The Sheriff's lookup covers people now in custody and people let go within the last 90 days. Try it this way:

1. Open the Sheriff's inmate search page.
2. Key in the family name. If dozens of matches show, narrow it with a given name.
3. If a service notice appears instead of results, click the weekly bookings report on that page. It is titled "Prisoners/Charges Booked In by Date Range."
4. Scan the report for the name. Each line gives a booking number, age, charges, release status, how the person got out (posted bond, PR bond, fine paid) and the release date.
5. Copy down the booking number. Staff and courts use it to find the right file fast.
6. Confirm by calling 803-321-2141, since a report covers only its own week.

Records leave the site 90 days after a release. Jail rosters are public records in South Carolina (S.C. Code 30-4-30(D)(3)), and the Sheriff's Office takes written records requests for a reasonable fee.

An empty result does not prove anyone was let go. Likely explanations:

• Intake takes time. Staff collect prints and photos and fill in forms before a record appears; the prints travel electronically to SLED and the FBI.
• The report is weekly. Someone booked today may not appear until the next report.
• Spelling. Records follow the ID card, so try the formal first name, both halves of a double surname, or an older family name.
• Release. After 90 days out, the record drops off.
• Another jail. An arrest across the county line, or a federal case, can land the person somewhere else.
• Age. Teens go through juvenile justice, not this adult list.

Detention staff can check by name and birth date at 803-321-2141. Their alternative number is 803-405-7750. After hours, the Sheriff's main line is 803-321-2211.

The Detention Center at 3239 Louis Rich Drive, Newberry, SC 29108, 803-321-2141, is the only detention center in the county. It is licensed for 134 inmates and books about 2,400 people a year. Every agency here uses it: the Sheriff's Office, the three town police departments, state troopers and other state officers.

An arrest just over the line lands in that county's jail instead. Neighboring jails:

• Laurens: Johnson Detention Center, 154 Templeton Rd, Laurens, SC 29360, 864-683-4055
• Union: Union County Detention Center, 1657 Jonesville Highway, Union, SC 29379, 864-429-2818
• Fairfield: Fairfield County Detention Center, 10 Faith Lane, Winnsboro, SC 29180, 803-635-4841
• Richland: Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, 201 John Mark Dial Drive, Columbia, SC 29209, 803-576-3200
• Lexington: Lexington County Detention Center, 521 Gibson Road, Lexington, SC 29072, 803-785-2743
• Saluda: Saluda County Detention Center, 205 East Church Street, Saluda, SC 29138, 864-445-0286
• Greenwood: Greenwood County Detention Center, 528 Edgefield Street, Greenwood, SC 29646, 864-943-8059

For a photo, ask the Detention Center at 803-321-2141 or send a written records request to the Sheriff's Office, 550 Wilson Road, Newberry, SC 29108. Agencies get ten working days to respond to an open records request (S.C. Code 30-4-30(C)), and a reasonable fee may be charged.

A photo on a private website can be taken down for free. When the case ends in dismissal, an acquittal or an expungement, mail the site a certified letter with proof. It then has 30 days to remove the photo, with no charge (S.C. Code 17-1-60, from 2016 Act No. 132). Expunged records and photos held by agencies are destroyed too (S.C. Code 17-1-40).

Immigration photos can be sought through ICE's FOIA page. Federal mug shots rarely go public, except when the Marshals post one to find a fugitive.

Signing up costs nothing. The Sheriff's Detention Center page links a VINE sign-up for this jail. Statewide, VINELink South Carolina reports custody status and the holding facility. Register there to be told when that status changes.

No computer? SC VINE takes calls at 866-727-2846 (English and Spanish). Searches work with a name, an offender number or a SID number. Victims use the same service to learn about a release or escape, so families and victims both rely on it.

Bond court meets at the jail every day at 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. A magistrate must hold the hearing within 24 hours of arrest (S.C. Code 22-5-510). The judge may grant a personal recognizance bond, set a cash or surety bond, allow a ten percent deposit, or order GPS monitoring. A circuit judge, not the magistrate, handles bond on death-eligible or life-sentence charges.

• Bondsmen serving this jail are named on the Sheriff's bonding company list. Their fee can't exceed 15 percent and is never refunded.
• The Magistrate Court takes cash, money orders and certified checks, not personal checks.
• Once the bond is in, release must happen within four hours.

