. Until trial, the U.S. Marshals Service decides where they are housed, often a jail it rents beds from. Its office is at 801 West Superior Avenue, Suite 1200, Cleveland, OH 44113, 216-522-2150.
4. The Federal Public Defender, 1660 West Second Street, Suite 750, Cleveland, OH 44113, 216-522-4856, represents eligible people.
5. After sentencing, enter a name in the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator to see the federal prison holding them.

Here is how an immigration hold at the jail tends to play out:

1. First, ICE sends a detainer. That form, numbered I-247A, signals that federal agents mean to pick the person up from Mansfield.
2. Federal rule 8 CFR 287.7(d) lets the jail hold the person for up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released, giving ICE time to collect them.
3. Cases from Ohio are managed by ICE's Detroit Field Office, 985 Michigan Avenue, Suite 207, Detroit, MI 48226, 313-771-6601. Nearest to Mansfield is the Westerville office, 675 Brooksedge Boulevard, Westerville, OH 43081, 614-948-4100.
4. After the transfer, search the ICE Online Detainee Locator.

Families wondering whether the local jail works under a formal ICE agreement can ask the Sheriff's Office, 597 Park Avenue East, Mansfield, OH 44905, at 419-524-2412.

Ohio's Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC) takes custody once a judge hands down prison time. Before a permanent spot, people pass through a state reception center to be sorted and assigned. Some may sit in the Mansfield jail for a stretch until state officers drive them away.

• The ODRC offender search works by name. It covers everyone in a state prison, plus people ODRC supervises in the community.
• Visiting, mail and money rules for each prison appear on JE's Ohio state prisons page.
• No record yet? The jail at 419-774-5678 can say when the transfer is planned.

Youths under 18 are taken to a separate building, the Juvenile Justice Center, 411 South Diamond Street, Mansfield, OH 44902. Its 25-bed detention unit takes youths from this county and several neighbors.

Hearings for youths take place in the same building, where the Juvenile Court sits as a division of Common Pleas. Call 419-774-5670 (alternative number 419-774-5578) to ask about your child's location and the hearing date.

• Ohio sets a short limit for the detention hearing (Juv.R. 7; R.C. 2151.314). It must happen within 72 hours, and when a court day comes sooner, the hearing is held then.
• If that hearing runs late, the youth goes back to a parent.
• Each young person may have a lawyer, free when the family qualifies.

Knowing which agency arrested someone tells you who holds the report. These are the ones working here:

• Sheriff's Office, 597 Park Avenue East, Mansfield, OH 44905, 419-524-2412. Deputies cover the townships and every spot without a local force.
• Mansfield Police Department, 30 N. Diamond Street, Mansfield, OH 44902. Use 419-522-1234 for non-emergency dispatch and 419-755-9770 for Records.
• Shelby, Ontario and village departments in Bellville, Lexington, Lucas, Plymouth and Butler. Booking staff at 419-774-5678 can tell you which one brought the person in, and how to reach that office.
• Ohio State Highway Patrol. Crashes and traffic stops on state routes are handled from a local post, shown on the patrol post page for this county.

Give any of them the person's name and arrest date, and they can share a report number.