Here is the quick way in:

1. Open the jail search in any browser.
2. Enter the surname first. Add a first name only if there are too many matches.
3. Read the row for the charges the arresting agency listed.
4. Copy down the ID number. Account deposits need it, and you enter it without leading zeros.
5. Phone the jail about anything that looks wrong.

Arrests made before May 2, 2017 sit in the older jail archive. The charge list is not final, so use the free court case search for the true charges.

A blank result has simple causes:

• The arrest is only hours old and booking is still going.
• The person was released, or driven to another jail.
• The name is spelled another way. Test a middle name, a nickname or a hyphen.
• Federal officers made the arrest, and the local search leaves out federal inmates.
• The person is under 17 and is not in the adult jail.

Ask the police department involved where it took the person. Phone numbers are in the final answer on this page. You can also phone the Pre-Trial Facility at 262-605-5111 and ask for booking.

The Sheriff runs two jails, and each has its own job:

• Pre-Trial Facility, 927 54th Street, Kenosha, WI 53140, 262-605-5111. This is the front door. Staff handle intake and booking, sort people into housing, take them to court, and care for people in a mental health crisis or in withdrawal. About 250 people live there on an average day.
• Detention Center, 4777 88th Avenue, Kenosha, WI 53144, 262-605-5800. It is where sentenced people live. It runs Huber work release, electronic monitoring and the work crew, and it has a discharge planner. About 470 people live there on an average day.

The Sheriff's Office is at 1000 55th Street, Kenosha, WI 53140, 262-605-5100. That building has the bond window and a main lobby. Call it to ask which building holds a man or a woman.

No separate city lockup in the county could be confirmed, so ask the arresting police department where the person is. If the arrest was near the county line, these nearby sheriffs can tell you more:

• Racine County Jail, 717 Wisconsin Avenue, Racine, WI 53403, 262-636-3929
• Walworth County Sheriff's Office, 1770 County Road NN, Elkhorn, WI 53121, 262-741-4400

Open the jail search and see whether a photo appears beside a name. If none does, a booking photo can be requested. Wisconsin treats government records as open unless a law says no, and a requester is not required to identify themselves or explain why. Write or call the Sheriff's Office, 1000 55th Street, Kenosha, WI 53140, 262-605-5100, and ask for mugshots under the state public records law. The office decides each request. Juvenile police records are not public.

• News reporters send the same kind of request to that office.
• For photos that ICE holds, use the ICE records page.
• The government does not hand out federal mugshots. A photo the U.S. Marshals Service chooses to share, such as one of a wanted fugitive, is the only exception.

VINE is the state's alert tool for county jails, and it does more than warn victims. Anyone may look up a person's custody status and location. It costs nothing, keeps your name private and works in English, Spanish and Hmong.

• Go online to VINELink to search and enroll.
• Or phone 888-944-8463.
• Choose release or transfer alerts and give a phone or email.

Since the state does not list every jail's feed, also check with the Detention Center at 262-605-5800 or the Pre-Trial Facility. After a move to state prison, only enrolled victims get the state's Notis alerts.

Wisconsin starts from release. At the first court appearance a judge may release a person who signs a pledge to owe money only if they miss court, which people call a signature bond. The judge can attach conditions, like staying away from a named person or remaining in Wisconsin. If cash is judged necessary to bring the person back, they wait in jail until it is paid.

• Paid bail bondsmen are banned in Wisconsin. Family pays the whole cash amount themselves.
• Bail is paid at the Joint Services bond window in the Sheriff's Office lobby, 1000 55th Street, Kenosha, WI 53140. Ask for a numbered receipt. Phone 262-605-5100 for hours and payment types before you travel.
• The lobby deposit kiosks cannot post bond.
• A person who sits in jail three days past the first hearing, unable to meet the terms, gets a fresh look from the judge.
• If the person is convicted, the court may keep bail money for fines, costs and restitution, whoever paid it.

Our bail page gives every step. A short summary of the law is in the state bail-law overview.

The jail search lists charges as the arresting agency wrote them, and prosecutors may change them. The District Attorney's Office, Molinaro Building, 912 56th Street, Kenosha, WI 53140, 262-653-2400, decides which charges are filed.

The first courtroom visit is when the person hears the charge read and receives the written complaint. Once a case exists, look the name up on Wisconsin Circuit Court Access. It costs nothing. Each case page lists the charges, upcoming dates and where the case stands. It is a court record, not a jail roster.

At the first appearance the judge asks whether the person can pay for a lawyer. Anyone who says no is sent to the Public Defender's office, meant for adults facing a crime who pass its money test.

• Office: State Public Defender, 604 57th Street, Suite 201, Kenosha, WI 53140, 262-653-6404
• The application takes about 15 minutes. Here is how to apply.
• If the office turns the person down, tell the judge, who may appoint a lawyer the county pays.