Our bail page goes through every step, from payment to refunds.

The weekly bookings report on the Sheriff's lookup page lists each charge next to the name. For more detail, start with these calls:

• The Detention Center at 803-321-2141 can read the charges and bond on file.
• For a felony warrant or General Sessions case, the Clerk of Court at 803-321-2110 keeps the papers.
• For a misdemeanor or traffic charge in the county, try the Magistrate Court at 803-321-2144.

Under open records law, incident reports showing what crime happened and where are available to the public (S.C. Code 30-4-50(A)(8)). Ask the arresting agency for a copy. The judge also reads every charge aloud at bond court.

Ask for one at bond court. If money is short, the person swears out a financial form and the court names a public defender (S.C. Code 17-3-10). The application fee is $40, and the clerk can lower or waive it (S.C. Code 17-3-30).

The local public defender works at 1226 College Street, Newberry, SC 29108, 803-321-1435. Relatives may phone to check if a defender has been named to the case. The state program is the South Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense, 1330 Lady Street, Suite 401, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-734-1343.

A lawyer matters early. In a felony case, a preliminary hearing must be requested no more than 10 days after bond court (Rule 2(a), SCRCrimP).

The Sheriff's Office says every visit here, whether you come to the jail or log in from home, is held by video. This keeps staff and visitors safe. Visits are booked with the jail's video visit provider by phone at 859-334-0959 or on its website, which the Sheriff's visitation page links.

• Set up an account with the provider and schedule a time.
• Ask about cost, length and how far ahead to book before you pay.
• For days, hours, ID rules and dress rules for on-site video visits, call the jail at 803-321-2141.

Our visitation page covers the setup and what to expect on screen.

Deposits to the commissary account are made online. A link on the Sheriff's deposit page leads to the company that runs the jail store. On that site, pick the option to add money to a current inmate's account. Have the full name ready, and the booking number in case it is asked for.

Ask the jail at 803-321-2141 about deposit limits, fees and any lobby option. Mailed cash is a bad idea. Our deposit help page and commissary guide cover fees and shopping.

The same company that runs video visits also runs inmate phone calls here. People in jail usually call out; you cannot phone them directly. To set up a prepaid account or ask about messages and tablets, call the provider at 859-334-0959.

The jail can answer questions about phone hours and blocked numbers at 803-321-2141. Calls and messages from a jail may be monitored, so talk about family, not the charges. For setup tips, see our calling guide and messaging guide.

Call the Detention Center at 803-321-2141 before you write. Ask staff to confirm the mailing address, the number to add beside the name, and what may go inside. For reference, the building itself stands at 3239 Louis Rich Drive, Newberry, SC 29108.

• Address it to the legal name the jail uses, plus the booking number from the weekly report when staff want it.
• Print your name and a full return address in the upper left.
• Keep letters plain. Leave out cash, stamps, stickers and anything glued on.
• Ask before you send books, magazines or photos, since jails often limit them.

Our inmate mail page has more tips on what usually gets through.

Things taken at booking, like a wallet, phone and keys, are logged and stored. They usually go back to the person at release. If they need to be picked up sooner, or the person is sent to prison, call the Detention Center at 803-321-2141.

Ask which items can be released, who may collect them and when. A signed authorization from the inmate may be needed. Bring a photo ID to 3239 Louis Rich Drive, Newberry, SC 29108. Leftover commissary funds are another thing to ask about.

Counties carry a legal duty to cover food, clothes, water and doctor access for people they jail (S.C. Code 24-5-80). SCDC inspectors visit every jail each year, at minimum (S.C. Code 24-9-10).

Worried about a condition? Phone the Detention Center at 803-321-2141. Tell staff about medicines, allergies, pregnancy or mental health needs. Have the name of the doctor or pharmacy ready. A lawyer can also raise urgent health needs with the judge at bond court.

For a true emergency, dial 911.

The Sheriff's Warrant Division at 550 Wilson Road, Newberry, SC 29108 handles arrest and bench warrants. Inside town limits, the local police may serve them. Call 803-405-7706 on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or 803-321-2222 after hours. Helpful links: the Sheriff's warrants page, state probation's most wanted list and the Marshals' top fugitives. A person facing a warrant should call a lawyer and plan a surrender through the division, or ring the clerk of the issuing court about a fresh date. Felony warrants return to the Clerk of Court, 1226 College Street, Newberry, SC 29108, 803-321-2110.

