What are Pennsylvania Inmate Records?

Pennsylvania inmate records are all the elements that follow someone from an arrest to a conviction and incarceration, parole, or probation. These records come from law enforcement, the courts, and confinement facilities (jails and prisons).

Most inmate records will include the offender’s name, birth date, race, gender, and a detailed physical description (eye and hair color, height, weight, and any defining marks). Often you can also see mugshots, fingerprints, and details of their crimes, incarceration facilities, and more.

The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections is the state agency in charge of inmate records, facilities, and inmates themselves. They make it easy to find inmates in the state with their inmate locator. Some inmate records may be easy to find, and some others much more difficult.

Pennsylvania Prison and Jail System

The state of Pennsylvania has 23 state correctional facilities and one motivational boot camp. Pennsylvania also has 14 community corrections facilities to assist parolees and probationers to stay on track, and the state contracts with 40 contract facilities. They also have one training academy.

The state has roughly 50,000 inmates in state prison. There are another 37,000 people in local county jails/prisons and 7,500 in federal prisons within the state.

Pennsylvania has 132 local county jails/prisons that hold short-term inmates and pretrial offenders. These are run by local law enforcement and county government officials.

How to Search for Inmates in Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections has an inmate locator feature on their website where the public can search for people in prison in Oregon. You can search using various criteria, including name, race, citizenship, gender, county, location, and birth date. You can also sort the search results.

The list of results will show the inmate’s number, full name, race, date of birth, current location, and committing county. You can click on any row to see more information.

The additional details will show a mugshot, aliases, and other information. You can print them from there or contact the facility for more.

You can also use InfoTracer to quickly and easily find someone incarcerated in Pennsylvania.

Types of Jails in Pennsylvania

How to Contact, Send Money to or Visit an Inmate in Pennsylvania

Inmates in Pennsylvania are allowed video visitation upon good behavior. Family and friends may contact the facility to set up a call with their incarcerated loved one by following the instructions on this page.

Inmates are also allowed to receive mail if it is properly addressed and does not contain any prohibited content. Address inmate mail as follows:

Smart Communications/PA DOC

Inmate Name/Inmate Number

Institution

PO Box 33028

St Petersburg, Florida 33733

You may also send and receive email to and from inmates.

Pennsylvania uses Securus Technologies for inmate phone calls. You can learn more about the system here.

To send money to inmates in Pennsylvania you can use the JPay system using money orders. You can also use SCI lobby kiosks to add money to an inmate’s account for things like phone calls, snacks, and other amenities. 

Pennsylvania Counties