With only 30 beds, the list fits on a few pages. Here is how to read it:

1. Go to the Sheriff's jail page and tap the Current Confinements link. It opens as a PDF.
2. Find the print date near the top. Anyone booked after that date will appear on a later copy.
3. Use the find tool on your phone or browser and type the last name.
4. Each row lists first and last name, birth year, the hold type (a new charge, a probation hold, a bench warrant, a warrant charge or a sentence), the Wisconsin statute with the offense, and the bond amount left to pay. Some rows also say how many days the person is serving.
5. Jot down the charge and bond before you call. It saves time.

For a booking date or the time someone may get out, the jail staff can help at 715-468-4726.

Here is why a name might not appear yet:

• Booked after the print date. The person will show on the next copy.
• Already gone home. A relative might have posted cash, or the court let them sign their way out.
• Held next door. Arrests near the edge of the county sometimes land in another county's jail.
• Spelled another way. Staff may have typed a nickname, a second given name or an earlier surname.
• Not yet 17. Kids that age are routed to county juvenile intake instead of jail.

Jail staff can settle it fast at 715-468-4726. The Sheriff's Office main line is 715-468-4700.

The Sheriff runs one adult jail: the Washburn County Jail, 421 Highway 63, Shell Lake, WI 54871, 715-468-4726. It opened in 1991 with 30 beds. A secure hallway joins it to the courthouse.

• Main jail: holds people waiting for court, people on probation or warrant holds, and people serving jail sentences.
• Huber and electronic monitoring: run from the same building. Sentenced people with a job or school may leave for it if they qualify. The Huber Officer answers at 715-468-4720.

Arrested close to the border? Check these nearby jails too:

• Burnett County Jail, 7410 County Road K, Siren, WI 54872, 715-349-2128
• Sawyer County Jail, 15880 East Fifth Street, Hayward, WI 54843, 715-634-9120
• Barron County Jail, 1420 State Highway 25 North, Barron, WI 54812, 715-537-5559
• Polk County Jail, 1005 West Main Street, Suite 900, Balsam Lake, WI 54810, 715-485-8370
• Rusk County Jail, 311 East Miner Avenue, Suite L100, Ladysmith, WI 54848, 715-532-2200
• Douglas County Jail, 1310 North 14th Street, Superior, WI 54880, 715-395-1375
• Bayfield County Jail, 615 Second Avenue East, Washburn, WI 54891, 715-373-6117. This one sits in the city of Washburn, up north in Bayfield's territory, so don't mix the two up.

In Wisconsin, a mugshot can be requested as a public record, though the records keeper weighs each request one at a time. To ask for a booking photo, contact the Sheriff's records staff through the main line, 715-468-4700. The state's open records chapter (Wis. Stat. 19.31 through 19.39) begins from the idea that records belong to everyone. Nobody has to give a name or explain the purpose to file one. Law enforcement records on children are kept confidential. The state Justice Department's public records guide explains how requests work.

• News outlets use the same request process with the Sheriff's Office.
• Immigration booking photos: file through ICE's FOIA records form.
• Federal agencies rarely hand out their own mugshots. One exception is the U.S. Marshals Service, which may release a photo, for instance of a fugitive it wants found.

This free state service, called VINE, asks for no name to use it. State corrections staff operate it alongside sheriffs and other local partners. Look up a person to learn if a county jail holds them and which one. Then register for a call, text or email if they are let go or transferred. Help comes in English, Spanish and Hmong.

• Go to Wisconsin VINELink.
• Or phone 888-944-8463 (1-888-WI-4-VINE).

Check VINE, then confirm with the jail at 715-468-4726. Most releases happen between 6 and 8 a.m., with some exceptions. A person may be kept until sober, or until a responsible adult agrees to come get them. When the state lifts a probation hold, release follows soon after if no other hold or bond is left.

Release terms get decided by a judge during the first court appearance. That hearing may happen over a screen hookup between the jail and the courtroom. State law tilts toward freedom before trial. Often the outcome is a signature bond, with nothing paid on day one. The family owes the bond amount only when the person fails to come to court. Judges can demand cash solely to ensure a return to court. Violent-crime cases add more to weigh, including the safety of the public and any earlier violent conviction (Wis. Stat. 969.01).

• No bondsmen. Wisconsin outlaws for-profit bail companies (Wis. Stat. 969.12). Relatives put up every dollar of cash bail on their own.
• Business hours: pay the Clerk of Circuit Court on the courthouse's second floor, 10 Fourth Avenue, Shell Lake, WI 54871, 715-468-4677.
• After hours: pay in the Sheriff's Office main lobby, 421 Highway 63, Shell Lake, WI 54871, 715-468-4726.
• How to pay: cash is best. Cards (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express) go through PayTrust Solutions for a fee, and the payer must be there with a photo ID. Checks are refused.
• Keep the receipt. Refunds come from the Clerk once the case ends. After a conviction, the court may keep the money to cover fines or restitution.

