1. Go to the jail's inmate lookup.
2. Enter a surname first. Narrow a long result list with the given name.
3. Nothing found? Test other spellings: a nickname, a former surname, or just one half of a double surname.
4. Open the matching entry and jot down any booking or ID number it gives.
5. Call 864-487-2529 with that number to ask about charges, bond and hearing times.

Jail rosters are public records under state law (S.C. Code 30-4-30(D)(3)), so staff can confirm whether someone is booked there.

• Booking not finished. Fingerprinting and paperwork come before the listing. The jail's electronic prints often get a state and federal reply in 15 minutes to an hour, but entries can still lag.
• Released. A bond got posted, or the hearing ended in release on a personal recognizance bond.
• Somewhere else. A county next door, a federal hold or state prison may have them.
• Spelling. One wrong letter hides a record.
• Under 18. Youths go to the Department of Juvenile Justice, not the adult roster.

For a firm answer, phone the jail at 864-487-2529, 315 E. Dr. LM Rosemond Lane, Gaffney, SC 29340.

The county has a single jail, the Detention Center on Rosemond Lane, 315 E. Dr. LM Rosemond Lane, Gaffney, SC 29340, 864-487-2529. Inside are people waiting for trial plus anyone sentenced to 90 days or fewer. It uses a direct supervision design with no bars or cells.

Arrests close to the Spartanburg, Union or York lines sometimes end up next door. Try these:

• Spartanburg County Detention Center, 950 California Avenue, Spartanburg, SC 29303, 864-596-2607
• Union County Detention Center, 1657 Jonesville Highway, Union, SC 29379, 864-429-2818
• York County Detention Center at the Moss Justice Center, 1675-3A York Highway, York, SC 29745, 803-628-3083

North of the line sits Cleveland County, North Carolina. For an arrest there, call that county's sheriff.

State law treats jail rosters as public. The Sheriff's Office handles requests for booking photos: 312 E. Frederick St., Gaffney, SC 29340, 864-489-4722. South Carolina's Freedom of Information Act gives the office ten business days for a reply (S.C. Code 30-4-30(C)).

• A 2016 law makes mugshot websites delete a booking photo at no charge. The person mails a certified request with proof of a dismissal, expungement or not-guilty verdict, and the site has 30 days (S.C. Code 17-1-60).
• ICE photos are asked for with a records request through this ICE page.
• Federal mugshots seldom go public. A Marshals fugitive alert is the usual exception.

VINE, short for Statewide Automated Victim Information and Notification, is a free tool for anyone, not only victims. Searching tells you if someone is held and in which facility. Registering adds a phone call, text or email whenever that status shifts.

• Online: VINELink South Carolina
• By phone, any hour, English or Spanish: 866-727-2846

Registration is a separate step, and notices can trail events. Staff at the jail answer faster: 864-487-2529.

Everyone gets a bond hearing before a magistrate or city judge within 24 hours (S.C. Code 22-5-510). People picked up by city police in Gaffney go before a city judge at City Hall, 201 N. Limestone Street, Gaffney, SC 29340, daily at 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Others see a county magistrate; the jail can tell you when.

• Most people are offered release on a signed promise, cash, a bondsman's surety bond, or sometimes a 10 percent deposit.
• Only a circuit judge can set bond on murder and other charges that carry death or life.
• Once the jail has the bond paperwork, it gets four hours to let the person out.

Our bail and bond guide lays out costs, places to pay and holds.

The jail staff at 864-487-2529 can read the booking charges. Ask for the code section on each one, since that tells you how serious it is.

After the warrant reaches court, search the case on the county Public Index. The 7th Circuit Solicitor settles felony charges and works from 202 N. Petty St., Gaffney, SC 29340, 864-487-2576.

State law groups crimes by class. Felony classes run from A (up to 30 years) to F (up to 5). Misdemeanor classes run from A (up to 3 years) to C (up to 1) (S.C. Code 16-1-20).

