Use these steps to confirm custody from a phone or laptop:

1. Open the official inmate lookup.
2. Put the person's legal surname and given name in their boxes, with no nicknames.
3. Choose the match whose age or birth year lines up.
4. Check the custody line and which jail it names. A Coal Township address means the county jail.
5. If a booking or inmate number is shown, write it down, since staff locate files faster with it.

Still stuck? Records answers at 570-509-2701 Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Staff there won't relay personal messages to an inmate unless there is a real emergency.

A name can be absent for several ordinary reasons:

• Still being processed. Booking and the video arraignment take time, so the custody record may lag.
• Already home. ROR or unsecured bail can send someone out the door minutes after the MDJ hearing.
• Spelling. Copy the spelling from an ID card, then retry with any hyphenated or maiden version.
• Age. Coal Township takes adults only, and a teen is held at a juvenile center.
• A different agency. Federal agents, a neighboring county or the state may hold the person instead.

After police file their complaint, a docket is created on the UJS Web Portal, which tells you which MDJ has it. To speak with someone, phone Records at 570-509-2701.

Coal Township holds the county's one adult jail, rated for 284 beds on a state inspection list. Still, a traffic stop past the county line, or an outside warrant, might put someone in a bordering county's cells. Call these three:

• Lycoming County Prison, 277 West Third Street, Williamsport, PA 17701, 570-326-4623, north of Watsontown and Turbotville.
• Columbia County Prison, 721 Iron Street, Bloomsburg, PA 17815, 570-784-4815, east of the Ralpho and Mount Carmel area.
• Dauphin County Prison, 501 Mall Road, Harrisburg, PA 17111, 717-780-6800, south of Herndon and Dalmatia.

For any other county, ask the Coal Township jail at 570-509-2701 whether a transfer or outside warrant is on file.

The lookup gives custody status, not pictures. Whether a Pennsylvania county releases booking photos depends on the county itself and on recent state court rulings, so a photo may never be public.

• News outlets and others who want an image can ask the jail at 570-509-2701, or the arresting town or state police.
• For a picture ICE took, file on the agency's FOIA records page.
• Federal agencies keep their mugshots private, with one exception: the Marshals Service can release a photo of a wanted fugitive.

Pennsylvania runs a free alert service called PA SAVIN, and the District Attorney's Office points families and victims to it. Coverage spans county lockups like Coal Township, every state prison, and state parole. A call, text or email goes out when someone is freed, transferred or escapes.

1. Open VINELink for Pennsylvania in a browser, or download its phone app.
2. Search the name, select the right record, and pick phone, text or email.
3. No computer? Register by phone any hour at 866-972-7284 (TTY 866-847-1298).

Signing up stays private, because the inmate is not told who registered. Victims can also reach the DA's victim witness coordinator at 570-988-4120.

Release terms come from one of four MDJs, usually by video and usually within hours of booking. Pennsylvania guarantees bail in nearly every case, and judges choose from five options:

• release on a signed promise (ROR)
• that promise plus conditions
• unsecured bail, owed only after a missed date
• nominal bail, such as $1 with a surety
• money bail in cash, property or a bondsman's bond

Where and how money bail is accepted depends on the case. Ask the Clerk of Courts records line, 201 Market Street, Sunbury, PA 17801, 570-988-4148. For payment types, bondsman rules and refunds, read our bail page.

Charges show up in two places quickly. First, the defendant gets a written complaint at the arraignment. Second, the docket goes online on the UJS Web Portal, searchable by name and county.

• Pennsylvania grades its crimes. F3 stands for a third-degree felony, and M1 for a first-degree misdemeanor, the most serious misdemeanor level.
• The District Attorney's Office can change the list when it files the formal information after the preliminary hearing.
• For copies of papers in a Common Pleas file, call the criminal records office at 570-988-4148.

The defense lawyer can explain what each count means and what it could carry.

Defendants who can't cover a private fee may ask for help from the Public Defender, third floor, 322 N Second Street, Sunbury, PA 17801, 570-495-2347. The office handles adult and juvenile cases on weekdays, Monday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Tuesday through Friday until 4:30 p.m.

1. Print the Application for Assignment of Legal Counsel.
2. Follow the county's instructions sheet line by line.
3. Have the defendant sign the income statement under oath.
4. Send it in early, ideally before the preliminary hearing.

Eligibility is settled by a judge. Families may still pay a private attorney instead.

