1. Open the Sheriff's record search. One portal holds both court files and jail files, so choose the jail side if it offers a choice.
2. Key in the surname only. A wrong middle initial or a slip of one letter can hide a match, so leave the other boxes empty at first.
3. Match the birth date or age before you trust a hit. Two neighbors can share a name in a place this size.
4. Jot down the Jail ID # if the screen shows one. Letters need it, and so do most phone questions.
5. Portal frozen or empty? Dial the Detention Center at 432-264-6051 and ask for Booking. That desk knows who came in, what happened at magistration and whether paperwork for a release is moving.

The Sheriff's business office keeps weekday hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The jail never closes.

An empty screen rarely means the person vanished. Check these one at a time:

• Too soon. Prints, a photo and intake forms all come before a record goes up. Wait a couple of hours, try again, or phone the jail at 432-264-6051.
• Another spelling. Try a maiden name, a nickname, a hyphenated surname or half of it.
• A city arrest. Police for Big Spring are based at 3613 West Highway 80, Big Spring, TX 79720, next door to the jail. Ask them at 432-264-2550 where the person was taken.
• Sent out of county. On August 1, 2022, TCJS listed 14 people from this jail boarded in outside jails, with no receiving county named. Jail staff can tell you if a transfer happened.
• Already out. Posting bond, or a magistrate's release order, can end a stay the same day.

Records questions on a weekday can also go to the Sheriff's main desk at 432-264-2231.

Adults booked on state charges here go to the Detention Center at 3611 W. Hwy 80, Big Spring, TX 79720, 432-264-6051. It is the county's only adult jail building. TCJS figures for June 1, 2022 put its capacity at 102, with 68 people inside.

Two neighbors in town get mixed up with it:

• Big Spring Police Department, 3613 West Highway 80, Big Spring, TX 79720, 432-264-2550. Its building is next door. Ask the department where someone it arrested ended up.
• FCI Big Spring, 1900 Simler Ave, Big Spring, TX 79720, 432-466-2300. That one belongs to the federal government, not the county. Find people there through the federal inmate locator.

When beds run short, some people may be housed in another county's jail for a while. The Hwy 80 staff keep track of who went where.

For mugshots, the dependable path is a letter. Texas open records law says basic facts about an arrested person must be released promptly (Tex. Gov't Code 552.108(c)). Booking photos are not named in that section, so the Sheriff's Office makes the first call and may seek an Attorney General ruling.

• Put the open records request in writing and mail it to P.O. Box 1149, Big Spring, TX 79721, 432-264-2231. That box belongs to the Sheriff's Office. Give the person's name and the arrest date.
• Should the office need over ten business days, it must say when you will get the record.
• Pictures taken in ICE custody require an ICE FOIA request.
• Federal agencies hold back their booking photos. The U.S. Marshals, though, sometimes publish a fugitive's photo.

Commercial mugshot sites answer to Texas law. If a site's takedown price is $150 or higher, it has to repair or erase a mistaken or incomplete entry without charging. Expunged files and files sealed by a nondisclosure order are off limits for posting (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code ch. 109).

The state's no-cost notice system, Texas IVSS-Counties, tracks people held in county jails, the Hwy 80 jail among them. Look someone up by all or part of a name, and register with an account or without one.

• Notices arrive by phone or on the website when the person is booked or freed, transferred to TDCJ, escapes or dies.
• Court events that get set or reset trigger a notice as well.
• English and Spanish are both offered.
• Your sign-up stays confidential; the jailed person is not informed.

Rather use a phone? 866-268-8959 answers 24 hours a day, every day. In September 2026, oversight passed from the Attorney General to the Office of the Governor.

Every arrest leads to a magistrate, and Texas gives officers 48 hours at most to get there (Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 15.17). Here that job falls to four associate judges, who hold court all 365 days. At that hearing the judge gives the legal warnings, offers a court-paid lawyer, and fixes bail and any conditions. It airs on the court's live video channel. Nothing is archived, and recording is banned.

Release takes three common forms. Cash bail is the full sum, paid up front. With a surety bond, a licensed bondsman pledges the sum and charges a fee. A personal bond is the person's own written pledge to appear, and many violent charges make it off limits. Even after bail is paid, a hold such as another county's warrant or an ICE detainer can keep someone inside.

Ask the jail at 432-264-6051 how and where payment is taken today. Our full bail walkthrough covers amounts, bondsmen and refunds, and JE's Texas bail law summary explains statewide rules.

Booking charges are easy to get: just ask the jail by phone. Once prosecutors file the case, the clerk with that file has the formal charge and the cause number.

