1. Go to the official inmate lookup from any phone or computer.
2. Pick Pennsylvania when prompted. Type the legal last name, then the first name, with no nicknames.
3. Find a result tied to the Leesport jail. Compare the age or birth year to rule out someone with the same name.
4. Read the status line. It says if the person is still held, was let go or was sent elsewhere.
5. Write down any number the record gives. It helps jail staff pull the file quickly.

If nothing matches, phone 610-208-4800, ask for Booking and spell out the full name.

• Intake isn't done. The county's district court FAQ notes that staff may have nothing to share until the preliminary arraignment ends.
• Central Booking still has them. The Sheriff's unit at the courthouse may be fingerprinting and photographing. Phone the Sheriff's Office at 610-478-6240.
• Released. The judge may have allowed release on recognizance, or bail may already be paid.
• Sent elsewhere. A neighboring jail, a state prison or the U.S. Marshals may now hold the person.
• Name trouble. Try adding a middle name, entering the full double surname, or using a former last name.
• Age. Juvenile Probation, 610-478-3200, deals with those younger than 18; they are not held at the adult jail.

Booking at 610-208-4800 can confirm who is held, any hour of the day.

The county has one jail, with several types of housing inside:

• Berks County Jail System, 1287 County Welfare Road, Leesport, PA 19533, 610-208-4800. Men and women are kept apart. Newcomers begin in classification and quarantine units. Later they move to general population, or to restricted housing for discipline or safety. A classification committee assigns each person a custody level, from maximum security to trusty.
• Work Release, based in that same Leesport building. Only sentenced inmates who meet trusty standards qualify, and both the warden and the court must sign off. On the main line, ask for Work Release between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays.
• Sheriff's Central Booking Division, in the courthouse at 633 Court Street, Reading, PA 19601, 610-478-6240. New arrests are processed here first.

Arrests along the borders with other counties can mean booking at one of these jails:

• Chester County Prison, 501 South Wawaset Road, West Chester, PA 19382, 610-344-5040
• Lancaster County Prison, 625 E. King St., Lancaster, PA 17602, 717-299-7800
• Lehigh County Jail, 38 North Fourth Street, Allentown, PA 18102, 610-782-3270
• Montgomery County Correctional Facility, 60 Eagleville Road, Eagleville, PA 19403, 610-635-7100

Pennsylvania has no single rule here. Each county decides, guided by recent appeals court decisions. The county's lookup shows custody status and where someone is held, not a photo. Anyone wanting a picture can ask the jail at 610-208-4800 or the arresting police agency.

• Immigration booking photos can be sought on ICE's FOIA page.
• Most federal mugshots stay sealed, though the Marshals Service may post one while searching for a wanted fugitive.

PA SAVIN is a free state service, and the Leesport jail sends families to it for release news. Its coverage spans county lockups, state prisons and state parole.

• Sign up through the Pennsylvania VINELink search, or use the VINELink phone app.
• You can also dial 866-972-7284 (TTY 866-847-1298). Live help is there 24/7.
• For each alert, choose a phone call, text or email. Notices go out on release, transfer or escape.
• Signing up is anonymous; the inmate never learns your name.

That same search also lists current custody status, so it doubles as a quick location check.

Release terms come from a magisterial district judge at the preliminary arraignment, usually the same day. At night and on weekends, the Central Arraignment Court on the courthouse's first floor, 633 Court Street, Reading, PA 19601, 610-478-6456, takes over.

• A Pennsylvania judge has five release types to pick from, and only monetary bail calls for cash at the start (Pa.R.Crim.P. 524).
• Bail is a right for almost everyone. A judge can refuse it only for capital or life charges, or when no release terms could keep others safe (Pa. Const. art. I, § 14).
• Some judges accept a 10 percent deposit. Whoever signs for it may owe the whole bail amount after a missed hearing.
• Licensed bondsmen charge a fee to post bond, and that fee is not refunded.

Our bail page covers payment places, refunds and holds.

After filing, every charge is listed on the court docket. Look up the person on the free UJS Web Portal, choosing this county, and open the docket sheet. Each count shows its grade and the law it falls under.

The grade signals seriousness. Summary offenses sit at the bottom. Misdemeanors go from M3 to M1, the top carrying up to 5 years. Felonies go from F3 to F1, the top carrying up to 20 years (18 Pa.C.S. §§ 1103-1105).

