Anthony P. Travisono Intake Service Center Inmate Bail & Bonds

The town police, or a State Police barracks, book him first. When court is closed at night, on weekends and on holidays, a bail commissioner can set bail right at the station. This is a lawyer the District Court names as a justice of the peace (R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-10-2). On a court day, a District Court judge sets bail at arraignment. The town of arrest, not the county, picks the District Court division (R.I. Gen. Laws § 8-8-2):

• Bristol County: Barrington, Bristol and Warren police, plus Roger Williams University Public Safety. The county has no courthouse, so weekday bail is set in the Sixth Division at the Garrahy Judicial Complex, 1 Dorrance Plaza, Providence, RI 02903, 401-458-5400.
• Kent County: Coventry, East Greenwich, Warwick, West Greenwich and West Warwick police, plus airport and community college officers. All five towns use the Third Division at the Noel Judicial Complex, 222 Quaker Lane, Warwick, RI 02886, 401-822-6750.
• Newport County: police in Jamestown, Little Compton, Middletown, Newport, Portsmouth and Tiverton, plus the State Police in Portsmouth. All six go to the Second Division at the Murray Judicial Complex, 45 Washington Square, Newport, RI 02840, 401-841-8350.
• Providence County: sixteen city and town forces. Arrests in Providence, Pawtucket, Central Falls, East Providence, Woonsocket, Cumberland or Burrillville go to the same Garrahy clerk as Bristol County. Arrests in Cranston, Johnston, North Providence, Lincoln, Smithfield, North Smithfield, Glocester, Scituate or Foster go to Noel in Warwick.
• Washington County: eight town forces, with troopers patrolling Exeter. Most towns, Block Island too, use the Fourth Division at the McGrath Judicial Complex, 4800 Tower Hill Road, Wakefield, RI 02879, 401-782-4131. North Kingstown arrests go to Noel in Warwick.

Police must let him use a phone within one hour to reach a lawyer or arrange bail (R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-7-20). A man nobody releases is driven to the ACI on Slate Hill Road.

Every adult jail and prison in Rhode Island belongs to the Department of Corrections and sits on one campus in Cranston. Here is what each building does:

• Intake Service Center, 18 Slate Hill Road, Cranston, RI 02920, 401-462-2285: the maximum security front door for men. It keeps men awaiting trial, men just sentenced who wait to be classified, and sentenced men in protective custody, with 1,148 beds.
• Gloria McDonald Women's Facility, 20 Fleming Road, Cranston, RI 02920, 401-462-0787: all women in state care. It holds women before trial, plus sentenced women at the minimum, medium and work release levels.
• Maximum Security Facility, 1375 Pontiac Avenue, Cranston, RI 02920, 401-462-2053: the oldest prison still in use, for long sentences and for men moved there over serious discipline.
• High Security Center, 54 Power Road, Cranston, RI 02920, 401-462-2028: supermax housing for men who need the closest watch.
• John J. Moran Medium Security Facility, 51 West Road, Cranston, RI 02920, 401-462-3771: sentenced men rated medium custody.
• Minimum Security Facility, 16 Howard Avenue, Cranston, RI 02920, 401-462-2162: minimum-rated men who hold jobs inside, on public service crews or through work release.
• Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility, 950 High Street, Central Falls, RI 02863, 401-729-1190: a federal lockup, not run by RIDOC, holding people for the U.S. Marshals, the Bureau of Prisons and ICE.

Youth under 18 never come to the ACI. They go to the Rhode Island Training School, 57 Power Road, Cranston, RI 02920, 401-462-7390, run by the state's child welfare agency.

No. Rhode Island law starts from the idea that a person charged with a crime goes home on bail while the case runs (R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-13-1). The judge or bail commissioner can pick from these:

• Personal recognizance: he signs a promise to come back, and nobody pays.
• Surety bail: a relative, a friend or a registered bondsperson backs the full amount.
• A 10 percent cash deposit: a tenth of the bail is paid to the court instead of a surety (R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-13-10). On $3,000 bail, that is $300.
• Pretrial release with no bail: he follows rules the court sets. The court must use the lightest choice that works: field supervision, intensive supervision, or community confinement (R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-13-1.3).

Every release carries promises: show up for court, answer the charge and keep the peace. The District Court's Pretrial Services Unit checks on those rules and can make referrals for drug or mental health care. A domestic charge works differently. He cannot leave the station until a judge or bail commissioner sees him and issues a no-contact order (R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-29-4). Contact with the other person, even friendly, is a new crime.