• Felonies: District Clerk, 312 Scurry, Big Spring, TX 79720, 432-264-2223. Hours run Monday to Thursday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed noon to 1, and Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Class A and B misdemeanors: County Clerk, 300 S. Main Street, Room 104, Big Spring, TX 79720, 432-264-2213. Hours run Monday to Thursday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

A booking charge is only a first label. After review, prosecutors can raise, lower, add or dismiss counts. Filed cases also appear on re:SearchTX, free to search after registering.

During magistration, the judge asks if the person wants counsel at county expense. A yes starts a timeline. The magistrate sends it on to the court coordinator inside a day. Article 1.051 then gives the court until the third working day ends to name counsel.

• Misdemeanors that prosecutors have not filed yet: the County Attorney's Office processes the request at 300 Main Street, Room 205, Big Spring, TX 79720, 432-264-2205.
• Felonies, and any filed case: the request runs through the district court. The coordinator's address is 312 Scurry Street, Big Spring, TX 79720. Questions go to the District Clerk at 432-264-2223.
• Capital murder: a regional defender office that handles only capital cases.

All of this follows a written appointment plan shared with Glasscock and Martin counties. Hiring private counsel remains open to any family that can pay.

Phone the Detention Center at 432-264-6051 before making the trip. Find out the visit schedule, how visitors get approved, which ID works, and whether screens, at home or in the lobby, can stand in for a trip.

Every Texas county jail must meet some basic visit rules:

• Two in-person, no-contact visits weekly per person held, each lasting 20 minutes or longer.
• One or more visit periods held on an evening or a weekend.
• Kids may come, though a parent, a guardian or an attorney might need to escort them.
• Veterans, once verified, also get free visits from veteran helpers, which don't use up the weekly two.

JE's visitation page describes a typical visit.

Money in a jail account covers commissary buys like snacks and soap, along with calls and messages. Ask staff at 432-264-6051 which ways to deposit work today and the fee for each. Have the Jail ID # in hand.

Don't mail cash to the Longview scanning address. Our money and deposits page explains the usual options in more detail.

Families can swap electronic messages with someone held here through the jail's messaging company. The Sheriff's Office posts this pricing:

• 25 cents for each message.
• 35 cents for each photo or document.
• No limit on the count, sent or received.

Under Texas building standards, the intake area must give newly booked people a phone. To set up regular calls after that, ask the jail at 432-264-6051. Assume calls and messages are monitored, and keep case details out of them. JE's jail phone page and inmate messaging page go deeper.

Everyday letters bypass the jail entirely. A scanning center turns each page into an image to read on screen. Paper originals are destroyed afterward, so send nothing you need back. Put the full name and Jail ID # on the top line. The second line reads Howard County Jail. Below it: PO Box 591, Longview, TX 75606.

Mail from a lawyer or a medical office should be addressed to the Detention Center itself, 3611 W. Hwy 80, Big Spring, TX 79720, 432-264-6051. TCJS rules let officers open a lawyer's letter only with its owner watching, and only to search it for contraband.

• Texas jails can't limit the number of letters or pages.
• A person with no funds receives paper plus postage for three or more letters weekly.

JE's jail mail page repeats both addresses.

Booking officers collect and list what a person carried in. Need car keys, a phone or a wallet before release? Call the jail at 432-264-6051 first.

Good questions for that call:

• Is written permission from the person required before a relative collects items?
• Which photo ID should the person picking up bring?
• On which days and at what hours is pickup allowed?
• May family drop off clothes for court or for the ride home?

Sheriff's office hours are weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., so aim for that window unless jail staff set another time.

Phone the jail at 432-264-6051 without delay and request the shift supervisor. Describe the condition, list current prescriptions, and name the prescribing doctor and pharmacy. Staff may be unable to share much, yet they can relay your information.

• Texas jails must explain their complaint process to everyone held, both in the handbook and on notices posted inside.
• Anyone kept in a jail under an emergency mental health hold must be separated from people facing criminal charges.

Still unresolved? Contact TCJS, the agency that inspects Texas jails, through its complaint page, or phone the agency at 512-463-5505.

County warrants are served by sheriff's deputies and by the Precinct 1 Constable, reached on one number, 432-264-2231. Inside city limits, Big Spring officers at 432-264-2550 serve them as well. DPS posts its Texas 10 Most Wanted fugitive list for the whole state. To check a name, phone that Sheriff's number or the clerk for the court that would hear the case. City tickets count too: ignoring one for 14 days can add a charge and a warrant. A lawyer can help clear it, by setting up a walk-in at the issuing court or requesting a fresh hearing date there. Misdemeanor warrant questions go to the County Clerk, 300 S. Main Street, Room 104, Big Spring, TX 79720, 432-264-2213.