Prosecutors in the District Attorney's Office settle which charges go forward to Common Pleas. Questions about a docket go to the Clerk of Courts, 610-478-6550, on the courthouse's 4th floor at 633 Court Street, Reading, PA 19601.

At the preliminary arraignment, the person hears about the right to counsel. Those unable to afford one can seek help from the county Public Defender's Office, which asks for a signed statement of income (16 P.S. § 9960.1 and following).

• Unit phones connect to the public defender by dialing #711.
• Calls to a lawyer the jail has identified are kept off the recordings.
• Relatives may phone Court Administration at 610-478-6208 to learn where the defender's office sits and how to apply.

Retaining private counsel is always an option too.

The jail's visiting page allows four 30-minute in-person visits each calendar month, for as many as three people per visit. Its handbook adds that visitors and inmates do not touch.

• To book: phone 610-208-4800, press 3 and talk with the receptionist, 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on weekdays. The deadline is 3 p.m. the day before, and slots open three weeks out. Same-day visits, walk-ins and voicemail requests are not accepted. A single caller books for the group.
• Approval: the inmate is the only one who can add a visitor. Send them a letter with your full name, address, phone number and birth date.
• ID: adults must show photo ID with a current address. A driver's license or state ID works. So does an active military ID, or a passport that lists an address.
• Kids: minors need a parent or guardian with them. The child must be the inmate's son or daughter, stepchild, brother or sister, or grandchild.
• On arrival: show up no earlier than 15 minutes ahead in a car that stays in the lot, and use a numbered visitor space on level 1. Phones and keys go in lockers.
• Clothing: no winter coats, heavy hoodies, tank tops, low-cut or midriff tops, skirts above the knee, very short shorts or see-through items.
• Barred: anyone who was an inmate here within the past two years.

Each inmate also gets two free 15-minute video calls weekly. Mention a need for ground-floor access or disabled parking when you book. Our visiting guide has more tips.

• Online: the jail's phone and deposit vendor takes deposits on its website. Inmate Accounts, reached on the main line from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on weekdays, can confirm the right site.
• Through the mail: a money order payable to the inmate, with the BCJS number, goes to (Name) - BCJS #, Berks County Jail System, P.O. Box 247, Phoenix, MD 21131. Government and payroll checks use that address too.
• Cash in an envelope is lost. Staff seize it and do not refund it. Personal checks are banned.
• Tablet funds sit in their own account, loaded on the tablet vendor's site or app. They can't be shifted to phone or store funds.

Store orders are capped at $100 per week, or $50 for someone on security status. People with no money can get indigent packs. Questions go to 610-208-4800. See also our money deposit guide and commissary overview.

Outgoing calls are collect or paid from a prepaid debit account with the jail's phone vendor. The jail records all calls and can listen in, except calls to a lawyer it has identified. Save case details for the attorney.

• Families pay 25 cents to send an e-message and 50 cents to send a photo.
• Video calls on a tablet run 25 cents a minute, beyond the two free 15-minute video calls each week.
• The jail's phone office is open 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday to Friday, through 610-208-4800.

Setup steps are in our phone account guide and e-message guide.

Every item needs the inmate's name and BCJS number.

• Letters, photos and money orders: (Name) - BCJS #, Berks County Jail System, P.O. Box 247, Phoenix, MD 21131. Personal mail is scanned at this Maryland box before it reaches the inmate.
• Legal mail, books and periodicals: (Name) - BCJS #, Berks County Jail System, 1287 County Welfare Road, Leesport, PA 19533. Books and magazines must be shipped by the publisher itself, a bookstore or a book club.
• The return address must be complete, handwritten or typed. Address labels are rejected.
• Skip stickers, tape, glitter, colored ink marks and scent. Polaroid prints and clothing are sent back.
• Pictures may be 8.5 x 11 inches at most and cannot be sexual.

Families can also use a letter service that screens electronic letters and delivers them free. Mailroom hours are 7:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on weekdays, through 610-208-4800. Our inmate mail guide has more.

Staff hand over property only when the inmate asks for it in writing or a judge orders it. Clothes are traded piece for piece, and valuables leave in one bundle. The person collecting must show ID and sign. When an inmate moves to another facility, the property has to be claimed within a month.