No one has to wait for release to apply. The Seventh Circuit Public Defender's office sends a staff member to the jail to take applications. The office is at 229 E. Floyd Baker Blvd., Gaffney, SC 29340, 864-514-3123, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• The applicant signs a sworn form about their money (S.C. Code 17-3-45).
• A $40 fee is due, but the clerk may lower or waive it (S.C. Code 17-3-30).
• Staff weigh household income and assets, and an investigator interviews the person.

A family can retain its own defense lawyer at any stage.

The Sheriff's posted visiting rules work like this:

• Each inmate gets one visiting hour per week, set by housing unit and bed number.
• Inmates list up to four visitors. Names on the list can change each Monday.
• Two listed people may visit at once.
• Anyone under 17 needs a responsible adult, must be on the list and counts as one of the two.
• Check in 15 minutes ahead. Latecomers lose the visit.
• Visits happen through a window. Bring no food or drink, use one chair per window and don't touch the glass. Leaving ends the visit.
• Wear appropriate clothes.

The county put out a newer visiting policy in 2024. Before you drive over, call 864-487-2529 to confirm the day and hour, and ask about video visits. Our visiting guide has general tips.

Funds on a jail account buy things like soap, snacks and calls. Phone 864-487-2529 and ask how deposits are made today, the caps and the fees. Keep the legal name and any lookup number handy.

Our money deposit guide and commissary guide explain the usual options. Never mail cash to the jail.

The jail's central control room runs the phone system along with the doors and cameras. Phone 864-487-2529 with three questions: how to open a calling account, the cost of each call, and if tablet messaging is offered.

Avoid discussing the charges on these lines; save that for the defense attorney. Our phone guide explains common calling systems, and our email and text guide covers messaging.

Personal mail must be a postcard. Letters in envelopes go back to the sender. Address it like this:

Inmate's full name
Cherokee County Detention Center
315 E. Dr. LM Rosemond Lane, Gaffney, SC 29340

• Size: at least 3.5 by 5 inches, no larger than 4.25 by 6 inches.
• Use blue or black ink, and include the sender's whole name and address.
• Plain or picture postcards are fine, including photo postcards made at a store. Stamps are removed.
• Rejected: greeting cards, stickers or address labels, glue, tape, glitter, crayon, marker, perfume, lipstick, stains, layered cards and code.
• Photos come only as postcards. A person may keep 10 letters, pictures or postcards at a time.
• Newspapers and magazines are not allowed inside.

Legal mail from lawyers, courts and officials is exempt from the postcard rule but must be clearly marked. Our jail mail guide has more.

The jail keeps a person's wallet, phone and clothing in storage after booking. Call 864-487-2529 to learn the pickup rules and whether the inmate's written OK is needed. Bring photo ID to the jail at 315 E. Dr. LM Rosemond Lane, Gaffney, SC 29340.

State law makes the county provide inmates with basic needs, medical care included (S.C. Code 24-5-80). If your person has a health problem, an injury or a daily prescription, call the jail right away at 864-487-2529. Give the drug name, dose and the doctor's name and phone.

The South Carolina Department of Corrections inspects all jails yearly (S.C. Code 24-9-10). If suicide or a breakdown is a concern, tell the officer who answers in your first sentence. Dial 911 when a life is in danger.

Outside town limits, deputies serve warrants. Inside Gaffney or Blacksburg, city officers do. Ask the Sheriff's Office at 312 E. Frederick St., Gaffney, SC 29340, 864-489-4722, to check a name. A court clerk can check its own warrants by phone. Two statewide fugitive pages exist: the probation agency's most wanted offenders and the federal Marshals list. Case records sit on the Public Index. With a lawyer's help, a person can arrange to turn themselves in at the jail, 315 E. Dr. LM Rosemond Lane, Gaffney, SC 29340, or have the court reschedule. The Clerk of Court is at 125 E. Floyd Baker Blvd., Gaffney, SC 29340, 864-487-2571.