The clerk holding the file gives out court dates by phone. Before calling, gather the name, date of birth, and a cause number if one is known.

• Felony settings: District Clerk, 312 Scurry, Big Spring, TX 79720, 432-264-2223.
• Misdemeanor settings: County Clerk, 300 S. Main Street, Room 104, Big Spring, TX 79720, 432-264-2213.
• Traffic and other Class C tickets: whichever justice or city court appears on the ticket.

Release on bond does not end the duty to appear. A skipped setting can forfeit the bond and lead to a warrant. JE's criminal court page explains which court has the case and how it moves.

Federal prosecutions from here are heard in Abilene, at the Northern District's courthouse on Pine Street: 341 Pine Street, Room 2008, Abilene, TX 79601, 325-677-6311.

1. Detention hearing. Early on, a U.S. magistrate judge rules on holding versus freeing the defendant pending trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. Waiting for trial. Pending trial, Marshals custody applies, often in a jail that rents beds to them. Their Abilene office can say where: 341 Pine Street, Room 207, Abilene, TX 79601, 325-672-2147.
3. Defense. If income is low, the Federal Public Defender may step in. Its main office is 525 South Griffin Street, Suite 629, Dallas, TX 75202, 214-767-2746.
4. After sentencing. Check the BOP inmate locator once a prison is assigned.

The usual order of events looks like this:

1. An I-247A form, called a detainer, arrives from ICE.
2. Staff may then keep the person for up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released, giving ICE time to arrive (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Agents arrive, take charge of the person and drive them to an ICE facility.
4. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator using the A-number. No A-number? Enter a name and the birth nation instead.

State law adds three points. Texas jails have to comply with ICE detainers (Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 2A.060). Separately, S.B. 4, a 2017 statute, forbids local policies that weaken immigration enforcement (Tex. Gov't Code 752.053). Last, S.B. 8 (2025) gave jail-operating counties a December 1, 2026 target to try for 287(g) terms. The Sheriff's Office, 432-264-2231, can describe the county's status. Because criminal and immigration cases run side by side, two different lawyers may be needed.

The felony grade decides the destination. State jail felons serve in state jail units. Heavier grades bring a TDCJ prison term (Texas Department of Criminal Justice). In both systems the person first spends a stretch at intake, where staff test and classify them. Only after that does TDCJ assign a longer-term unit based on risk and needs.

• The TDCJ online lookup accepts a surname plus at least one initial, or a TDCJ or SID number, and it wants an exact surname.
• Results cover current TDCJ prisoners alone, refreshed on business days with at least a 24-hour delay.
• Registered with Texas IVSS-Counties? A move from the county jail to TDCJ sends you a notice.

For an overview of the system, see JE's Texas state prisons page.

An act committed at age 10, 16 or anywhere between belongs in juvenile court (Tex. Family Code 51.02). Someone 17 at the time is charged as an adult and may be held at the adult jail. Younger kids do not go there.

• A parent or guardian gets prompt word of the pickup and its reason (Tex. Family Code 52.02).
• In the juvenile processing office, a parent, guardian or attorney is allowed to be present.
• Held children face a judge within two working days, with appointed counsel in place beforehand (Tex. Family Code 54.01).

Call Juvenile Probation to find the child and learn the next step: 315 Main Street, Suite C, Big Spring, TX 79720, 432-264-2240, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. One juvenile board covers Glasscock, Martin and this county.

Reports stay with whichever agency made the arrest. These are all the local ones, each with a number:

• Big Spring Police Department: 3613 West Highway 80, Big Spring, TX 79720, 432-264-2550. Serves the city of Big Spring.
• Coahoma: city office, P.O. Box 420, Coahoma, TX 79511, 432-394-4287. Call the city to learn who takes police calls in town, or call the Sheriff's Office.
• Forsan: City Hall, 409 Ave D, Forsan, TX 79733, 432-553-5023. Its contact page points emergencies to the Sheriff's Office.
• Sheriff's Office: 3611 W. Hwy 80, Big Spring, TX 79720, 432-264-2231. This is also the patrol line for deputies covering rural areas and small towns.
• Precinct 1 Constable: 300 Main Street, Big Spring, TX 79720, reached through the Sheriff's main line above.
• Texas Highway Patrol: state troopers make arrests on area roads too. The jail, at 432-264-6051, can say which agency did the booking.