• The Property office keeps these hours: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday.
• A leftover balance is sent by check when a forwarding address is on file. To collect it in person, book an appointment first with one of the Inmate Account Clerks; walk-ins aren't served.
• Money left unclaimed for two years is turned over to the Pennsylvania unclaimed property office.

Reach Property or Inmate Accounts at 610-208-4800. The jail sits at 1287 County Welfare Road, Leesport, PA 19533.

The jail's Medical unit never closes. Relatives with health worries can call 610-208-4800 and ask for Medical. Keep a list of the person's medicines, doses and prescriber handy.

• A sick-call screening is $3.00. A doctor or dentist visit the inmate asks for is $5.00.
• No charge applies to intake exams, ongoing care for chronic illness, mental health treatment or emergencies.
• Per the handbook, nobody goes without care because their account is empty.
• When released, a person leaves with three days of some prescriptions. Medical holds the remainder for pickup for two weeks.

Sexual abuse or harassment can be reported any time to the PREA hotline, 844-429-5412. For an emergency on the outside, dial 911.

The Sheriff's Office, 633 Court St., Reading, PA 19601, 610-478-6240, serves the bench warrants issued in Common Pleas. Local police and constables serve the rest. To find out if one is active, phone the Sheriff or search the UJS case search. Wider lists include the PSP Ten Most Wanted (tips 800-472-8477), DOC parole absconders, the FBI's wanted list and the Marshals' 15 Most Wanted. To resolve a warrant, speak with a defense lawyer or the public defender before anything else. Next, go to the issuing court with your lawyer and surrender, or ask the Clerk of Courts at 610-478-6550 about a new date.

• Search the person's name on the statewide UJS case portal. The calendar part of the docket lists each hearing with its courtroom.
• Preliminary hearings are run by the district courts. The Magisterial District Judges office, 610-478-6456, can say which one has the case.
• Once a case reaches Common Pleas, the Clerk of Courts at 610-478-6550 has the schedule.

Hearings happen at the courthouse, 633 Court Street, Reading, PA 19601, or at a district court close to where the arrest took place. A person in jail gets a preliminary hearing within 14 days (Pa.R.Crim.P. 540). Our court guide explains what happens at every hearing.

1. Pennsylvania's Eastern District hears federal cases from this county, with judges in Allentown, Easton and The Gateway Building, 201 Penn Street, Reading, PA 19601. Clerk's Office: 215-597-7704.
2. At the first appearance, a magistrate judge orders release or sets a detention hearing (18 U.S.C. 3142).
3. Before trial, the Marshals choose where to house the person, often FDC Philadelphia, 700 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, 215-521-4000. Their district office answers at 215-597-7272.
4. Once a federal sentence begins, the federal prison locator finds the person by name or by BOP register number.

1. A detainer (Form I-247A) is ICE's written ask for the jail to hold off on releasing the person.
2. The hold may run up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. The Third Circuit's 2014 Galarza v. Szalczyk decision lets a jail turn down a detainer, and a county that holds someone only for ICE risks liability. So every Pennsylvania jail sets its own practice. The Leesport jail can explain its own at 610-208-4800.
4. Next, immigration officers take over. ICE's Philadelphia Field Office, 114 N. 8th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, 215-656-7164, handles removals for this region.
5. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator using the person's alien registration number. If you don't have it, a name together with the native country also works.

Under 42 Pa.C.S. § 9762, a term whose top end is 5 years or more is a state prison term, and so are most with a top end of 2 to 5 years. Anything shorter is served in Leesport.

• New state prisoners spend several weeks, sometimes months, in a reception center while they are classified.
• Find them with the PA DOC inmate locator.
• The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections: 1920 Technology Parkway, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050, 717-728-2573.
• Letters to state prisoners go to the DOC's central mail center rather than the prison.
• Each facility is listed in our Pennsylvania prison directory.

County supervision is a separate office: Adult Probation and Parole, 7th floor, 633 Court Street, Reading, PA 19601, 610-478-3400.

A teen arrested here is handled by juvenile court and placed in youth detention rather than the Leesport jail. Youth case records are sealed from public dockets (42 Pa.C.S. § 6301 and following). Some youths 15 and up who face murder or certain armed violent charges begin in adult court. A minor charged as an adult can be housed in Leesport and must go to classes there.

Parents can reach Juvenile Probation at 610-478-3200, on the 10th floor of the county Services Center, 633 Court Street, Reading, PA 19601. Ask them which facility holds your child and when the next hearing is.

