Anyone can use the Sheriff's list. It costs nothing and needs no account, so you can start right now.

1. Go to the jail list on your phone or computer.
2. Choose current inmates, or choose the view of everyone who came in or left during the last three days.
3. Type a last name. If nothing appears, try fewer letters.
4. Read the full row: booking date, city, arresting agency, release date.
5. Check each charge and the bond amount beside it.

Jot down what you find. Staff at 931-589-8803 can then help you quicker.

Names often lag behind an arrest. These are the likely reasons:

• Paperwork under way. Deputies still have to take prints and finish the file.
• Already home. The person might have been handed a ticket-style citation, paid a bond or signed a pledge to come back to court.
• Held elsewhere. An arrest made next door normally lands in that county's cells. A prisoner already sentenced to state time may have moved to the state.
• Spelling trouble. Look again with a middle name, nickname or older surname typed in.
• A minor. Children do not go to the adult jail.

Phone 931-589-8803 and ask for Booking to learn if the person is inside.

The county runs one adult lockup, the Perry County Jail, 582 Bethel Road, Linden, TN 37096, 931-589-8803. Nothing in our research points to an annex, workhouse or work-release site. It houses people waiting on court dates and some serving short sentences.

If deputies from another county made the pickup, one of these jails might have the person:

• Hickman County Jail, 108 College Avenue, Centerville, TN 37033, 931-729-6143
• Lewis County Jail, 437 Swan Avenue, Hohenwald, TN 38462, 931-796-5096

Both counties share a court district with this one. When in doubt, ask the Sheriff's line.

No. The list gives names, ages, dates, charges and bonds, but no mugshots or booking photos. You may ask the Sheriff's Office at 931-589-8803 whether a booking photo can be shared.

Tennessee's public records statute reaches photographs held by government (see Tenn. Code Ann. section 10-7-503), but it says nothing about booking photos by name. Answers can differ from one agency to the next.

• ICE keeps its own pictures. Those requests go to the ICE FOIA site.
• Federal mugshots are kept private. Only the U.S. Marshals Service may let one go, for a fugitive case as an example.

VINE can. The service is free, and it reaches out by voice call, text message or email whenever an inmate's custody status shifts. Go to VINELink, select the Tennessee option, and sign up. You can also call 888-868-4631 at any hour and reach an operator.

The state names VINE for inmates of the prison system. A county lockup may be handled differently, so search the name, then confirm with the jail at 931-589-8803. Also glance at the Sheriff's list every day.

Shortly after the booking, bail is decided by a General Sessions judge or a magistrate. Bond amounts show on the Sheriff's list. Nobody leaves until bail exists. For some stalking and abuse arrests, the jail may keep the person at least 12 hours first. Ask staff.

• Cash. Pay the whole bail to the court clerk. Clerks may take a debit card or phone app, and may add a charge.
• Bondsman. The fee runs near 10 percent of the bond and stays with the bondsman. Courts in this area decide which bondsmen are accepted.
• Promise to appear. A judge may release some people with no payment.

Ask the jail at 931-589-8803 where payment is taken. See our bail page for each step and state bail rules for the law.

The Sheriff's list shows each charge beside its bond, which tells you why the person is held. The prosecutor may change charges later.

• Misdemeanor questions go to General Sessions Court at 931-589-5317.
• About a felony, you can ask the Circuit Court Clerk at 931-589-2218.
• Both are in the courthouse, 121 East Main Street, Linden, TN 37096.
• The District Attorney General's office is at 10 East Main Street, Hohenwald, TN 38462, 931-796-3450.

Start every call by giving the name on the person's ID and the birthday. Criminal cases have no statewide online lookup, so phoning is safest.

At the first appearance, they must tell the court, in simple words, that a lawyer is wanted and the cost is too high. Only the judge picks who gets appointed help, and a bigger bill for the family is not the test. Relatives cannot apply for them, though you can help collect income papers.

The county belongs to the 32nd Judicial District with Hickman and Lewis counties. The District Public Defender's office is on the town square in Centerville, TN 37033, 931-236-5560. Ask for its street address and how to reach an attorney.

Hiring your own lawyer is allowed. A paid lawyer can argue for a lower bond or easier release terms.

The jail writes its visiting policy, and it can change with little warning. Phone 931-589-8803 before you travel to 582 Bethel Road, Linden, TN 37096. Questions to bring:

• Which days and times can people visit?
• Do people sit together in a room, talk through a video screen, or both?
• Which ID counts, and is there an age minimum?
• What clothing is banned?
• May kids come?

