A few minutes of careful searching usually settles whether someone is inside:

1. Load the official inmate lookup in any browser.
2. Search the surname and first name, with and without a middle initial.
3. Run the same name through VINELink, the state's free custody checker. The county's victim services office points people there for custody status.
4. Ask jail staff for the person's permanent ID number. Money orders, packages and mail all need it.
5. Still unsure? Phone the jail's main line, 610-829-7400, and ask Records to confirm.

For court dates and charges, a separate tool works best: the free UJS case search.

No match? Don't panic yet. Usually one of these explains the gap:

• Booking not finished. Prints, a photo and the first hearing all happen before a record settles. Central Booking answers at 610-923-4300.
• Already out. Bail may be posted, or a judge may have granted ROR.
• Held by another county. Part of Bethlehem lies in Lehigh County, so an arrest on that side can go to Lehigh's jail.
• Under 18. Teens are detained at the Juvenile Justice Center instead.
• Spelling. Hyphenated surnames, a maiden name or a nickname can throw off a search.
• Federal or ICE custody. Those agencies use their own locators.

Prison Records can also help, at 610-923-4303.

The county Department of Corrections runs one jail system with several parts. Each one has its own visitor sign-in:

• Main Prison and Tower: housing buildings at 666 Walnut Street, Easton, PA 18042, main phone 610-829-7400.
• Work Release: a separate housing building for people allowed out to hold jobs.
• West Easton unit: another housing site with sign-ups on the hour at visit times.
• Community Corrections Program: 610-829-7659.

To learn which unit holds your person, call the main line. Youth are held apart, at the Juvenile Justice Center, 650 Ferry Street, Easton, PA 18042, 610-829-6850.

Picked up near a county line? Try these neighbors:

• Lehigh County Jail, 38 North 4th Street, Allentown, PA 18102, 610-782-3270
• Bucks County Correctional Facility, 1730 South Easton Road, Doylestown, PA 18901, 215-345-3700
• Carbon County Correctional Facility, 331 Broad Street, Nesquehoning, PA 18240, 570-325-2211
• Monroe County Correctional Facility, 4250 Manor Drive, Stroudsburg, PA 18360, 570-992-3232

Photos are taken at booking. Public access to them in Pennsylvania has been argued in court, and practice differs from county to county, so a family should not expect to find one.

News outlets and others seeking one may ask the jail at 610-829-7400 or the arresting police agency.

• An ICE photo takes a written ask, filed at ICE's FOIA portal.
• Federal booking shots mostly stay sealed. Marshals may share one while chasing a fugitive.

PA SAVIN is the state's no-cost notice system, reached on VINELink. County jails, state prisons and state parole all feed into it. Use it two ways:

• Check custody. Search a name to see if the person is held and where.
• Sign up for alerts. Get a call, text, email or app notice if they are released, moved or escape.

Operators answer around the clock at 866-972-7284 (TTY 866-847-1298). Registering stays private; the inmate never learns who did it.

For a same-day release, calling 610-829-7400 can be quicker.

An MDJ (magisterial district judge) fixes bail at a quick video or in-person hearing a few hours after booking. Pretrial Services, open by phone every hour of every day at 610-829-6830, can give the amount and type.

• Business days: pay at the courthouse, 669 Washington Street, Easton, PA 18042.
• Nights and weekends: go to the jail gate on Walnut Street and ask for the official in charge.
• Cash and certified checks are safest. Ask before bringing a money order.
• On 10 percent bail, the county keeps one fifth of what you put down as a fee.

Holds, bondsmen, refunds and lowering bail are all on our bail page.

Every case filed in a Pennsylvania court gets a public docket sheet. It is free on the UJS case search (choose this county from the list). Each sheet lists each charge, its grade, the bail and the next date.

Grades run from summary offenses up through M3, M2 and M1 misdemeanors, then F3, F2 and F1 felonies. The top grade, F1, carries as much as 20 years (18 Pa.C.S. § 1103). The District Attorney sets the final charges once a case reaches Common Pleas, so early charges can change.

The District Attorney's Office is reached through the Government Center, 669 Washington Street, Easton, PA 18042, 610-829-6630.

The right to a lawyer gets mentioned by the judge at hearing number one. People who can't pay for one apply to the county Public Defender, in the Courthouse basement at 669 Washington Street, Easton, PA 18042, 610-829-6384. An online application works too, and a relative can help fill it in.