The docket names the agency that made the arrest. Local departments are sorted by part of the county.

City and nearby suburbs

• Reading Police Department, 815 Washington St., Reading, PA 19601, 610-655-6116
• West Reading Borough Police Department, 500 Chestnut St., West Reading, PA 19611, 610-373-0111
• Wyomissing Borough Police Department, 22 Reading Blvd., Wyomissing, PA 19610, 610-375-6101
• Shillington Borough Police Department, 999 E. Broad St., Shillington, PA 19607, 610-777-3947
• Muhlenberg Township Police Department, 210 George Street, Reading, PA 19605, 610-929-5454
• Laureldale Borough Police Department, 3406 Kutztown Rd., Laureldale, PA 19605, 610-929-8816
• Bern Township Police Department, 1069 Old Bernville Rd., Reading, PA 19605, 610-926-2535
• Spring Township Police Department, 2800 Shillington Rd., Sinking Spring, PA 19608, 610-678-3431
• Cumru Township Police Department, 1775 Welsh Rd., Mohnton, PA 19540, 610-777-9595
• Exeter Township Police Department, 4975 Demoss Rd., Reading, PA 19606, 610-779-1490
• Central Berks Regional Police Department, 2147 Perkiomen Ave., Reading, PA 19606, 610-779-1100

South and west

• Mohnton Borough Police Department, 21 N. O'Neil St., Mohnton, PA 19540, 610-777-6909
• Brecknock Township Police Department, 889 Alleghenyville Rd., Mohnton, PA 19540, 717-445-0656
• Sinking Spring Borough Police Department, 3940 Penn Ave., Sinking Spring, PA 19608, 610-678-1906
• Lower Heidelberg Township Police Department, 720 Brownsville Rd., Sinking Spring, PA 19608, 610-678-3011
• South Heidelberg Township Police Department, 555A Mt. Home Rd., Wernersville, PA 19565, 610-670-9885
• Womelsdorf Borough Police Department, 203 W. High St., Womelsdorf, PA 19567, 610-589-5559
• Robeson Township Police Department, 2689 Main St., Birdsboro, PA 19508, 610-582-4276
• Birdsboro Borough Police Department, 200 E. Main St., Birdsboro, PA 19508, 610-582-1173
• Caernarvon Township Police Department, 3307 Main St., Morgantown, PA 19543, 610-286-1012

East

• Amity Township Police Department, 2004 Weavertown Rd., Douglassville, PA 19518, 610-689-6002
• Douglass Township Police Department, 1068 Douglass Dr., Boyertown, PA 19512, 610-367-8500
• Eastern Berks Regional Police Department, 16 W. Philadelphia Ave., Boyertown, PA 19512, 610-369-3050
• Bally Borough Police Department, 425 Chestnut St., Bally, PA 19503, 610-845-2400

North

• Northern Berks Regional Police Department, 37 Ontelaunee Dr., Reading, PA 19605, 610-926-2999
• Fleetwood Borough Police Department, 110 W. Arch St., Fleetwood, PA 19522, 610-944-7011
• Kutztown Borough Police Department, 45 Railroad St., Kutztown, PA 19530, 610-683-3545
• Hamburg Borough Police Department, 61 N. 3rd St., Hamburg, PA 19526, 610-562-7228
• Tilden Township Police Department, 870 Hex Highway, Hamburg, PA 19526, 610-562-9001
• Bethel Township Police Department, 60 Klahr Rd., Bethel, PA 19507, 717-933-4210
• Tulpehocken Township Police Department, 22 Rehrersburg Rd., Rehrersburg, PA 19550, 717-933-5033

Campus, county and state

• Kutztown University Police, 15200 Kutztown Rd., Kutztown, PA 19530, 610-683-4002
• Penn State Berks Police, 2028 Tulpehocken Rd., Reading, PA 19610, 610-396-6111
• Berks County Sheriff's Office, 633 Court St., Reading, PA 19601, 610-478-6240
• County detectives: the District Attorney's Detective Division, 610-478-7171
• Pennsylvania State Police Troop L headquarters station, 600 Kenhorst Blvd., Reading, PA 19611, 610-378-4011
• Pennsylvania State Police Hamburg station, 90 Industrial Dr., Hamburg, PA 19526, 610-562-6885

Troop L covers Berks, Lebanon and Schuylkill. Ask either station whether it patrols a town that has no department of its own.