Our visiting guide lists what many Tennessee jails require. Expect to leave your phone and bag locked in the car unless staff tell you otherwise.

The balance pays for treats, soap and phone minutes. Phone 931-589-8803 and learn which deposit methods are open today, plus fees and limits. Keep the person's full name handy.

Our money guide compares the typical deposit routes, and the commissary guide explains the items sold inside. Do not mail cash. Ignore strangers who ask for payment.

The jail selects the phone company and sets the call policy. Ring 931-589-8803 to hear how calls reach inmates, their cost, and any text or video option. Also ask if recordings are made. Many are, so skip case talk.

A lawyer's calls follow different rules than family calls. To go further, see our jail phone guide and the electronic messaging guide.

Phone 931-589-8803 before mailing. Ask which exact lines to write, and whether a booking number or housing area belongs on them. Ask which items get through inspection, such as pictures, greeting cards or books.

Put the inmate's legal name on a plain envelope, with your own address in the corner. Never enclose cash. Our mail guide explains common rules. A rule-breaking letter can come back or be tossed.

Clothing, a wallet, a phone and similar things taken at booking are kept in a bin until the day the person is freed. To drop off or pick up things, phone 931-589-8803 and ask who may do so.

Ask whether the inmate must sign off before anything is handed over, and bring a photo ID. Go to 582 Bethel Road, Linden, TN 37096.

Phone 931-589-8803 at once and ask for medical staff. Share the name, the drug, the dose and the doctor's name. Mention allergies, pregnancy or any mental health crisis.

The inmate can also file a written request inside. For an emergency, dial 911.

Deputies of the Sheriff serve warrants, and there is no town police force on record. Phone 931-589-8803 or read the Sheriff's warrant page. For news of a case file, ring the Circuit Court Clerk at 931-589-2218. If you learn one exists, talk with an attorney first. After that, contact the issuing court to ask how to clear it. You will find the clerk's office in the courthouse at 121 East Main Street, Linden, TN 37096.

Call the court holding the case. Each office below is at the courthouse, 121 East Main Street, Linden, TN 37096:

• General Sessions Court, 931-589-5317: first appearances, misdemeanors and felony preliminary hearings. It also serves as Juvenile Court.
• Circuit Court Clerk, 931-589-2218: felony trials after a grand jury indicts.
• Courthouse main number, 931-589-2216.

City court matters from Linden and Lobelville are folded into General Sessions. The court guide walks through a case.

Western District of Tennessee judges hear these cases. This county belongs to that district's Eastern Division, whose courthouse is the James D. Todd building at 111 South Highland Avenue, Jackson, TN 38301. The clerk answers at 731-421-9200.

1. At a detention hearing (18 U.S.C. 3142), a judge decides whether the accused waits behind bars or at home.
2. Marshals keep pretrial prisoners. Their Jackson office is Room 214 in that courthouse, 731-427-4661.
3. A federal defender sits at 109 South Highland Avenue, Jackson, TN 38301, 731-427-2556.
4. After sentencing, the person appears on the federal Bureau of Prisons locator, which names the facility.

The steps often run like this:

1. A federal immigration detainer on Form I-247A (8 CFR 287.7(d)) may reach the jail from ICE.
2. Its request: keep the person for up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released.
3. Tennessee's own roster of counties in the 287(g) program with ICE includes this one; see the state enforcement page.
4. Use the ICE Online Detainee Locator with a name and birth country. Tennessee falls under the New Orleans Field Office, which the locator can point you to.

Felony sentences to the state go through the Tennessee Department of Correction. Some people wait in county custody before moving, so phone 931-589-8803 to ask.

• Try the state offender lookup, which can bring up a picture, the person's status, housing site, offense and term.
• The department sits at 320 Sixth Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37243, 615-741-1000.
• Our state prison page has visit and mail details.

Children stay out of the adult jail. General Sessions Court acts as Juvenile Court here. Phone 931-589-5317 at 121 East Main Street, Linden, TN 37096, to learn where a child is and the hearing time.

Our research did not turn up a youth detention center for this county. Ask the court or the Sheriff's Office at 931-589-8803 where a held child would be sent. These files are private.

The jail list tells you which agency made each arrest. The county has roughly 8,222 residents. Here is who covers it:

• Sheriff's Office, 582 Bethel Road, Linden, TN 37096, 931-589-8803. Covers Linden, Lobelville and everywhere else in the county, since no town police department is on record.
• Tennessee Highway Patrol. Look on the patrol contacts page for the district that covers this area.

For an emergency, dial 911.