Visits here happen on screens, and each visitor must register in advance on the jail's visit vendor website. Sessions last 25 minutes.

• At the jail. Free video visits run Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., in the video lobby of the administration building.
• From home. Paid remote visits run every day, 7:30 a.m. to 8:25 p.m., on a Windows computer or an Android device.
• Monitoring. Staff can watch and record every visit except registered attorney sessions.
• Kids. Children need an adult with them the whole time.

Visitors may be searched and must follow dress and sobriety rules. Our visitation page explains how to register and book a slot.

Deposits go in through the jail's money vendor, either on its website or at a kiosk in the administration building's visit lobby. The kiosk is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Visa, MasterCard and cash are accepted.

• That balance pays for commissary, which inmates order once a week.
• Family can also send a care package worth up to $100.00 a week by calling 800-546-6283.
• Phone charges come out of the same account.

Fees and walk-throughs are on our deposit page, while the commissary page explains weekly orders.

People held here can place outgoing calls, and the cost is drawn from their inmate account. That is why a deposit often comes first. Staff don't take or forward messages for inmates, apart from true emergencies, so plan on waiting for the person to call you.

• Keep the account funded so calls can go through.
• Assume any call could be recorded, and never talk about the case on the line.
• When a relative dies or lands in the hospital, phone the jail at 570-509-2701.

Our phone page explains calling accounts, and our messaging page covers electronic messages.

Send letters by U.S. Mail, using this format:

Inmate's full name (with Jr., Sr., II or III if used)
Inmate Number (if applicable)
Northumberland County Jail
670 Northumberland County Drive
Coal Township, PA 17866

• Use only white paper and white envelopes.
• No stickers, address labels, stamps, blank envelopes or greeting cards, including holiday and birthday cards.
• No lipstick, perfume, Polaroids, revealing photos or pages printed off the internet.
• Reading material, such as a paperback or newspaper, ships only from its publisher.
• Mail is handled Monday through Friday.

An inmate needs the Warden's Office to approve any letters with another incarcerated person. Our mail page has more tips.

The jail lets someone go only after it receives release papers signed by a judge. Records then calls the contact the person chose, mainly to sort out a ride. Families are asked not to come to the jail until that call happens.

1. During that call, ask what happens to leftover account money.
2. Ask which day stored items are released, and which photo ID the desk wants.
3. Collecting for the released person? Ask whether their written OK is needed.

Records works weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at 670 Northumberland County Drive, Coal Township, PA 17866, 570-509-2701.

Health care at the jail starts with a screening at intake. After that, medical, mental health, dental and pharmacy services are provided to the extent they are medically necessary.

• Tell the person to ask staff for help with any symptom or medication need right away.
• Family worries about care go to jail administration, which works Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., at 570-509-2701.
• Reports of sexual abuse or harassment can go to the jail's PREA line, 570-509-2718.
• A defense lawyer can raise a serious health problem with the judge.

DOC inspectors check on Coal Township, like every county jail in the state. Visits come at least once in any 24 months (37 Pa. Code Chapter 95).

The Sheriff's Office serves bench warrants for the Court of Common Pleas, while police and constables serve others. Deputies can say whether one is active at 570-988-4155. Statewide fugitives are listed by the State Police Ten Most Wanted (tips 800-472-8477), the DOC's absconder list and the Marshals Service top fugitives. To resolve it, ask defense counsel to schedule a surrender, or phone the issuing judge's office for a new date. The criminal records office is at 201 Market Street, Sunbury, PA 17801, 570-988-4148.

The docket on the UJS Web Portal lists scheduled events, including the preliminary hearing and later Common Pleas dates, plus the courtroom.

• Early hearings happen at the MDJ office for the town of the arrest, and the docket names that office.
• Later hearings take place at the courthouse, 201 Market Street, Sunbury, PA 17801. Court Administration, 570-988-4167, sets them.
• Hearings often change, so check again the day before.

Our court guide lists all four district courts with addresses and walks through each stage of the case.

Federal cases here go to Williamsport, the Middle District courthouse at 240 West Third Street, Suite 218, Williamsport, PA 17701, 570-323-6380.

1. Pretrial housing for federal defendants is the Marshals Service's decision. Call their district office to learn the location: 235 North Washington Avenue, Unit 215, Scranton, PA 18503, 570-346-7277.
2. Release or detention gets decided by a federal judge at a hearing near the start (18 U.S.C. 3142).
3. After sentencing, look them up on the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator, which covers people held from 1982 on.

