A phone and five minutes are enough. Here is the routine:

1. Open the state's VINE site, vinelink.com.
2. Fill in the surname and first name. Skip nicknames on the first try.
3. Compare ages or birth dates so you land on the right match.
4. Read the status line. If the Pepin jail takes part, it shows if the person is held right now, and where.
5. Copy any ID number on the record. Staff move faster with it.

No internet? VINE answers around the clock at 888-944-8463. Still nothing? Ring the jail at 715-672-5945 and ask if a booking happened today.

There is usually a plain reason for an empty result:

• Paperwork first. Prints, photos and forms are done before a record goes out.
• Out already. Release may have come on a signature bond, or family may have posted cash.
• Held in a nearby county. A stop across the line into Buffalo, Dunn, Eau Claire or Pierce County, or an outside warrant, means another jail.
• Spelled another way. Try a second given name, a birth surname or one changed letter.
• Age 16 or under. Youth cases go through juvenile intake instead.

Staff at 715-672-5945 can sort it out. Sheriff's Office hours run weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with a midday break beginning at 12:30. The Government Center's main number is 715-672-7242.

Locally there is just one adult jail, the Pepin County Jail at 740 7th Avenue West, Durand, WI 54736, 715-672-5945. Jail staff can also say where a person is held now or if they have been moved.

People picked up near a county line, or held on a warrant from a bordering county, could be at:

• Buffalo County Jail, 407 S. 2nd St., Alma, WI 54610, 608-685-4433. Buffalo and Pepin split one circuit judge.
• Eau Claire County Jail, 710 Second Ave., Eau Claire, WI 54703, 715-839-4707, staffed day and night
• Dunn County Jail, 615 Stokke Parkway, Menomonie, WI 54751, 715-232-2220
• Pierce County Jail, 555 West Overlook Drive, Ellsworth, WI 54011, 715-273-1124. Menu option 9 is for custody questions.

Requests for a booking photo are handled by the Sheriff's Office, by phone at 715-672-5945 or at the front desk, 740 7th Avenue West, Durand, WI 54736. You ask for mugshots with a public records request, which state statutes 19.31 to 19.39 cover. Every request is weighed by a records custodian.

• Wisconsin DOJ's records guide presumes openness. You need not share your name or your purpose.
• Law enforcement files on minors are kept confidential.
• Reporters use the same route.
• As a rule, federal agencies keep mugshots private, though the U.S. Marshals Service may share one, say, to help catch a fugitive.
• ICE keeps its own photos; ask through the ICE FOIA page.

You can, through VINE, when the jail feeds its data to the system. WI VINE County Jails is run by the state Department of Corrections together with local law enforcement. It costs nothing, and nobody learns who signed up.

• Look someone up: a search at vinelink.com shows custody status and location.
• Sign up for notices: registered users get a message if that status shifts, for instance when the person is freed or transferred.
• Use the phone line: 888-944-8463 works in English, Spanish or Hmong. A phone notice keeps ringing for 48 hours unless the PIN is entered.

Because a notice may come late, a call to the jail at 715-672-5945 is still worth making. Notis, a different state system, serves enrolled victims once someone reaches state prison.

Wis. Stat. 970.01 says the first court appearance has to happen "within a reasonable time." Warrantless arrests also need a judge's probable cause review, generally in 48 hours or less. Frequently that hearing is done over a video link to the jail instead of in a courtroom.

• Release is the starting point. With a signature bond, the person signs and walks out. A missed court date is what would make the money due.
• Cash must be justified. Judges set it to make sure the defendant shows up. In violent crime cases, danger to the community can count too.
• Bondsmen are illegal here. Paid sureties are against the law (Wis. Stat. 969.12), so families post the entire amount themselves.
• Paying it. A deputy at the Sheriff's Office can accept bail and has to hand over a numbered receipt. You may also pay the Clerk of Circuit Court, 740 7th Ave. West, Durand, WI 54736, 715-672-8861. Check with the jail at 715-672-5945 before you go.
• Refunds aren't certain. A conviction lets the court apply bail to fines and restitution, no matter who posted it.
• The 72-hour check. The judge must review the release terms at the 72-hour mark after that hearing if the person is still in a Durand cell solely for lack of means to satisfy them.