Our bail and bond guide goes deeper, and Wisconsin's bail laws page lays out the statutes.

The confinement list prints each hold with its Wisconsin statute number and the offense name. The Legislature's Wisconsin Statutes site shows the full text of each law; pick the chapter that matches the first digits.

Final charges are picked by prosecutors at the District Attorney's office, 10 Fourth Avenue, Shell Lake, WI 54871, 715-468-4670. Once the criminal complaint is filed, search the name on Wisconsin Circuit Court Access free of charge to see the counts, hearing times and where the case stands. The judge also goes over each count at the first appearance and hands the defendant a paper copy of the complaint.

During the first court hearing, the defendant hears about the right to an attorney. Saying you can't afford one gets the person sent along to the State Public Defender. The branch handling this county is at 514 Service Road, Suite A, Spooner, WI 54801, 715-390-4560.

• Applying takes about 15 minutes. Steps are on the State Public Defender's apply page.
• A denial isn't the end. Circuit courts can appoint counsel paid by the county, so mention the denial in court.
• Lawyers, probation agents and clergy may visit Monday to Friday, 6:00 to 8:30 a.m., 8:30 to 11:45 a.m. and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Other times need approval through 715-468-4720. Phones, tablets and laptops stay outside.

Visits are by video screen at the Sheriff's Office, with no face-to-face contact. Check in at the front desk, 421 Highway 63, Shell Lake, WI 54871, 715-468-4726. Slots go first come, first served.

• Hours: Monday 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.; Tuesday to Friday 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Closed on legal holidays.
• Length: two 30-minute visits per person held, per day.
• Visitor list: each person may list up to 7 close family members and 3 others. The list can change once a month.
• Age: visitors must be 18, except the person's own children or brothers and sisters, or by court order. Minors need an approved adult with them.
• ID: bring a valid photo ID. Visits are watched and recorded.

Remote video visits go through a CIDNET account. For dress, timing and other pointers, read our visiting guide.

Any cash in someone's pockets at booking lands in their jail account. That account pays for phone time, commissary and even bond. The jail offers three ways to add more:

• By mail: post a money order naming the person as payee, or cash, which the jail also accepts. A money order is safer.
• Lobby kiosk: in the Sheriff's Office main lobby, 421 Highway 63, Shell Lake, WI 54871, 715-468-4726.
• Online: through JailATM.com, the deposit service named on the jail's own page.

Our money guide compares the options, and our commissary guide lists what can be bought.

The jail uses CIDNET for prepaid phone time, video visits, and text and picture messages. Open an account on its friends and family portal, then add funds so your loved one can reach you. Ask the jail at 715-468-4726 about tablets, call costs and time limits.

Our calling guide and messaging guide have more. Assume anyone could hear a call or read a message, and save details about the charges for private meetings with the defense attorney.

All letters go to one address. Write it like this:

Full name of your loved one
421 Highway 63
PO Box 429
Shell Lake, WI 54871

• Their first and last name is all the jail asks for. No booking number line is needed.
• Put your own name and a full return address on the envelope. Mail without them is held until the person gets out.
• Staff scan and check every piece of mail.

For legal mail, postcards, photos or books, call the jail first at 715-468-4726. Our mail guide covers envelopes and paper.

The research for this page did not find the jail's rules on picking up belongings. Family members who need car keys, a wallet or a phone should call 715-468-4726 first and ask who may collect them, what paperwork is needed and when to come in.

A registered nurse works on the jail staff. Wisconsin's jail code, DOC 350, puts the duty on the Sheriff to arrange medical, mental health and urgent dental treatment. Care can't be refused because a person can't pay. Every new arrival is owed a health screening during the first 14 days.

Tell the jail about any illness or medicine by phone at 715-468-4726. Share the medicine name, dose and doctor's phone. Every Wisconsin jail must also have a written complaint process with a chance to appeal. In an emergency, call 911.

The Sheriff's Office takes warrant questions at 715-468-4700. The Sheriff puts out a dated Wanted list, opened from the Sheriff's home page. Search any name on Wisconsin Circuit Court Access. A skipped hearing there can mean trouble, and either the clerk or a Sheriff's Office worker can confirm whether a warrant is active. Clearing one means calling a lawyer and surrendering at the jail, 421 Highway 63, Shell Lake, WI 54871, or by phoning the clerk to get a new court date set. The Clerk of Circuit Court is at 10 Fourth Avenue, Shell Lake, WI 54871, 715-468-4677.

