Search Arrest, Mugshot & Inmate Records by Name
Search by name and state for arrest, booking, mugshot, inmate, jail roster, prison, criminal and court-record search categories.
Independent records-search resource. This website is not a government agency, police department, sheriff's office, jail, prison or courthouse. Search coverage varies by source and jurisdiction. Some links may lead to third-party services, and compensation may be received when a partner service is used.
Find Someone in the Lake County Jail
If you are looking for someone arrested in Gary, Hammond, Crown Point, East Chicago, Merrillville, Hobart, Highland, Munster or elsewhere in Lake County, Indiana, start with the county custody search and then verify time-sensitive information with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department.
Official jail and state resources checked October 27, 2026. Custody, bond, housing, release and visitation information can change after a page is viewed.
How to Search the Lake County Jail Roster
You do not need to start with a paid people-search website. Use the public custody systems first, then move to the court system only when you need case information.
- Open the Lake County incarcerated-people search. Go to Lake County CitizenRIMS.
- Search the person’s legal name. Start with the spelling most likely used during booking. If necessary, retry without a middle name, nickname or suffix.
- Compare identifying details. Do not assume a record is correct based only on a matching name. Compare any available age, booking, charge or custody information.
- Open the inmate record. Review available custody and booking details and note any inmate, booking or case identifier shown.
- Check Indiana MyCase for the court case. Jail information and court information are different records. Use MyCase to review publicly available filed charges, hearings and case events.
- Call the jail when the information affects an immediate decision. For a recent arrest, release, transfer or other time-sensitive custody question, call Jail Booking Information at 219-648-6300.
What a Lake County Inmate Search Can Help You Find
A jail lookup is primarily a custody and booking search. The exact fields shown can change, and not every record contains every item.
| Information | What it means | Where to verify it |
|---|---|---|
| Custody status | Whether the person is currently reported in jail custody | Jail search or Booking Information |
| Booking information | Details connected with the current jail intake when publicly available | Jail roster / jail records |
| Charges | Charges associated with the booking; these may later be changed by prosecutors or the court | Indiana MyCase for filed charges |
| Bond | Bond information associated with the custody record when displayed | Jail plus current court record |
| Housing or facility | Where the person is being held when that information is public | Jail or custody system |
| Release or transfer | Whether custody has ended or moved to another authority | Jail, SAVIN, receiving agency |
| Court date | Scheduled court activity, if a criminal case has been filed | Indiana MyCase / court clerk |
A booking record does not establish guilt or prove a conviction. It records custody or an arrest-related event. Charges can be amended, dismissed or resolved differently in court.
No Inmate Found? Check These Possibilities in Order
People often stop searching too early. A missing Lake County result can have several explanations.
- The arrest was very recent. Transportation, identification, fingerprinting and booking may still be taking place.
- The name is different in the booking system. Retry the legal name and common spelling variations.
- The person was released. A person can be booked and released before you search.
- The person is in another Indiana county. Use INjail Public Access and our Indiana jail inmate search guide.
- The arrest happened in Indianapolis. Use our Marion County jail inmate search instead.
- The arrest happened across the Illinois state line. Lake County borders the Chicago area. If the person was actually arrested in Cook County, use the Cook County Jail inmate search.
- The person was transferred to Indiana state prison. Search the Indiana Department of Correction locator.
- The case is federal. A federal defendant may be in U.S. Marshals or BOP custody. See our federal inmate search guide.
If you are reasonably certain the person was taken to Lake County Jail but no public record appears, call 219-648-6300 rather than relying on unrelated mugshot or people-search websites.
How to Check Charges, Bond and Court Dates
The jail roster and the court docket answer different questions. Use the jail system to confirm custody; use the Indiana Judicial Branch’s MyCase system to check the related public court case.
Search Indiana MyCase
- Open Indiana MyCase.
- Choose a party search when you know the defendant’s name but not the case number.
- Enter the last name and first name. Add other identifying information only when needed to narrow multiple results.
- Confirm that the result is a Lake County case before opening it.
- Review available charges, chronological case events, scheduled hearings, orders and case status.