Rhode Island has no price list for charges. The judge or commissioner looks at the charge and his record, then names an amount. The most a charge can bring is a good hint of how high bail may go:

• Disorderly conduct: up to 6 months, $500, or both (R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-45-1)
• Simple assault: up to 1 year, $1,000, or both (R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-5-3)
• First shoplifting charge: a misdemeanor; a fine of $50 or twice the item's price, whichever is more, up to $500, and up to a year (R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-41-20)
• A fourth suspended-license offense: as long as a year in jail and $500 to $1,000 (R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-11-18)
• First DUI with a blood alcohol level of .15 or more: a $500 fine, up to a year, 20 to 60 hours of community service, and 3 to 18 months without a license (R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-27-2)
• Theft over $1,500 and under $5,000: up to 3 years (R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-41-5)
• Drug possession, other than marijuana: up to 3 years and a $500 to $5,000 fine (R.I. Gen. Laws § 21-28-4.01)
• First conviction for breaking into a home: 2 to 10 years (R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-8-2)
• Assault causing serious injury: up to 20 years (R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-5-2)
• A crime that can bring life in prison: bail may be refused

For the real figure in his case, call RIDOC Bail Information at 401-462-2261. Bond details are also a choice on RIDOC's automated 24-hour information line, 401-414-2871.

RIDOC's bail policy (Policy 5.07-5) sends every family to the Records and ID staff on Slate Hill Road. Follow these steps:

1. Call 401-462-2261. Confirm the amount and that the window can take it today.
2. Check the time. If he was brought in today, or he is on today's court list, bail can only be posted after 6:00 p.m. For anyone else, it is taken during operating hours.
3. Drive to 18 Slate Hill Road, Cranston, RI 02920, with photo ID.
4. Bring the bail plus a $25 RIDOC fee (R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-13-4(b)). That fee is never part of the bail.
5. Cash, certified bank checks and credit cards all work. Ask about other forms when you call.
6. Ask when he will walk out. Release follows a schedule set at the moment you pay, so keep every receipt.

If the person is a woman, the same staff send you to the Gloria McDonald Women's Facility, 20 Fleming Road, Cranston, RI 02920, 401-462-0787. Records and ID take questions about one person's file at 401-462-3900.

Yes, both work, depending on the hour.

At the police station, after hours. When a bail commissioner comes to the station, bail can be paid there on the spot.

1. Phone the arresting department and ask if a commissioner is on the way.
2. Plan for the commissioner's fee: $50, or as much as $200 for a session between 11:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. (R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-10-2).
3. Know that this fee is kept. It is separate from the bail.
4. Remind him that he must still go to the formal arraignment in District Court.

At the District Court clerk, on court days. Clerks work weekdays, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Whoever pays needs a license or a Rhode Island ID card. Call the division for the town of arrest:

• Second Division (Newport County towns): Murray Judicial Complex, 45 Washington Square, Newport, RI 02840, 401-841-8350
• Third Division (Kent County, North Kingstown and nine Providence County towns): Noel Judicial Complex, 222 Quaker Lane, Warwick, RI 02886, 401-822-6750
• Fourth Division (the other Washington County towns): McGrath Judicial Complex, 4800 Tower Hill Road, Wakefield, RI 02879, 401-782-4131
• Sixth Division (Bristol County and the seven other Providence County towns): Garrahy Judicial Complex, 1 Dorrance Plaza, Providence, RI 02903, 401-458-5400

RIDOC's bail policy lists these ways to pay cash bail at the ACI:

• Cash
• A Western Union check
• A credit card, which may carry a user fee from the company that runs the charge
• A check from the RIDOC Inmate Accounts Office
• A certified bank check

A money order is not on that list, so plan on another form. Surety bail is done with paperwork. The signer fills out an Affidavit for Bail, which a lawyer from the Attorney General's office or an authorized court clerk must approve. Up to 10 percent of surety bail may be paid in cash, or up to 20 percent when the court orders double surety.

All bail is paid in person. Call RIDOC Bail Information at 401-462-2261 before you drive, so the form you bring matches his case.

For a fee, a bondsperson signs on to cover the whole bail if he skips court. State law keeps a tight hold on them:

• Anyone paid to post felony bail must be approved and registered by the presiding justice of the Superior Court (R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-13-21).
• If the client misses court, the bondsperson first loses no more than 10 percent of the bail. Then they get six months to bring the client back before more can be taken (R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-13-16.2).
• If police pick the client up on a bench warrant, the court must hear from the bondsperson before letting him out on the same bail (R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-13-16.1).
• RIDOC's intake family guide says men at the ACI can call a bondsperson at no cost.