Every misdemeanor and felony case goes before the circuit court, which sits in the courthouse at 10 Fourth Avenue, Shell Lake, WI 54871. The Clerk of Circuit Court answers at 715-468-4677. An alternative number reaches the court office itself: 715-468-4680.

• Search Wisconsin Circuit Court Access by name for every hearing date. Every courthouse in the state offers a public computer for it too.
• City of Spooner ordinance tickets go to Spooner Municipal Court, 117 First Street, Spooner, WI 54801, 715-635-9296.
• Felony defendants are owed a preliminary exam. Someone stuck in jail on bail higher than $500 gets it inside 10 days; a person on release waits up to 20.

Our court guide maps each step, from the complaint to sentencing.

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin hears every federal case filed from these lake towns. Its clerk sits at the Robert W. Kastenmeier U.S. Courthouse, 120 N. Henry St., Room 320, Madison, WI 53703, 608-264-5156.

1. A detention hearing under 18 U.S.C. 3142 comes first. The judge weighs the risk of flight and danger to others before choosing release or custody.
2. Until trial, the U.S. Marshals Service keeps custody. Call the Marshals at 120 N. Henry St., Suite 440, Madison, WI 53703, 608-661-8300 to ask where.
3. Federal Defender Services of Wisconsin can help, 22 East Mifflin Street, Suite 1000, Madison, WI 53703, 608-260-9900.
4. Once they are sentenced, the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator can show where they are.

Families usually see this sequence:

1. ICE sends Form I-247A, its detainer paperwork, to the Shell Lake jail.
2. That form requests a hold of up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. If ICE takes custody, cases in Wisconsin fall under the Chicago Field Office, 101 W. Ida B. Wells Dr., Suite 4000, Chicago, IL 60605, 872-351-3990.
4. ICE holds people at the Dodge County Jail, among other places, at 216 W. Center Street, Juneau, WI 53039, 920-386-3734.
5. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator.

The Sheriff's Office can explain how it handles detainers at 715-468-4700.

A person sent to prison starts at a Department of Corrections intake center, where staff test and classify them for about 8 to 12 weeks. Next comes a transfer to whichever prison suits their security level and needs. The men's intake center holds off on visits during a new arrival's first 3 days.

• Type a name into the DOC's Inmate and Offender Search.
• For felonies committed after Dec. 31, 1999, the judge orders confinement first and extended supervision afterward. Wisconsin dropped parole for these sentences.
• JE's Wisconsin state prisons guide lists visiting days and mailing rules for every facility.

Under Wisconsin law, criminal charges against anyone 17 or older go to adult court, with booking at the Shell Lake jail. Children 16 and under are handled by the juvenile intake team at Health and Human Services, 304 Second Street, Shell Lake, WI 54871, 715-468-4747.

• Intake must be open around the clock. No youth may be locked in detention before an in-person talk with an intake worker, with rare exceptions.
• Where a youth is held if secure detention is ordered was not found in the research. Ask intake which center and how to reach it.
• For the gravest cases, a judge can send boys to Lincoln Hills School and girls to Copper Lake School.
• Should intake order secure custody, a judge must review that choice at a hearing. Wisconsin gives the court 24 hours for this, starting after the day of the decision and not counting Saturdays, Sundays or legal holidays.

The county's population is 16,746, a Jan. 1, 2025 estimate from the state Department of Administration. The list below gives the local forces found, plus the Sheriff and State Patrol:

• Sheriff's Office, 421 Highway 63, Shell Lake, WI 54871, 715-468-4700; dispatch 715-468-4720; tip line 715-468-2720. The county has 21 towns: Barronett, Bashaw, Bass Lake, Beaver Brook, Birchwood, Brooklyn, Casey, Chicog, Crystal, Evergreen, Frog Creek, Gull Lake, Long Lake, Madge, Minong, Sarona, Spooner, Springbrook, Stinnett, Stone Lake and Trego.
• Spooner Police Department, 221 Elm Street, Spooner, WI 54801, 715-635-3527
• Shell Lake Police Department, PO Box 520, Shell Lake, WI 54871, 715-468-7640
• Birchwood Police Department (village), 101 N. Main Street, Birchwood, WI 54817, 715-354-3444
• Minong Police Department (village), 123 5th Avenue, Minong, WI 54859, 715-466-2266
• Wisconsin State Patrol post in Spooner, W7102 Green Valley Road, Spooner, WI 54801, 715-635-2141. Troopers patrol highways in this county and nine others nearby.