Hiring a private attorney also works. For a contact visit inside the jail, a lawyer sets up a video account, books a slot and emails the Detention Center with a bar card and photo ID.

Each person gets one free on-site visit a week at the building where they live. Video visits from home cost a fee and run seven days a week. Register on the GettingOut website or app with an email address and a photo ID. The county's own page names that service.

• Pre-Trial Facility, 927 54th Street, Kenosha, WI 53140: on-site Monday to Friday, 8:00 to 10:45 a.m. and 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Weekends keep those hours but with no officer in the room. Home video runs daily, though one listing skips Wednesdays.
• Detention Center, 4777 88th Avenue, Kenosha, WI 53144: on-site Monday to Friday, 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Weekends are glass only. Home video runs every day, with evening slots from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m.

Visits stop on major holidays. Visitors must be 18 or older and show a photo ID, with a few family exceptions. Wear shorts that reach mid-thigh or longer, no sheer, strapless or midriff tops, and shoes. Bring no food or drink. Phone 262-605-5111 or 262-605-5800 to confirm times. Our visiting guide has more.

Each person has a Trust account for snacks and hygiene items, and a Pin Debit account that pays for calls and tablets. Use the ID number from the jail search, with no leading zeros.

• Kiosk: in the Sheriff's Office lobby and in the Detention Center lobby, 4777 88th Avenue, Kenosha, WI 53144, which is open day and night. It takes $1 to $100 bills plus Visa and Mastercard. Limits are $200 a deposit, $300 a day, $1,000 a week and $3,000 a month. A fee comes out of the deposit.
• Online or by phone: ConnectNetwork, the service the county points to, at 888-428-1845. Choose Kenosha County WI.
• Mail: a money order, or a certified, cashier's or government check, addressed to Inmate Accounts at the county jail, 1000 55th Street, Kenosha, WI 53140.

Deposits are final, and the jail can take money to cover debts. Unused Trust money returns to the person at release. See our money guide and commissary guide.

People inside can place calls. Pin Debit pays for calls and tablet use, and AdvancePay is a prepaid account that lets family take collect calls. The jail sets the rates, so ask before you add funds. Phone the Pre-Trial Facility at 262-605-5111 about rates and tablets.

Assume staff may listen, and save case details for the attorney. Two JE pages go deeper: calling an inmate and email and text messages for inmates.

Since March 30, 2026, ordinary letters are not delivered to the buildings. A scanning company opens them and passes on a copy. Write on the envelope the building name, the inmate's full name and ID number, plus your own full name and return address. Mail it to:

Inmate Full Name, ID #
P.O. Box 247
Phoenix, MD 21131

Never send checks, money orders, cash or gift cards to that box. Legal mail and packages go to the building: Inmate Name #ID, Kenosha County Pretrial Facility, 1000 55th St, Kenosha, WI 53140, or Kenosha County Detention Center, 4777 88th Ave, Kenosha, WI 53144. Phone the building before you send a package. Our mail guide has more.

The Pre-Trial Facility hands out underwear, so families need not bring any. Thermal underwear can be bought with Trust money.

• The person files a written request naming one pickup person. That person brings ID and receives the whole property package.
• Pre-Trial Facility: Monday to Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., north entrance, 927 54th Street, Kenosha, WI 53140.
• Detention Center: Monday to Friday, 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., main entrance, 4777 88th Avenue, Kenosha, WI 53144. Neither site releases property on weekends.
• Trust money is paid out on Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Pre-Trial Facility's south entrance. The person names the recipient.
• Jury-trial clothes are taken only in the three days before trial, or from 6 to 7 a.m. that morning.

Questions go to 262-605-5111.

State jail rules require care for the body, the mind and urgent tooth problems, and a jail may not turn someone away over money. A health screening is due within two weeks of arrival. The jails here use outside medical and mental health companies, with the Sheriff overseeing them.

Phone the building where the person lives and ask for a supervisor. Have the full name, the ID number, a list of medicines with doses, and the doctor's contact ready.

• Pre-Trial Facility, 927 54th Street, Kenosha, WI 53140, 262-605-5111
• Detention Center, 4777 88th Avenue, Kenosha, WI 53144, 262-605-5800

Those numbers also take requests for disability access. In a true emergency outside the jail, call 911. Inmates may also file a complaint and appeal the answer.

Deputies and city police serve warrants. Phone the Sheriff's Office, 1000 55th Street, Kenosha, WI 53140, 262-605-5100, or Kenosha Police at 262-656-1234, and ask. Be ready with the legal name and birth date. Look up the case on Wisconsin Circuit Court Access as well, since a missed court date may show, and either the Sheriff or the clerk can tell you whether a warrant exists. Ending a warrant safely begins with a lawyer's advice. Then go in at the Pre-Trial Facility, 927 54th Street, Kenosha, WI 53140, or phone the Clerk of Circuit Court, Courthouse, 912 56th Street, Room 204, Kenosha, WI 53140, 262-653-2664, about a new court date.