The Federal Public Defender at 330 Pine Street, Suite 302, Williamsport, PA 17701, 570-323-9314, represents defendants who can't pay.

1. The process begins once an I-247A detainer form reaches Coal Township.
2. It seeks a hold of up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Galarza v. Szalczyk (3d Cir. 2014), the controlling appeals case for Pennsylvania, says an ICE detainer asks but cannot order. A county jail acting only on one may be liable for the detention. Policies vary from jail to jail. Ask about this one at 570-509-2701.
4. Once ICE takes the person, search the ICE Online Detainee Locator by name and country of birth.
5. Questions go to the ICE Philadelphia Field Office, 114 N. 8th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, 215-656-7164.

An immigration lawyer can explain bond and hearing options in immigration court.

Once a sentence tops out at 5 years or longer, the state takes over, and it usually does for 2-to-5-year maximums too (42 Pa.C.S. § 9762). That means the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.

1. Run the name through the state's DOC inmate locator.
2. Newcomers first get sorted by DOC staff at a reception and classification center. Plan on weeks or months there before a permanent move.
3. Check again after that, since the DOC won't share a transfer date ahead of time.

The DOC central office is at 1920 Technology Parkway, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050, 717-728-2573. State prison mail is sorted out of state, addressed to Smart Communications/PA DOC. Add the inmate's name, DOC number and SCI, with PO Box 33028, St Petersburg, FL 33733 as the street line. Our Pennsylvania state prisons pages describe each prison.

The Juvenile Act covers youths (42 Pa.C.S. § 6301 and following). A teen in the juvenile system who can't go home is held at a youth detention center, not the Coal Township adult jail.

• Call Juvenile Probation at 322 N Second Street, Sunbury, PA 17801 (third floor), 570-495-2174, for the center's name and the detention hearing date.
• Juvenile cases stay off the UJS portal.
• The Public Defender can represent the child.
• Adult court is the starting point for a murder charge against a teen aged 15 or more, and for several armed violent felonies named in state law. Defense counsel may ask to shift the case back to juvenile court.

Here is every department, grouped by the district court that hears its cases. For an emergency, dial 911.

Shamokin area (court 08-3-03)

• Coal Township Police Department, 805 W Lynn Street, Coal Township, PA 17866, 570-644-0333
• Shamokin Police Department, 511 N Franklin Street, Shamokin, PA 17872, 570-648-5708
• Zerbe Township Police Department, 200 E Shamokin Street, Trevorton, PA 17881, 570-797-4637

Mount Carmel area (court 08-2-01)

• Kulpmont Police Department, 9th and Spruce Streets, Kulpmont, PA 17834, 570-373-1522
• Mount Carmel Police Department, 30 W 3rd Street, Mount Carmel, PA 17851, 570-339-6020
• Mount Carmel Township Police Department, 305 Laurel Street, Mount Carmel, PA 17851, 570-339-1653
• Ralpho Township Police Department, 206 S Market Street, Elysburg, PA 17824, 570-672-9892

County seat area (court 08-3-04)

• Sunbury Police Department, 440 Market Street, Sunbury, PA 17801, 570-286-4585
• Northumberland Police Department, 175 Orange Street, Northumberland, PA 17857, 570-473-8446
• Lower Mahanoy Township Police Department, 550 Hickory Road, Dalmatia, PA 17017, 570-758-4855

Milton area (court 08-3-02)

• Milton Borough Police Department, 1 Filbert Street, Milton, PA 17847, 570-742-8757
• Watsontown Police Department, 318 Main Street, Watsontown, PA 17777, 570-538-2773
• Point Township Police Department, 759 Ridge Road, Northumberland, PA 17857, 570-473-9364

Countywide and state

• Sheriff's Office, 201 Market Street, Sunbury, PA 17801, 570-988-4155
• Shikellamy State Park Rangers, 293 Marina Road, Sunbury, PA 17801, 570-988-5557
• Pennsylvania State Police, Milton station (northern towns), 50 Lawton Lane, Milton, PA 17847, 570-524-2662
• Pennsylvania State Police, Stonington station (southern towns), 2465 State Route 61, Sunbury, PA 17801, 570-286-5601

Townships with no force of their own are patrolled by those two State Police stations.