Get the fee, and anything you hand over as security, in writing. To check that a bondsperson is registered, call the Superior Court information line, 401-222-3250.

One receipt covers one case. These can keep him inside after you pay:

• A second case. A Warwick charge and a Newport charge each need their own bail.
• A violation hold. A justice of the peace can order him held with no bail as a bail or probation violator (R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-10-2).
• A federal hold. The U.S. Marshals may want him next.
• A sentence he is already serving on another case.
• Release timing. Release runs on the schedule set when bail is paid.

Before paying, call Records and ID at 401-462-3900 and ask about every hold. Probation holds go through Adult Probation and Parole, 401-462-1619. Probation offices sit in the state courthouses, so ask which office has his file.

Only in a few cases. Under the Rhode Island constitution, nearly every accused person may be bailed (R.I. Const. art. I, § 9). The exceptions need strong evidence of guilt plus one of these charges:

• A crime that can be punished with life in prison
• A crime with a dangerous weapon, by someone already convicted of one, or of a life-sentence crime
• Selling drugs, possessing drugs to sell, or possession that carries 10 years or more

For those drug counts, the law presumes he is a danger to the community, and his lawyer must show otherwise (R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-13-5.1). When the state fights bail on a life-sentence charge, the hearing is in Superior Court unless both sides arrange a recording in District Court (R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-13-1.1). There is no right to bail during an appeal after conviction.

The Attorney General argues bail through an office in each courthouse:

• Providence and Bristol: Licht Judicial Complex, 250 Benefit Street, Providence, RI 02903 (2nd floor), 401-274-4400
• Kent: Noel Judicial Complex, 222 Quaker Lane, Warwick, RI 02886, 401-822-6800
• Newport: Murray Judicial Complex, Eisenhower Square, Newport, RI 02840, 401-841-8310
• Washington: McGrath Judicial Complex, 4800 Tower Hill Road, Wakefield, RI 02879, 401-782-4150

Ask his lawyer to request a bail review. State law says a man held because he cannot post bail may be considered for pretrial release or lower bail (R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-13-1.3). The court can look at bail again at any time. Here is how relatives can help:

1. Let the lawyer know at once how much money you can truly raise.
2. Gather proof of ties: a pay stub, a lease, a school record, or a letter from someone who depends on him.
3. Suggest a plan that eases the judge's worries, such as Pretrial Services check-ins or a home with family.
4. Sit in the courtroom during the hearing. A judge notices people who will stand behind him.

No lawyer yet? The Office of the Public Defender main office is at 160 Pine Street, Providence, RI 02903, 401-222-3492, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The judge usually sends him to the Office of the Public Defender at arraignment. No single income number decides it. The office weighs pay, savings, bills and debts, and he swears to them on a form. For a man held on Slate Hill Road, defender staff visit within several days of his first court date. From an ACI phone, he can reach the main office free by dialing *9001.

• Bristol and Providence, District and Family Court: Garrahy Judicial Complex, 1 Dorrance Plaza, Providence, RI 02903 (1st floor), 401-458-3050. Walk in weekdays 9:00 a.m. to noon and 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
• Bristol and Providence, Superior Court felonies: Licht Judicial Complex, 250 Benefit Street, Providence, RI 02903 (4th floor), 401-222-1312
• Kent, North Kingstown and the Third Division towns: Noel Judicial Complex, 222 Quaker Lane, Suite 100, Warwick, RI 02886, 401-822-6875. Walk in weekdays 9:00 a.m. to noon and 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
• Newport: Murray Judicial Complex, 45 Washington Square, Newport, RI 02840 (3rd floor), 401-841-8320. Walk-ins Thursday only, 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
• Washington: McGrath Judicial Complex, 4800 Tower Hill Road, Suite 243, Wakefield, RI 02879, 401-782-4180. Walk in Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Forms and office news are on the Rhode Island Public Defender site.

