The Sheriff's Office runs the jail, and the search belongs to the Sheriff. Follow these steps:

1. Begin with the inmate search, which works in any web browser.
2. Enter the surname. Narrow the results with a first name when many people match.
3. If nothing appears, test alternate spellings, middle names or street names people use.
4. Open the person's entry and read the booking details and any bail amount shown.
5. Save any booking or ID number you see, because it speeds up staff lookups.

If you get stuck, call the jail at 931-684-4566. Jail administration is at 931-684-0893 on weekdays.

An empty search is not proof the person went home. Possible explanations:

• Intake still running. Processing can stretch for several hours.
• Still with a city agency. Officers sometimes keep someone at their station for a while first.
• Released fast. Some people get a citation or sign a promise to appear and leave.
• Bonded out. Someone may have posted bail already.
• Taken somewhere else. A different county, the state or federal agents could be holding them.

Call the jail at 931-684-4566 and ask whether a booking exists. Get a report number from the officer who made the arrest, since it helps staff track the person.

The one adult jail we have on record for this county is the Bedford County Jail, 110 Northcreek Drive, Shelbyville, TN 37160, 931-684-4566. If the person is in a separate wing, annex or work program, jail staff can tell you what that unit is for.

These neighboring jails may hold someone arrested near the line:

• Marshall County Jail, 209 North 1st Avenue, Lewisburg, TN 37091, 931-359-6122
• Lincoln County Jail, 4151 Thornton Taylor Parkway, Fayetteville, TN 37334, 931-433-3111
• Metro Moore County Jail, 58 Elm Street South, Lynchburg, TN 37352, 931-307-6448
• Coffee County Jail, 76 County Jail Lane, Manchester, TN 37355, 931-728-3591
• Rutherford County Adult Detention Center, 940 New Salem Highway, Murfreesboro, TN 37129, 615-904-3107
• Giles County Jail, 200 Thomas Gatlin Drive, Pulaski, TN 38478, 931-363-3505
• Cannon County Jail, 110 Alexander Drive, Woodbury, TN 37190, 615-563-5934

We could not confirm that this search displays mugshots. Try the Sheriff's inmate search and notice if a picture sits next to the entry. If none does, ask the Sheriff's Office at 931-684-3232 whether a booking photo can be released.

Under Tennessee's Public Records Act (Tenn. Code Ann. 10-7-503), government photographs can be requested, but booking photos are not named in the law. Each agency decides how it handles a request.

• ICE booking photos are requested through the ICE's Freedom of Information office.
• Federal booking photos are off limits to the public, though the U.S. Marshals Service may release one while chasing a fugitive.

Yes, in two ways. First, use Tennessee VINE. Choose Tennessee, search the name, and pick call, text or email alerts. You can also phone VINE at 888-868-4631, where live operators answer day and night. VINE is a custody lookup too, not only a victim service.

VINE does not cover every county jail the same way. Call the jail at 931-684-4566 to confirm that a release or transfer will reach you. Checking the Sheriff's search each day helps as well.

Following an arrest, the person must see a magistrate or General Sessions judge without unnecessary delay. That official sets bail, weighing home, work, family ties and past record (Tenn. Code Ann. 40-11-118). Bail is meant to be as low as the court finds safe.

• Cash: the entire amount goes to the court clerk or an approved jail officer. A card or app payment may carry a fee.
• Bondsman: most charge a fee near one tenth of the bond, and that fee stays with them.
• Holds: some stalking or domestic abuse arrests bring a 12-hour wait, sometimes longer, before the person can leave.

Ask the jail at 931-684-4566 which window takes bonds. The bail page we wrote lays out each stage, and the Tennessee bail laws for the state rules.

Start with the booking entry in the Sheriff's search, then call the jail at 931-684-4566 and ask for the charge. No statewide criminal case search is open to families, so go to the clerk for court records.

The Circuit Court Clerk, who also keeps General Sessions records, is at 108 North Creek Drive, Suite 6, Shelbyville, TN 37160, 931-684-3223, open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Come with the person's name and birthday. The 17th Judicial District's District Attorney General makes the final charging call. Ask the clerk how to reach that office.

Say it out loud at the first court date: "I want a lawyer and I cannot pay for one." The judge asks about income and decides who qualifies. Then the court names a lawyer.

The District Public Defender's office for the 17th Judicial District covers Bedford, Lincoln, Marshall and Moore counties. Call 931-270-2266 to ask how to apply. A family with money can hire a private lawyer any time, even before the first hearing.

Through a lawyer, the person can seek cheaper bail, looser release terms or a faster hearing.

Visiting hours and rules change, so call the jail's inmate and visitor line at 931-684-4566 before you drive to the Justice Complex at 110 Northcreek Drive, Shelbyville, TN 37160. Ask these questions:

• Which days and times are open for this person's housing unit?
• Do visitors book ahead, in person or by video?
• Which ID is needed, what clothes are barred, and are kids welcome?
• Does a lawyer visit work differently?

