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California Launches Online Inmate Locator

The public can now search online for the location of inmates who are incarcerated in California.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has launched a new online database that will for the first time allow the general public to locate each of California’s 170,000-plus inmates who are housed in state penitentiaries.

The Inmate Locator website is searchable by last name and first name, as well as corrections identification number. For each prisoner, the database lists the person’s age, admission date and the facility in which he or she is incarcerated, and also includes driving directions to the facility. The database is updated weekly.

Correction officials said the online database was designed to help family members and friends stay in touch with their loved ones.

“Inmates who stay connected with family members are often more motivated to change their behavior, leading to an overall increase in public safety,” said CDCR Secretary Matthew Cate. “This new tool will make it more convenient for the public to locate, write and visit incarcerated family members and friends.”

The database doesn’t include release dates for the prisoners.

Other government entities already offer inmate locators, including the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which tracks federal inmates who were incarcerated as far back as 1982. Many states, and police and sheriffs’ departments also offer similar online tools.  

California already put a detailed database online of the 63,000-plus registered sex offenders living in the state; half of the entries include the person’s home address. For each offender, a photograph and a list of known offenses is included. The creation of the database was prompted by Megan’s Law, which in California went into effect in 2004. The legislation was named after 7-year-old Megan Kanka, a New Jersey girl who was raped and killed by a known child molester who had moved across the street from the family without their knowledge. According to California, all states now have a form of Megan’s Law.

 

Miriam Jones is a former chief copy editor of Government Technology, Governing, Public CIO and Emergency Management magazines.