Clerks find files fastest when you spell the name and give the birthday:

• General Sessions (felonies): Clerk of Court, 803-321-2110
• County misdemeanors and traffic: Magistrate Court, 803-321-2144
• City cases: Municipal Court, 803-321-1010
• Prosperity tickets: town court on the first Wednesday of each month, at the time printed on the ticket

The magistrate's office takes requests to change a date only in writing, faxed to 803-321-2172. Missing court leads to a bench warrant, so keep every notice. Our criminal court page explains each stage and what happens there.

From arrest until the verdict, the U.S. Marshals keep federal defendants. The Greenville office covers this part of the state at 300 East Washington Street, Room 232, Greenville, SC 29601, 864-232-1566. Ask there which jail is holding the person.

Cases from here are filed in the Greenwood Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. The clerk's office is at 250 East North Street, Greenville, SC 29601, 864-241-2700. The first court appearance doubles as the detention hearing (18 U.S.C. 3142).

After sentencing, search the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator by name or by the eight-digit register number.

A state bond does not end an immigration hold. Finding someone in ICE custody usually goes like this:

1. ICE sends the Detention Center a detainer, Form I-247A.
2. Staff may then keep someone up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Under state law, any jail holding someone on a criminal charge has 72 hours to check immigration status and must notify Homeland Security of anyone here unlawfully (S.C. Code 23-3-1100). Judges must weigh that status at bond court (S.C. Code 22-5-510(D)(4)).
4. ICE officers then come for the person and move them to federal custody.
5. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator. Have the full name, country of birth and, if known, the A-number.

If the locator comes up empty, contact ICE's South Carolina office, 3950 Faber Place Drive, North Charleston, SC 29405, 843-746-9800.

Once a sentence passes three months, the South Carolina Department of Corrections takes custody (S.C. Code 24-3-20). Newcomers spend their first stretch in reception and evaluation. During that phase relatives cannot visit in person, unless it runs longer than 30 days.

• Open the SCDC inmate search, which lists the state number, the institution and the living unit, refreshed each midnight.
• Expect the SCDC number to be assigned during the first week.
• To get custody alerts, phone SC VINE at 866-727-2846. For anything else, reach SCDC's main office at 4444 Broad River Road, Columbia, SC 29210, 803-896-8500.

Our South Carolina prison directory describes every state prison.

Teens are handled by Family Court and the Department of Juvenile Justice, so they will not appear in the adult lookup. Holding a minor in an adult lockup is limited to six hours, and for kids ten and under any jail is off limits (S.C. Code 63-19-820). Within 48 hours, a judge must decide whether detention continues; weekend days and holidays are not part of that window (S.C. Code 63-19-830).

• DJJ county office: 1309 College Street, Newberry, SC 29108, 803-276-8243.
• Most held youth in the state stay at the Juvenile Detention Complex, 1725 Shivers Road, Columbia, SC 29210, 803-896-9440.

Some 17-year-olds facing major felonies are charged as adults and can end up at the county jail (S.C. Code 63-19-20(1)).

One county 911 center sends out deputies and all three town departments. For anything that is not an emergency, use these lines:

• Sheriff's Office: 550 Wilson Road, Newberry, SC 29108, 803-321-2211. Deputies patrol the rural county and the towns with no police force, including Little Mountain, Pomaria, Peak and Silverstreet.
• Newberry Police Department: 1507 Nance Street, Newberry, SC 29108, 803-321-1010.
• Prosperity Police Department: Town Hall, 305 N. Main Street, Prosperity, SC 29127, 803-364-2622.
• Whitmire Police Department: phone the Sheriff's Office, which dispatches for the town.
• Newberry College Campus Security: 2100 College Street, Newberry, SC 29108, open 24 hours at 803-940-0672.
• South Carolina Highway Patrol, Troop 2: 1801 Bypass 25 SE, Greenwood, SC 29646, 864-227-6115.

No matter which badge made the arrest, the booking happens at the Detention Center on Louis Rich Drive.