Find first-visit tips in our visiting guide. Staff may end any visit that breaks the rules.

Jail account money buys snacks, soap and phone minutes. Call 931-684-4566 for the ways deposits are accepted, any cap per deposit, and fees. Keep their name and booking number nearby.

For deposit options see our money guide, and learn what purchases are possible in the commissary guide. Do not mail cash. A caller who demands payment on the spot is running a scam.

The jail picks how calls and messages work, and the rules differ by facility. Dial 931-684-4566 to learn how calls reach you, their price, and any tablet, text or video service.

Assume staff can listen to calls. Save case talk for your attorney. More background is in our phone calling guide and our email and text guide.

Call the jail at 931-684-4566 before mailing anything. Ask for the exact mailing format, what the envelope must show and what is not allowed, such as photos, books or stickers.

The jail's street address is 110 Northcreek Drive, Shelbyville, TN 37160. Put the legal name and booking number on it, and print your return address on the front. Use plain paper and leave out cash. Typical mailing rules are in our mail guide.

Items taken at booking remain in the jail's storage until the person is freed or moved. If you want to collect items, call 931-684-4566 and find out who hands them over, the best days to come and if a signed form is needed.

Bring photo ID to the Justice Complex, 110 Northcreek Drive, Shelbyville, TN 37160. Clothes, phones and cash can each have their own steps, so check every item.

Phone the jail at 931-684-4566 and ask to reach medical staff. Report the person's name, the health issue, each medicine with its dose, and the prescriber's contact details. The person should also submit a sick-call request from inside.

A life-threatening problem calls for 911. Say so first if the person may be in mental distress or at risk of self-injury.

Deputies from the Sheriff's Office, 931-684-3232, serve warrants in the county, and city police do the same inside Shelbyville and other towns. Ring the Sheriff's line and find out if any warrant carries that name, because we have no wanted list to link. For the case itself, the clerk is the place to ask: Circuit Court Clerk, 108 North Creek Drive, Suite 6, Shelbyville, TN 37160, 931-684-3223. Before you try to clear a warrant, consult a lawyer. The judge's court that signed it decides how it gets resolved.

Hearing dates are kept by the court clerk handling the case. General Sessions handles first appearances, misdemeanors and felony preliminary hearings. Felonies then go to a grand jury and on to Circuit Court.

• Circuit Court Clerk, 108 North Creek Drive, Suite 6, Shelbyville, TN 37160, 931-684-3223. Give the full name and birth date.
• A felony hearing that tests the evidence has a 14-day deadline when the person stays locked up and a 30-day deadline after release on bond.

Our court page explains each stage. Write down every date and arrive early, since a missed date can cost a bond.

This county falls under the Winchester Division of the federal Eastern District of Tennessee. The courthouse is at 200 South Jefferson Street, Winchester, TN 37398, and its clerk answers at 423-752-5200.

1. At the first court visit, a judge conducts a detention hearing and picks custody or freedom until trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. Before trial, the Marshals Service takes custody, frequently using a local jail. The Winchester Marshals office, 931-962-1993, is staffed during court terms.
3. After sentencing, use the federal prison inmate locator.

Here is what usually happens:

1. The hold request itself is made on Form I-247A.
2. Under 8 CFR 287.7(d), staff may hold them up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released.
3. After that, ICE assumes custody. Its New Orleans Field Office covers Tennessee.
4. Try the ICE Online Detainee Locator, entering the name and birth country.

Tennessee's Department of Safety and Homeland Security works with ICE through its immigration enforcement division, 615-532-9736. The state's list shows Bedford as a participant in the federal 287(g) partnership with ICE (state page).

After a sentence to state time, the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) sends the person first to an intake center where staff classify them, then on to a prison that fits. Some people wait in a county jail first, so call the jail at 931-684-4566 if you cannot find them.

• Search the TDOC offender search. It can show a photo, status, location, offense and sentence.
• TDOC headquarters: 320 Sixth Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37243, 615-741-1000.
• Our Tennessee state prisons guide explains visits and mail.

A child is never held in the adult jail. Juvenile cases stay private, and the child goes to juvenile detention. Juvenile Court meets at the Justice Complex, 108 North Creek Drive, Suite 6, Shelbyville, TN 37160. Call the Circuit Court Clerk at 931-684-3223 to ask who schedules juvenile hearings.

The county's Juvenile Detention Center is at 101 Lane Parkway, Shelbyville, TN 37160, 931-680-9720. Ask about a lawyer and the detention hearing right away.

Get the report number from whoever made the arrest, then call that agency. The agencies below work in the county:

• Sheriff's Office, Justice Complex, 110 Northcreek Drive, Shelbyville, TN 37160, 931-684-3232. Deputies patrol the areas outside city limits.
• City and town police. Officers in Shelbyville and other towns also make arrests. The Sheriff's line can tell you which department covers a particular street.
• Tennessee Highway Patrol. Troopers cover state roads. Open the THP district list and ask for the district that serves the county.