• Felony and Family Court dates: Clerk of Court, 125 E. Floyd Baker Blvd., Gaffney, SC 29340, 864-487-2571. The clerk also links court rosters.
• Magistrate cases: 312 E. Frederick St., Gaffney, SC 29340, 864-487-2533, or the Blacksburg office, 301 West Cherokee Street, Suite A, Blacksburg, SC 29702, 864-839-2492.
• City cases: Municipal Court, 201 North Limestone Street, Gaffney, SC 29340, 864-487-8524; or Blacksburg Municipal Court, P.O. Box 487, Blacksburg, SC 29702, 864-839-2332.

A missed date can mean a bench warrant, so write each one down. Our court guide explains every step of a case.

Federal arrests here go through the Spartanburg Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. Court may meet at the Donald S. Russell Federal Building, 201 Magnolia Street, Spartanburg, SC 29306. The clerk's office for that division is in Greenville at 250 East North Street, Greenville, SC 29601, 864-241-2700.

1. The first federal hearing settles detention: home with conditions, or custody until trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. Held defendants are the U.S. Marshals' responsibility and may sit in a local jail. Their Greenville office answers at 300 East Washington Street, Room 232, Greenville, SC 29601, 864-232-1566.
3. After sentencing, search the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator by name or register number.

1. ICE flags the person by sending the Detention Center a Form I-247A detainer.
2. That lets the jail keep them up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. ICE officers transfer the person out. The South Carolina office of ICE's Atlanta Field Office is at 3950 Faber Place Drive, North Charleston, SC 29405, 843-746-9800.
4. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator. Have the A-number ready, or use the full name with birth country.

Within 72 hours of a criminal booking, South Carolina law has the jail verify the person's lawful presence. It notifies Homeland Security when someone lacks it (S.C. Code 23-3-1100). A judge setting bond must also think about unlawful presence and flight risk (S.C. Code 22-5-510(D)(4)).

Once a judge imposes more than three months, the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) takes over and assigns a prison (S.C. Code 24-3-20). New arrivals start in a reception and evaluation unit, and face-to-face visits wait. Visits open once that ends or after 30 days, whichever is sooner.

• Use the SCDC inmate search for state prisoners. County jail inmates are on the county lookup instead.
• For custody alerts by phone, try SC VINE at 866-727-2846. SCDC: 4444 Broad River Road, Columbia, SC 29210, 803-896-8500.
• See our South Carolina state prisons guide.

Kids under 18 are handled by Family Court and the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), not the adult roster. The adult jail may keep a minor no longer than six hours (S.C. Code 63-19-820). Within 48 hours of being detained, not counting weekends and holidays, a youth sees a judge (S.C. Code 63-19-830).

• Local DJJ office: 113 W. Buford St., Suite A, Gaffney, SC 29340, 864-487-2564.
• Most counties' detained youth go to the DJJ Juvenile Detention Complex, 1725 Shivers Road, Columbia, SC 29210, 803-896-9440.
• Family Court desk: 125 E. Floyd Baker Blvd., Gaffney, SC 29340, 864-487-2570.

The arresting agency decides where the case starts. These agencies work in and around the county:

• Cherokee County Sheriff's Office, 312 E. Frederick St., Gaffney, SC 29340, 864-489-4722. It patrols everything outside town limits and runs the jail.
• Gaffney Police Department, 201 N. Limestone Street, Gaffney, SC 29340, 864-489-8115. Its arrests go to the city court in City Hall.
• Blacksburg Police Department, 101 S. Shelby St., Blacksburg, SC 29702, 864-839-2331. Alternative number: 864-839-2515.
• Chesnee Police Department, 201 West Cherokee Street, Chesnee, SC 29323. Chesnee sits mostly in Spartanburg County, near the county line. Call through City Hall at 864-461-2225.
• SC Highway Patrol, Troop 4, which covers this county, 454 S. Anderson Road, Suite 400, Rock Hill, SC 29730, 803-639-9035.
• South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), the state's investigators, 4400 Broad River Road, Columbia, SC 29210, 803-737-9000.