Adults arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges in Lehigh County are booked at this facility, located at:
38 North Fourth Street
Allentown, PA 18102
In Pennsylvania, most county jails (often called county prisons or correctional facilities) are run by the county under a prison board and a warden rather than by the sheriff. Arrests come in from municipal and regional police departments across the county, from the sheriff’s office and county detectives. On intake, staff take fingerprints and a booking photo, inventory property, check for outstanding warrants and complete a medical and mental health screening before a housing assignment is made.
Troopers with the Pennsylvania State Police also bring arrests here, and federal agencies such as the U.S. Marshals and ICE may hold people in county facilities under contract.
Pennsylvania has no statewide law requiring or forbidding cooperation with ICE, so each county sets its own detainer policy. Philadelphia has refused ICE detainers that lack a judicial warrant since 2014, and in 2025 several suburban counties, including Montgomery and Delaware, said they would no longer hold people past their release on a detainer alone. Other counties continue to honor detainers or notify ICE of release dates, so the practice at the Lehigh County Department of Corrections may differ from its neighbors.
Names on the public roster are drawn from the county’s official booking list (opens in a new tab) or an official statewide inmate list. Depending on the county, an entry may include a booking photo, the charges and the agency that made the arrest. For anything missing or unclear, call the Lehigh County Department of Corrections at 610-782-3846.
Processing a new arrival, from the moment they come through the sally port until they are housed or cleared to leave, usually runs from a couple of hours to a full day, depending on how busy intake is.
Under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, a person arrested on a complaint must be taken for a preliminary arraignment without unnecessary delay, often by video before a magisterial district judge (or an arraignment court magistrate in Philadelphia). That judge decides release: on recognizance, on nonmonetary conditions, or on monetary bail. When monetary bail is set, many courts accept a 10% cash deposit, and professional bail bondsmen licensed through the Pennsylvania Insurance Department also post bonds. Release steps are covered on our Bail page.
The quickest route is a call to the Lehigh County Department of Corrections at 610-782-3846. Ask for intake or records.
Some counties offer a recorded lookup line; others will put you through to an officer. Have the person’s full name and date of birth ready, since staff often confirm both before releasing any details.
A person arrested by a local police department may spend time at that station and at preliminary arraignment before reaching the county jail, so it can be several hours before they show up.
You can also search recent admissions yourself on the Lehigh County Department of Corrections Booking Roster.
Once arrested, a person is usually processed first at the arresting police department or a regional booking center in Lehigh County, where fingerprints are taken on a live-scan machine, and then sees a judge for preliminary arraignment. If they are not released, they are committed to the county jail.
Defense lawyers generally tell clients to say nothing about the charges during this stage. Booking areas are often recorded, and statements made there can end up as evidence.
Intake officers take a mugshot and fingerprints and ask a long list of health and background questions. Warrant checks are run through Lehigh County, statewide and national systems. In Pennsylvania, DNA samples are generally collected after conviction for qualifying offenses rather than at arrest.
For a suspected DUI, a blood test generally requires either the driver’s consent or a warrant. Refusing chemical testing under Pennsylvania’s implied consent law brings a license suspension of at least 12 months.
New commitments are typically searched, which can include a strip search before they enter general housing, and they pass through a metal detector or body scanner.
Expect questions about medical history, current prescriptions, drug and alcohol use, allergies, thoughts of self-harm, tattoos and any gang ties. Staff use the answers to choose a safe housing unit, flag withdrawal risks and arrange medical or mental health care.
Everything the person brought in is logged, bagged and stored. It is returned at release, or the person can sign a form allowing a relative or friend to pick it up.
Stored items typically include street clothes, cash, wallets, bags, phones, jewelry, piercings and watches. Eyeglasses may be held if staff see a safety issue, and shoelaces are pulled from any footwear the person keeps.
The person is normally given a chance to place a phone call to family or a lawyer to share news of the arrest and start arranging bond or bail.
Anyone held while their case moves forward receives county-issued clothing and footwear, bedding, a towel and basic hygiene items such as soap and a toothbrush.
A shower and a lice or scabies treatment are commonly required before the person changes into jail clothing and is escorted to a housing unit.
Plan on anywhere from about an hour to a day or more. Staffing levels, the number of new commitments and the timing of preliminary arraignment all play a part, as does the person’s cooperation.
Someone who arrives very intoxicated or combative may be held in a separate cell until they are calm enough to finish intake.