Rhode Island's five counties share five state court buildings. Bristol County has none, so its cases go to Providence. Clerks keep weekday hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

• Garrahy Judicial Complex, 1 Dorrance Plaza, Providence, RI 02903: Sixth Division District Court for Bristol County and seven Providence County towns, 401-458-5400; Family Court for Providence and Bristol, 401-458-3200.
• Licht Judicial Complex, 250 Benefit Street, Providence, RI 02903: Superior Court for Providence and Bristol felonies, 401-222-3250.
• Noel Judicial Complex, 222 Quaker Lane, Warwick, RI 02886: Third Division, 401-822-6750; Kent County Superior Court, 401-822-6900; Kent Family Court, 401-822-6725.
• Murray Judicial Complex, 45 Washington Square, Newport, RI 02840: Second Division, 401-841-8350; Newport Superior Court, 401-841-8330; Newport Family Court, 401-841-8340.
• McGrath Judicial Complex, 4800 Tower Hill Road, Wakefield, RI 02879: Fourth Division, 401-782-4131; Washington Superior Court, 401-782-4121; Washington Family Court, 401-782-4111.
• Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal, 670 New London Avenue, Cranston, RI 02920, 401-275-2700, for most traffic cases.
• U.S. District Court, 1 Exchange Terrace, Providence, RI 02903, 401-752-7200, for federal crimes.

If he goes to every court date, the court orders the deposit returned when the case ends (R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-13-10). The clerk first takes out any restitution, fines, costs or assessments the court ordered. What is left goes back to him or to the person who posted it.

• The $25 ACI fee and any bail commissioner fee were never bail, so they stay spent.
• A missed court date brings a bench warrant. After a hearing, the court must forfeit bail if he skipped court, left the area or broke a condition (R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-13-16.1).
• If a case is cleared and nobody claims the leftover bail, it goes to the state treasury.

Keep the receipt and bring ID. Refunds are handled by the clerk for his case. You can also try the District Court criminal line at the Garrahy Judicial Complex, 1 Dorrance Plaza, Providence, RI 02903, 401-458-5403.

Ask before release day. Call the intake office at 401-462-2285 to learn how belongings come back. Property rules are also a menu choice on RIDOC's automated 24-hour information line, 401-414-2871.

Only the man in custody can see his account balance. For money left on the account, call the Inmate Accounts Unit at 401-462-2670. Its window is at 51 West Road, Cranston, RI 02920 (Bldg. 138), open weekdays 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., except state holidays. Our inmate money page covers deposits and accounts.

A federal judge does, not the state. Every federal criminal case in Rhode Island goes to the U.S. District Court, 1 Exchange Terrace, Providence, RI 02903, 401-752-7200. The clerk's office is open weekdays, 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

• The judge holds a detention hearing (18 U.S.C. 3142) and decides if he can go home before trial.
• If he must stay locked up, the U.S. Marshals take custody. Their office is at 2 Exchange Terrace, Room 323, Providence, RI 02903, 401-824-7610.
• Federal detainees are often held at the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility, 950 High Street, Central Falls, RI 02863, 401-729-1190.
• After a federal sentence, look him up on the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

State bail paid on Slate Hill Road has no effect on a federal hold.

Bail answers only the state charge. Immigration follows its own steps:

1. Step one is a request from ICE on Form I-247A, called a detainer. It asks RIDOC to keep him so agents can collect him.
2. Federal rules let that hold last up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Rhode Island goes its own way. In February 2024 the Governor's office said the state does not keep anyone in custody on an ICE detainer alone, citing the federal appeals case Morales v. Chadbourne (1st Cir. 2015).
4. ICE can still arrest him on its own. Its Boston Field Office covers Rhode Island from 1000 District Avenue, Burlington, MA 01803, 781-359-7500. ICE lists the Wyatt Detention Facility, 950 High Street, Central Falls, RI 02863, 401-729-1190, as its Rhode Island detention site.
5. To find a person ICE holds, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator.

Usually not for long. RIDOC runs both the jail and the prisons, so a sentence is served on the same Cranston campus. A newly sentenced man waits on Slate Hill Road to be classified. Then he moves to the sentenced prison that matches his security rating. A woman serves her time at the women's facility.

• Track his building on the RIDOC inmate search.
• See every state facility on our Rhode Island state prisons page.
• The Parole Board is in the Mathias Building, 40 Howard Avenue, Cranston, RI 02920, 401-462-0900, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

A teen is never taken to the ACI. Anyone under 18 goes to Family Court, and those records stay private (R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-2). When Family Court decides a teen must stay locked up, the placement is the Rhode Island Training School, 57 Power Road, Cranston, RI 02920, 401-462-7390.

The Juvenile Clerk sits in the Garrahy Judicial Complex, 1 Dorrance Plaza, Providence, RI 02903, 401-458-3290, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on court days. A teen can be moved to adult court only after a hearing. That can happen for a charge that would bring life for an adult, or for a felony when the teen is 16 or older (R.I. Gen. Laws § 14-1-7).