Florida Inmate Records

Florida inmate records are documents and information relating to individuals incarcerated in correctional institutions in the state. According to a report by the United States Bureau of Justice Statistics, the state's incarceration rate is slightly higher than the national average. While Florida has an imprisonment rate of 377 per 100,000 residents, the national average is 355 per 100,000 total population.

The average number of inmates held in Florida's prison system is about 71,486, and each correctional facility managed by the local, state, and federal governments manages records of inmates in their custody. These records can either be in paper or electronic form. A typical Florida inmate record will include the following information:

• Personal Details - These include the inmate's full name, sex, race, birth date, and DC number.
• Arrest Information - These typically include the arrest date, arrest time, location of the arrest, and details of the arresting agency.
• Court, Parole, and Probation Information - These include trial details, case number, fines, sentencing outcome, eligibility for parole, current facility, and probation status.
• Release Information - This describes the potential date of release from custody
• Incarceration History - This shows date-in-custody and date-out-custody for each time a person is incarcerated.
• Prison Sentence History - This shows the offense date, offense type, sentence date, county, case number, and prison sentence length (for each offense) for both current and prior prison history.

Are Inmate Records Public in Florida?

Yes. Florida inmate records are public records and accessible to members of the public under Chapter 119 of the state's Statutes. According to state law, any person who has custody of a public record, including inmate records, must grant interested parties access to inspect and copy them at any reasonable time, under reasonable conditions, and under the custodian's supervision. However, where any information in Florida's inmate record is ordered sealed or expunged, such information may not be available for public access.

What Agencies Are Responsible for Inmate Records in Florida?

In Florida, several government agencies keep records of individuals incarcerated in the state's prison system. Some of these agencies are listed below:

• The Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) - The Florida Department of Corrections is the state's largest agency, and it oversees inmates incarcerated in state-run prisons. It supervises over 70 correctional facilities statewide, including major correctional institutions, work camps, basic training camps, and annexes.
• Police Departments - The local police departments in Florida sometimes keep offenders or inmates in holding cells while they await certain legal processes, including interrogation, booking, and court appearances. As a result, the police departments may have some information kept about such offenders during their temporary stay in holding cells.
• County Sheriff's Offices - County sheriff's offices generally oversee the county jails in Florida, and they maintain records of each inmate housed in jail facilities. There are over 100 county jail facilities in the state's 67 counties.
• Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) - Records of individuals incarcerated for committing federal offenses in Florida are kept by the 8 federal prisons within the state's boundaries. These prisons are managed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).

How To Search an Inmate's Information in Florida?

Before beginning the search for an inmate's information in Florida, it is important to determine whether the inmate is being incarcerated in a federal, local, or state correctional facility.

Find an inmate in Florida State Prisons

Interested parties can find inmates sentenced to Florida prisons or state supervision using the FDC's Inmate Population Information Search system. The system allows inmate lookup by name or DC number. A DC number is an identification number assigned to each inmate by the FDC. To search an inmate's information by name, enter the sought inmate's name (full or partial) in the first name and last name fields and click on the "Submit Request" button. It is the same process when searching by an inmate's DC number.

Florida's supervised population may also be searched using the FDC's Supervised Population Information Search system. Where an online search did not reveal certain information about a Florida inmate, contact the prison facility in which the inmate is housed. In most cases, interested parties will be able to find such information in person or by mailing a request to the holding facility.

Find an Inmate in Local Jail

In Florida, local jails are mostly run by local police departments, local correctional departments, or county sheriff's offices throughout the state. Many of these agencies provide members of the public with databases of inmates housed in their jail facilities, usually in the form of inmate locators or inmate rosters. In some cases, the database will list all the inmates in a local jail, while some others are searchable by inmates' names or unique IDs assigned to the inmates by their holding facilities.

Generally, inmate rosters or locators maintained by local county jails only have basic information about inmates. Anyone looking to obtain more detailed records about any individual incarcerated in a local jail in Florida may visit the jail facility or the supervising county sheriff's office, police department, or any other agency in person. While there, they should provide any information about the sought inmate that will help facilitate a smooth search.