The Wisconsin bail law summary lists the statutes behind each step, and our bail page adds practical tips.

A written complaint lists each charge. The judge reads it at the first hearing and hands the defendant a copy. After filing, anyone can look up the case at no cost on Wisconsin Circuit Court Access, which lists the counts, hearing dates and status.

Filing decisions belong to the District Attorney, 315 2nd Avenue West, Durand, WI 54736, 715-672-8939. Lesser crimes are misdemeanors. Class A, the top misdemeanor level, caps out at 9 months of jail time and $10,000. Felonies can lead to state prison.

Adults facing a misdemeanor or felony may qualify for the State Public Defender if their money is tight. This county's cases go to the Eau Claire office:

• 21 S. Barstow St., Floor 3, Eau Claire, WI 54701, 715-502-1490
• Applying takes roughly 15 minutes. Expect questions on pay, property and how many people you support.
• A defendant who says at the first hearing that they can't afford counsel is pointed to this office by the judge.
• If the office says the person earns too much, the judge can be asked about a county-funded lawyer.

Jail standards give lawyers visits at reasonable hours, and privately hired counsel can come too.

State standards make every county jail keep a visiting schedule, but each one sets its own. Before heading to 740 7th Avenue West, Durand, WI 54736, phone 715-672-5945 with a short list:

• What days and hours are set aside for visitors?
• Is a sign-up required, and which ID works?
• May kids come along, and is there a dress code?
• Are video visits from home available?

Also ask which items you may bring through the door. More pointers sit on our visitation page.

Many jails use an inmate account for commissary items and phone time. For deposit methods, fees and limits, call the jail at 715-672-5945. In the Sheriff's Office lobby, between the public restrooms, stands a Stellar Teller kiosk, so ask whether it accepts inmate deposits.

State rules keep health care open to people with zero balance. Our deposit guide explains the options, and the commissary page shows what money buys. Do not send bills through the mail.

Jail calls mostly go outward, so families often set up a paid account to take them. Ask staff at 715-672-5945 who carries the calls, the rates, and whether tablets, messaging or email exist here.

Assume someone may be listening. Leave case details for a sit-down with the lawyer. Our jail calling page and email and text page describe the common systems.

Phone 715-672-5945 before mailing. The Sheriff's Office receives its own post at PO Box 39, Durand, WI 54736, so confirm whether letters for inmates belong there and whether a booking number should follow the name.

• Print the recipient's legal name and your return address.
• Ordinary letters may be opened and read by staff.
• A lawyer's mail gets only a limited check.
• Clear any photos, books or greeting cards with staff first.

Our mail page explains typical rules. Keep money out of envelopes.

The jail usually holds the belongings collected from a person at booking. A family member hoping to collect them should call 715-672-5945 and ask how and when property is returned.

Ask where to go and what to bring. If a vehicle was towed during the arrest, ask the arresting agency which tow company has it.

Wisconsin puts the Sheriff in charge of needed health care in the jail, from medical and mental health treatment to dental emergencies. Statewide jail rules also promise:

• A health screening within 14 days after arrival.
• Prescriptions from a qualified health professional.
• Care even when the person cannot pay.
• A grievance process with a chance to appeal.

Tell the jail at 715-672-5945 about any medicine, giving its name, dose and the prescribing doctor's phone. Mention a mental health crisis right away. Every jail gets a yearly inspection from the state Office of Detention Facilities: 3099 East Washington Ave., Madison, WI 53704, 608-240-5000. Dial 911 for emergencies.

Families can ask the Sheriff's Office at 715-672-5945 whether one is active, or ask Durand police at 715-672-5948 about the city. A free name search on Wisconsin Circuit Court Access can reveal a skipped hearing, and the clerk or a deputy can tell you if a warrant came from it.

With a lawyer's guidance, the person can report to the jail at 740 7th Avenue West, Durand, WI 54736, to surrender. Another path is asking the Clerk of Circuit Court in that building for a new court date, 715-672-8861.