Its lawyers take felony and misdemeanor cases, certain summary ones, probation violation hearings and bail reduction requests. The client signs a sworn income statement. A private lawyer is always an option for families who can afford one.

Visits are in person and last 45 minutes. Each visit allows one adult (18 or older) and up to two children, who must stay supervised. Rules from the jail:

• Sign in at the building where the inmate lives. Main Prison and Tower sign-ups open at 6:30 a.m. and close 15 minutes before the visit.
• Work Release sign-ups close 30 minutes before. West Easton sign-ups run on the hour.
• Visits at Work Release and West Easton are only for inmates who lack outside clearance.
• Adults need a valid photo ID showing their current address. Late arrivals lose the visit.
• Leave at home gym shorts, short shorts, swimwear, yoga pants, skinny jeans, ripped clothes, tank or halter tops, see-through items, hoodies, hats and heels 3 inches or higher. Skirts and shorts may sit no more than 2 inches above the knee.

A new entry process for visitors began June 1, 2025. Call 610-829-7400 for the visiting day of the unit and any video option. Our visiting guide has more tips.

Deposits cover snacks, hygiene items and other commissary buys. Pick whichever method suits you:

1. Lobby kiosk at the jail entrance on South Union Street. It takes $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 bills, plus MasterCard, Visa and Discover.
2. Online, any hour, through the jail's approved deposit service.
3. By phone, any hour, at 888-988-4768. Give Facility Site ID 20, the inmate's name and their date of birth.
4. Money order, payable to "Northampton County IPP," with the inmate's full name and permanent ID number on it. Mail it to Department of Corrections, Attention: IPP, 666 Walnut Street, Easton, PA 18042. Orders missing the name or number get refused.

Electronic deposits post within 24 to 48 hours, and fees may apply. Families can also order approved packages online (status line 800-546-6283); those arrive on Tuesdays. See our money guide and commissary guide.

To fund calls, buy phone time online or at 800-483-8314. Time for the jail tablets is bought online through the tablet provider.

Assume someone may be listening on any jail line. Keep case details for the lawyer. Costs and apps are covered in our phone guide; tablet notes and texts, in our inmate email guide. Questions about access go to 610-829-7400.

Call the jail at 610-829-7400 before the first letter. Ask for the personal mail address and the rules on photos, greeting cards and books.

• Write the inmate's full name and permanent ID number on the envelope.
• A return address with your full name goes in the corner.
• Never send cash. Use a money order for funds.
• Lawyers follow a separate legal mail procedure that started April 7, 2025.

Our mail guide explains the usual rules at Pennsylvania county jails.

What someone carried at booking gets bagged and stored. To pick up items, or to ask what happens to leftover account money, phone 610-829-7400 on a weekday. Bring photo ID, and ask whether a signed note from the inmate is required.

Planning for life after jail starts inside. A re-entry case manager links people with outside groups for treatment, housing and work. Reach that office at 610-829-7484.

The jail keeps a line watched 24 hours a day for safety concerns about an inmate: 610-829-7500. Use it to report a medical need, a mental health crisis or a threat. Have the person's name and ID number ready, plus any medicine names and doses.

• Sexual abuse or harassment reports go to the PREA hotline, 844-429-5412. Inside, inmates can dial #99 from housing unit phones.
• If someone outside the jail is in danger right now, dial 911.

The county also runs drug and alcohol and mental health programs that the re-entry office can connect people to.

Common Pleas bench warrants are the Sheriff's job; other warrants may come from local police or constables. To ask whether a bench warrant is open, phone the Sheriff's warrant line at 610-829-6561. Wanted lists you can check: the State Police Ten Most Wanted (tip line 800-472-8477), the Marshals' fifteen most sought fugitives and the FBI Philadelphia office. To clear one, get legal help first (hired counsel or the Public Defender). Next, book a planned walk-in at that court, so the warrant is lifted there. The Sheriff, in the Courthouse basement, and the Clerk of Courts at 610-829-6453 share 669 Washington Street, Easton, PA 18042.

The UJS case search shows upcoming hearings for each case, including the courtroom. Upcoming arraignments and trials also appear on two District Attorney PDFs: the arraignment list and the trial list.