The circuit court at the Courthouse, 912 56th Street, Kenosha, WI 53140, hears every misdemeanor and felony. The Clerk of Circuit Court, 262-653-2664, can give hearing times. Traffic questions go to 262-653-2648.

• Type the name into Wisconsin Circuit Court Access for dates, charges and status.
• Someone held without a warrant gets a judge's look at the facts within about two days. That check is often handled by camera while the person waits in the Kenosha jail.
• In a felony, the follow-up hearing happens within 10 days for someone jailed on bail above $500, and within 20 days for someone who is out.
• Ordinance tickets are decided by municipal judges in the cities, towns and villages that have one.

The court page on our site explains each stage. Victims can reach the Victim/Witness unit at 262-653-2471.

Anyone facing federal charges from Kenosha is heard by the Milwaukee Division of the U.S. District Court, Eastern District, at the U.S. Courthouse, 517 E. Wisconsin Ave., Room 362, Milwaukee, WI 53202, 414-297-3372. The Sheriff has an agreement with the U.S. Marshals Service to house federal detainees.

1. Soon after the arrest, a detention hearing sets whether the person is locked up or sent home until trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. The Marshals keep custody before trial. Ask them where your person is: 517 E. Wisconsin Ave., Room 711, Milwaukee, WI 53202, 414-297-3707.
3. Federal Defender Services, 411 East Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 2310, Milwaukee, WI 53202, 414-221-9900, provides free lawyers to people who qualify.
4. After sentencing, type the name into the federal prison locator.

The usual path looks like this:

1. The word to know is detainer, ICE's hold notice (Form I-247A), which may reach the jail first.
2. Under it, staff are asked to hold a person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. ICE then collects the person. Detainees are held at places such as the Dodge County Jail in Juneau, WI, and the short-term cells of the Sauk County Jail.
4. Try the ICE Online Detainee Locator with the person's A-number, or with a spelled-out name and the birth country.

The ICE Chicago Field Office, 101 W. Ida B. Wells Dr., Suite 4000, Chicago, IL 60605, 872-351-3990, covers Wisconsin. Check-ins happen at 310 E. Knapp St., Milwaukee, WI 53202, 414-792-7198. To learn how the local jail handles ICE requests, phone the Sheriff's Office at 1000 55th Street, Kenosha, WI 53140, 262-605-5100.

A prison sentence starts with testing and review at an intake site, about 8 to 12 weeks. After that the state picks a prison that suits the person. Men at the intake site get no visits for the first three days. For crimes committed since Dec. 31, 1999, the sentence is prison first and community supervision after, and parole does not apply.

• Use the state's inmate and offender search to find the person.
• For prison visiting and mailing, see our Wisconsin prisons page.

Once a person turns 17, Wisconsin sends a criminal case to the adult court, and a jail stay to the adult jail. A younger youth is held only after an in-person talk with county juvenile intake, apart from narrow exceptions. Once held, a youth must see a judge about a day later, counting only weekdays that are not holidays.

• Juvenile Court Intake, room LL07, 912 56th Street, Kenosha, WI 53140, 262-653-2494
• Youth Justice Unit, Children and Family Services, 8600 Sheridan Road, Suite 200, Kenosha, WI 53143, 262-605-6530

A youth detention center inside the county could not be confirmed. A youth who must be held may be placed in a neighboring county, so call intake to find out where.

About 171,145 people live in the county (Wisconsin Department of Administration estimate for Jan. 1, 2025). These agencies make arrests:

• Sheriff's Office, 1000 55th Street, Kenosha, WI 53140, 262-605-5100. Deputies patrol by contract in Bristol, Paddock Lake, Salem Lakes and Somers, and the Marine Unit covers Silver Lake. Ask this office who patrols the towns of Brighton, Paris, Randall and Wheatland.
• Kenosha Police, 1000 55th Street, Kenosha, WI 53140, 262-656-1234. This non-emergency line also reaches Sheriff dispatch.
• Pleasant Prairie Police, 10111 39th Avenue, Pleasant Prairie, WI 53158, 262-694-7353, open 24 hours
• Twin Lakes Police, 920 Lance Drive, Twin Lakes, WI 53181, 262-877-9056
• Genoa City Police, 755 Fellows Road, Genoa City, WI 53128, 262-279-6252
• UW-Parkside campus police, on Wood Road in the city of Kenosha. Ask the Sheriff's Office for the phone number.
• Wisconsin State Patrol, Waukesha Post, 21115 East Moreland Boulevard, Waukesha, WI 53186, 262-785-4700. It covers Kenosha.