Every scheduled hearing shows up when you search the defendant on Wisconsin Circuit Court Access. For questions, reach the Clerk of Circuit Court, 740 7th Ave. West, Durand, WI 54736, 715-672-8861, open weekdays 8:30 a.m. to noon and 12:30 to 4:30 p.m.

• A single circuit judge covers this county and Buffalo County, so the calendar is shared.
• Felonies next go to a preliminary hearing. Held with bail over $500? It comes within 10 days. Out of jail? Within 20.

Step-by-step help is on our court page.

For any federal charge here, the court is the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. Its clerk is at 120 N. Henry St., Room 320, Madison, WI 53703 (Robert W. Kastenmeier U.S. Courthouse), 608-264-5156.

1. A detention hearing under 18 U.S.C. 3142 decides between pretrial detention and release on conditions.
2. Until trial, the U.S. Marshals Service has custody. Ask where the person is held: 120 N. Henry St., Suite 440, Madison, WI 53703, 608-661-8300.
3. Federal Defender Services, 22 East Mifflin Street, Suite 1000, Madison, WI 53703, 608-260-9900, represents defendants who qualify.
4. After sentencing, search the BOP inmate locator; type in a register number or full name.

Steps in a typical immigration hold:

1. First comes the detainer: Form I-247A, delivered to the jail by ICE.
2. The form asks for the person to be kept up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Officers from ICE come for the person. Wisconsin falls under the Chicago Field Office, 101 W. Ida B. Wells Dr., Suite 4000, Chicago, IL 60605, 872-351-3990.
4. Detainees in this state may go to the Dodge County Jail, 216 W. Center Street, Juneau, WI 53039, 920-386-3734.
5. Search with the A-number in the ICE Online Detainee Locator. Without it, use the full name plus country of birth.

Assembly Bill 24 (2025), on county sheriffs helping with federal immigration duties, won a vote in the Assembly. Its last recorded action came in June 2025, and it had not become law by then. To learn local detainer practice, call the Sheriff's Office at 715-672-5945.

Someone given a prison term passes to the state Department of Corrections. Roughly 8 to 12 weeks of intake testing and classification come first, and then a move to a suitable prison when space opens. Men's intake allows no visitors during a person's first three days there.

• The corrections department's DOC Inmate and Offender Search pulls up a record from a first and last name.
• For visiting and mail at state facilities, read our Wisconsin prisons page.
• Parole is gone for felonies committed Dec. 31, 1999, and after. Those sentences pair a prison term with extended supervision afterward, lived out in the community.

Wisconsin draws the adult line at 17 for crimes. That means a 17-year-old lands in the grown-up system: adult court and the county jail. For ages 16 and below, the door in is juvenile intake at Human Services, 740 7th Ave W, Durand, WI 54736, 715-672-8941. That office is open Monday through Thursday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday until 11:30 a.m. Intake has to be reachable after hours, so call the jail at 715-672-5945 and ask how to reach it.

• Intake must be on call every hour of every day. A worker has to see the youth in person before any locked hold, except in rare cases.
• A court hearing follows fast. That clock is 24 hours. It starts once the calendar day of the hold decision closes, and it skips weekend days and legal holidays.
• A youth needing secure detention may be placed at a regional facility like the Northwest Regional Juvenile Detention Center, 721 Oxford Ave., Suite 1001, Eau Claire, WI 54703, 715-839-2300. Human Services can confirm the location.
• The gravest juvenile cases may end at Lincoln Hills School for boys or Copper Lake School for girls.

The county's population stands near 7,368, according to the Wisconsin Department of Administration's official estimate for Jan. 1, 2025. Below are the offices that patrol and make arrests:

• Pepin County Sheriff's Office, 740 7th Avenue West, Durand, WI 54736, 715-672-5945. Residents of Stockholm village and the eight towns should call here.
• Durand Police Department, 104 E. Main St., Durand, WI 54736, 715-672-5948
• Village of Pepin police, 715-442-2461
• Wisconsin State Patrol, Eau Claire Post, 5005 U.S. Highway 53, Eau Claire, WI 54701, 715-839-3800, which serves this county

The jail knows which agency brought the person in, so one call can settle it.