• For Common Pleas dates, call the Clerk of Courts, Criminal Division, at 610-829-6453, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• District court cases: the judges' administration office, 610-829-6703, will name the right court.

Our court guide walks through every stage, from arraignment to sentencing.

This county's federal cases go before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, with judges at the Holmes Building, 101 Larry Holmes Drive, Easton, PA 18042, and in Allentown and Reading. Clerk: 215-597-7704.

1. A judge rules on jail versus release at an early detention hearing (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. Anyone kept locked up waits under U.S. Marshals Service supervision, 601 Market Street, Room 2110, Philadelphia, PA 19106, 215-597-7272. Call to ask where they are housed.
3. FDC Philadelphia, 700 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, 215-521-4000, may hold Eastern District defendants.
4. A federal prison sentence hands the person to the Bureau of Prisons. Search the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

An immigration hold works this way, step by step:

1. Paper first: an I-247A detainer from ICE reaches the jail.
2. The detainer seeks custody for up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Galarza v. Szalczyk (3d Cir. 2014) lets the jail say no to ICE; holding someone on the detainer alone puts the legal blame on the county. So local policy varies jail to jail. Phone 610-829-7400 to learn this one.
4. ICE's Philadelphia Field Office runs Pennsylvania cases: 114 N. 8th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, 215-656-7164.
5. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator. Have the A-number ready; failing that, the name and birth country work.

Top-end terms of 5 years or more, plus most landing between 2 and 5, are state prison time (42 Pa.C.S. § 9762). Anything shorter stays local.

Newcomers are first classified at a reception center, a process the DOC says can run weeks or months. A home prison is picked afterward. The DOC discusses a transfer only after it happens.

• Look the person up on the state's DOC inmate locator.
• Department of Corrections: 1920 Technology Parkway, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050, 717-728-2573.
• Mail to any state prisoner goes through a central processing address the DOC lists, not the prison itself.
• Our Pennsylvania prisons section has visit and mail details for each prison.

The Juvenile Act (42 Pa.C.S. § 6301) steers kids and teens into juvenile court and away from the Walnut Street jail. Detained youth sleep at the court's Juvenile Justice Center, 650 Ferry Street, Easton, PA 18042, 610-829-6850.

Juvenile Probation, in the same building, handles the case. Parents can call it at 610-829-6880 for the youth's location and hearing time. Youth records stay off the public court portal. A murder count, or certain armed violent counts, moves a teen charged at age 15, 16 or 17 into the grown-up system from day one.

Central Booking at 610-923-4300 knows. Agencies that patrol here:

Countywide and state agencies

• Sheriff's Department, Courthouse basement, 669 Washington Street, Easton, PA 18042, 610-829-6501, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Deputies serve warrants, hunt fugitives and move prisoners.
• County Detectives, the DA's own investigators, Government Center, 669 Washington Street, Easton, PA 18042, tip line 610-829-6688.
• Pennsylvania State Police, Belfast station, 654 Bangor Road, Nazareth, PA 18064, 610-759-6106. Troopers cover the townships and boroughs that lack a local department.
• State Police Troop M headquarters, 2930 Airport Road, Bethlehem, PA 18017, 610-861-2026

Bethlehem and the south

• Bethlehem Police, 10 East Church Street, Bethlehem, PA 18018, non-emergency 610-865-7187. The city spans both Lehigh and Northampton counties.

Easton and nearby

• Easton Police, through the city office, 123 South Third Street, Easton, PA 18042, 610-250-6600
• Forks Township Police, through the township office, 1606 Sullivan Trail, Easton, PA 18040, 610-252-0785
• Palmer Township Police: ask Central Booking for a contact.

Nazareth and the north

• Bushkill Township Police, through the township office, 1114 Bushkill Center Road, Nazareth, PA 18064, 610-759-1250
• Moore Township Police (24-hour service), through the township office, 2491 Community Drive, Bath, PA 18014, 610-759-9449
• Nazareth Borough Police: ask Central Booking for a contact.

Slate Belt

• Bangor Police, through the borough office, 197 Pennsylvania Avenue, Bangor, PA 18013, 610-588-2216
• East Bangor Police, through the borough office, 204 Bray Street, East Bangor, PA 18013, 610-588-4656

Other boroughs and townships have their own officers or rely on the State Police. For any other town, ask its municipal office or Central Booking.