- If the document you need is not available online, contact the clerk for the court maintaining the case.
| Your question | Best source |
|---|---|
| Is the person in Lake County Jail now? | Lake County custody search / Jail Booking |
| What charges were filed in court? | Indiana MyCase |
| When is the next court hearing? | Indiana MyCase / Lake County court |
| What bond does the current court order show? | MyCase plus jail confirmation |
| Was the case dismissed or resolved? | Court docket, not the jail roster |
| Is there an active Lake County warrant? | Lake County Sheriff’s Warrant Division |
For active warrants, use the Sheriff’s Warrant Division. A warrant search is not the same as an inmate search: someone may have an outstanding warrant without being in jail.
Release, Transfer and Custody-Change Information
Do not treat an estimated release date or an old jail screenshot as a guarantee. Release can be affected by another hold, a new court order, transfer arrangements or jail processing.
For the most useful confirmation chain:
- Check the current Lake County custody record.
- Review MyCase for recent bond or release orders.
- Call Jail Booking Information at 219-648-6300 when pickup or another immediate decision depends on the status.
- Use Indiana SAVIN if you want available custody-change notifications.
Indiana describes SAVIN as a statewide service that can provide offender information and notifications for events such as release or transfer. It is useful for alerts, but urgent personal-safety decisions should not depend only on an automated notification.
If the inmate was transferred to state custody
Once a person enters Indiana Department of Correction custody, use the IDOC Incarcerated Locator. IDOC allows searches by name or DOC number. County-jail contact, visitation and money procedures no longer apply after a transfer to a state correctional facility.
Lake County Jail Visitation
The Lake County Sheriff’s Department publishes separate inmate-visitation instructions. Before traveling to Crown Point, first confirm that the person is still housed in Lake County custody.
The Sheriff’s current visitation information states that:
- visitors should be checked in 30 minutes before the end of the visiting period;
- a valid identification card is required, with examples including a driver’s license, state ID, passport or military ID;
- only visitors listed on the inmate’s visitor list are allowed to visit that inmate; and
- the current visitation schedule and additional information should be checked before the visit.
Check Lake County Sheriff’s current visitation instructions before leaving home. The Sheriff’s page also directs visitors to GettingOut for additional visitation information.
Commissary and Adding Money
The Sheriff publishes several practical commissary details on its visitation page.
| Method | Published Lake County information |
|---|---|
| Lobby kiosk | The jail lobby kiosk is listed as available 24 hours a day and accepts cash and credit cards for commissary. |
| Money order | The Sheriff’s page states that money orders for commissary are accepted Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Saturdays during visiting hours. |
| Phone-related deposits | GettingOut/Telmate provides account options connected with inmate telephone services. |
Before sending money, confirm the inmate’s exact identity and current custody. Do not send funds simply because an unknown caller claims to represent the jail, a bondsman or the inmate.
Books, magazines and newspapers
The Sheriff’s visitation page currently states that softback books are allowed only through Books-A-Million and magazines or newspapers must come through the publisher. Verify the rule again immediately before ordering because jail property policies can change.
Inmate Phone Calls and Voicemail
Lake County’s published inmate-phone page states that the Sheriff’s Department uses Telmate / GettingOut for inmate telephone services.
- Collect calls: paid by the person receiving the call. The Sheriff’s instructions say inmates cannot place collect calls to cell phones, business phones or numbers blocked from receiving collect calls.
- Prepaid calls: family or friends can establish a prepaid account so calls can reach numbers that do not accept collect calls.
- Debit calls: inmates can purchase phone time using available commissary funds.
- Customer service: the Sheriff’s page lists Telmate at 1-866-516-0115.
- Voicemail: the Sheriff’s published page currently describes voicemail messages of up to three minutes and lists a $1.25 charge. Verify the current price before using the service.
View the Sheriff’s current inmate phone-service information.
Need a Jail, Arrest or Sheriff’s Record?
Live custody information is not the same as a copy of an offense report, criminal record check or other sheriff-maintained record.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Bureau of Identification is the department’s records keeper for items including criminal records, accident reports and offense reports.
The Sheriff’s current records information lists weekday office hours and separate fees for particular record products. Because fees, identification requirements and request procedures can change, review the official Bureau of Identification page before making a trip or mailing a request.