Find an Inmate in Federal Prison

With the BOP Inmate Locator, anyone may find information about any inmate convicted of a federal crime and incarcerated in one of Florida's federal correctional facilities. The inmate locator allows inmate searches by name or BOP register number for individuals incarcerated in federal prisons from 1982 to the present.

Some of Florida's federal prisons are listed below:

• Orlando RRM
• Tallahassee FCI
• Coleman FCC
• Miami FDC
• Pensacola FPC

How Can I Access Old Inmate Records?

Any individual looking to access old inmate records in Florida may not find it using the FDC's Inmate Population Information Search system or county jail rosters/inmate locators. These resources contain only public-record information about offenders who are currently in custody. Usually, the first place to look when in search of old inmate records in Florida is the state's Division of Library and Information Services. If the inmate whose record is sought was incarcerated in a federal prison in the state before their release, the National Archives may have information about them.

Inmate records listed on the databases of reliable third-party record service providers/sites like Floridapublicrecords.us are usually maintained there indefinitely. As a result, these sites provide users with excellent options for looking up old inmate records in Florida. Old inmate records in the state may also be accessed by visiting the correctional facilities where they were housed while serving their prison or jail term. Alternatively, interested parties may submit a public record request to the Florida Department of Corrections. Old inmate records obtained in any of these ways usually contain detailed information about such inmates.

Can I Find a Florida Inmate Record for Free?

Yes. For instance, inmate rosters/locators for local county jails, the BOP inmate locator for federal inmates, and the FDC's Inmate Population Information Search are resources that allow members of the public to find Florida inmate records free of charge. However, records retrieved using these resources usually contain basic information about inmates. Besides, the details obtained are typically those maintained by each correctional facility whose database was searched.

Third-party sites like Floridapublicrecords.us are a one-stop database that allows users to find inmates incarcerated in Florida, all in one place, regardless of which correctional facilities where the inmates are held. In other words, these websites serve as central repositories where records of inmates in local county jails, state-run prisons, and federal correctional facilities may be found. However, users may have to pay a nominal fee to access such premium services.

Jails and Prisons in Florida

The numerous correctional facilities in Florida are categorized by how they are being managed, as listed below:

• Federal Prisons - The Federal Bureau of Prisons manages the 8 federal prisons in Florida and keeps records of each inmate incarcerated in these correctional facilities.
• State-Managed Prisons - The over 70 state-run prisons across Florida are managed by the state's Department of Corrections (FDC). These facilities are grouped into four different regions, Region 1 Office, Region 2 Office, Region 3 Office, and Region 4 Office.
• County Jails - The county sheriff's offices in Florida's 67 counties oversee over 100 local jail facilities across different cities and towns statewide.
• Private Prisons - Florida has 7 private prisons and they are all contractor-operated facilities. Six out of these facilities house male inmates, while the remaining one is a female correctional facility.

State Prisons in Florida

The table below lists some of the state-operated prisons in Florida:

Private Prisons in Florida

Below is a list of Florida's private prisons:

• Blackwater River Correctional Facility
• Bay Correctional Facility
• Graceville Correctional Facility
• South Bay Correctional Facility
• Gadsden Correctional Facility
• Lake City Correctional Facility
• Moore Haven Correctional Facility

Florida Inmate Statistics

• Florida Incarceration Rate - 377 per 100,000 residents
• Male Incarceration Rate - 715 per 100,000 males
• Female Incarceration Rate - 48 per 100,000 females
• Youth Custody Rate - 61 per 100,000 youths
• Number of Prisoners in Private Prisons - About 11,728
• Black/White Imprisonment Disparity - 4.1:1
• Latino/White Imprisonment Disparity - 0.7:1
• Number of offenders under community supervision - 1,037 per 100,000 people
• Number on probation - 1,038 per 100,000 people
• Number on parole - 21 per 100,000 people
• Felony Disenfranchisement Rate - 6.1%

* Source: United States Bureau of Justice Statistics