About Lake County Jail in Crown Point
The Lake County Sheriff’s Department operates the jail at 2293 N. Main Street in Crown Point. The Sheriff’s department profile describes Lake County as part of Northwest Indiana and the Chicago metropolitan area and identifies the Corrections Division as responsible for jail operations.
The Sheriff’s profile lists capacity for up to 1,085 inmates at the jail and up to 100 people at the separate Sheriff’s Work Release Center. Jail operations include intake and release, inmate classification, housing, records, commissary trust accounts, health services, programs and court-ordered transportation.
This matters when searching because a person may move between booking, regular jail housing, work release, court transport or another correctional authority without every public screen updating at exactly the same moment.
Lake County Location Check: Indiana, Not Illinois
Lake County, Indiana sits along the Illinois state line and includes communities such as Gary, Hammond, Crown Point, East Chicago, Merrillville, Hobart, Highland and Munster. Searches can go wrong when users accidentally open information for another Lake County or assume an arrest near Chicago automatically belongs to Indiana.
| Where the arrest happened | Where to start |
|---|---|
| Gary, Hammond, Crown Point, East Chicago or another Lake County, Indiana community | Lake County Indiana custody search |
| Indianapolis | Marion County inmate search |
| Chicago or Cook County, Illinois | Cook County inmate search |
| Unknown Indiana county | Indiana jail inmate search guide |
| Federal arrest or federal sentence | Federal inmate search guide |
Official Lake County and Indiana Resources
Lake County Indiana Jail Inmate Search FAQs
1. How do I search for an inmate in Lake County, Indiana?
Start with the Lake County CitizenRIMS incarcerated-people search. Search using the person’s legal name and review the matching custody record. If the search is unavailable or no result appears, try INjail Public Access or call Lake County Jail Booking Information at 219-648-6300.
2. What is the Lake County Jail booking phone number?
The Lake County Sheriff’s Department lists Jail Booking Information at 219-648-6300. Jail Records & Pretrial is listed separately at 219-755-3421.
3. Where is Lake County Jail located?
The Sheriff’s Department lists the jail at 2293 N. Main Street, Crown Point, Indiana 46307-1854.
4. Why can’t I find someone who was just arrested?
A recent arrestee may still be undergoing transportation, identification, intake or booking. The name may also be entered differently, or the person may have been released or transferred. Check again and call the jail if current confirmation is important.
5. How do I find a Lake County inmate’s charges and court date?
Use the jail search for custody information, then search the person’s public criminal case through Indiana MyCase. MyCase is the better source for filed charges, court events, hearing information and case status.
6. How can I find out when a Lake County inmate will be released?
Review the current custody record and related court case, then call Jail Booking Information when the timing matters. Indiana SAVIN can also provide available notifications for custody changes such as release or transfer.
7. How do I visit an inmate at Lake County Jail?
First confirm the inmate is still in Lake County custody. The Sheriff’s visitation page requires valid identification and states that only visitors listed on the inmate’s visitor list may visit. Check the current schedule before traveling to the jail.
8. How can I add money for a Lake County inmate?
The Sheriff’s current instructions list a 24-hour lobby kiosk that accepts cash and credit cards for commissary and also describe money-order options during specified times. Verify the inmate’s identity and current rules before sending funds.
9. What if the inmate was transferred to an Indiana state prison?
Use the Indiana Department of Correction Incarcerated Locator. County-jail searches are designed for local custody, while IDOC maintains records for people in Indiana state correctional custody.
10. Does appearing in the Lake County jail roster mean the person was convicted?
No. A jail booking or custody record does not prove guilt or a conviction. Check the related court record for filed charges, later amendments, dismissal, plea, trial result or sentencing information.
Best Way to Get an Accurate Lake County Result
Start with the person’s full legal name and the Lake County custody search. If the arrest was very recent, allow for booking time and use the jail’s booking line when immediate confirmation is necessary. After finding the correct person, use Indiana MyCase for the court record and SAVIN if you need custody-change notifications.
The most important distinction is simple: the jail roster tells you about custody; the court record tells you what is happening in the criminal case. Verify live information before paying money, traveling for a visit or making plans around a release.