How to Find a St. Louis County Inmate
The county jail in Clayton holds people booked by St. Louis County Police, municipal departments and other arresting agencies in the region. The official county Justice Services page identifies the department as responsible for management, operation and security of the jail and says the facility provides secure custody using direct supervision. The St. Louis County Police jail-information page is the public-facing entry point and is reached through the county Police homepage.
A working inmate search runs across four systems. The first is the local jail itself, contacted through Justice Services. The second is the statewide Missouri Department of Corrections Offender Web Search for anyone who has been sentenced to state custody, probation or parole. The third is the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator for federal cases. The fourth is the court record in Case.net, which carries charges, bond, hearings and disposition for cases filed in the 21st Judicial Circuit. Use these together. A person who was arrested last night is in the local jail; a person sentenced to ten years is at a state prison; a person under federal indictment is in federal custody or a federal contract bed. The starting point depends on what is already known.
The official St. Louis County Police page that lists "Jail Inmate Information" is the standard reference for the local lookup. The page describes the facility and the contact path. A live searchable roster form was not exposed in accessible official text during research, so the practical first step is a phone call to Justice Services at 314-615-5245 with the full name and approximate date of birth of the person believed to be in custody. The county Police website carries the link.
A look at the county Police homepage at stlouiscountypolice.com shows the entry to the jail information page and the records and permits links used for related requests.
From the homepage, the Resources and Services menu opens the jail-information and the records-and-permits pages used for inmate, fingerprint and permit work.
- Confirm the person is likely in local custody. If the arrest was made by a St. Louis County agency or a city department in the county, the booking typically routes to the Justice Center in Clayton.
- Gather identifiers. The full legal name, any known aliases, the date of birth, the approximate booking date and the arresting agency all narrow the search.
- Call Justice Services at 314-615-5245 to confirm local custody status. Have the identifiers ready.
- Check Case.net at courts.mo.gov/cnet for the case, charges, bond amount, next hearing and the court division assigned.
- If the person has been moved to state custody, search the Missouri Department of Corrections Offender Web Search for status and location.
- If the case is federal, run the Bureau of Prisons inmate locator using a register number or name.
- Register with MOVANS through VINELink if continued custody notifications are needed.
St. Louis County Jail and Justice Center
The local jail goes by two names in official text. The legal facility name is the Buzz Westfall Justice Center, after a former county executive. The day-to-day reference is the St. Louis County Jail. Both names point to the same building at 100 South Central Avenue in Clayton, one block south of the main Courts Building at 105 South Central. The county Justice Services department, not the Sheriff's office, runs the facility. The Sheriff's office handles court security, civil process and court service functions at the Courts Building.
The county Police records unit is a separate operation in a different Clayton building. It handles permits, sex offender registration, fingerprinting and the formal records-request side of police files. People searching for a recent booking sometimes start with police records, but for live custody questions Justice Services is the correct first call. The police records office runs standard weekday business hours and is reached through the records and permits page.
The records and permits page on the county Police site explains the services offered at 7900 Forsyth. The page covers concealed carry permits, professional security licensing, Sunshine requests and the sex offender registration counter that the county runs. A direct link sits at stlouiscountypolice.com records and permits.
The records and permits page is the right stop for Sunshine requests tied to a booking or arrest report, but live jail status sits with Justice Services.
St. Louis County Jail / Buzz Westfall Justice Center
100 South Central Avenue
Clayton, MO 63105
314-615-5245
Email: JSocial@stlouiscountymo.gov
Facility open 24 hours / 7 days
Central Police Records Unit
7900 Forsyth Boulevard, Room B-013
Clayton, MO 63105
314-615-5317
Mon-Fri 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Closed county holidays
The Justice Center sits across a short walk from the Recorder of Deeds at 41 South Central and the Courts Building at 105 South Central. The whole court complex is in downtown Clayton.
Local Roster Search Fields and Limits
Some county jails publish a live online roster with a name and booking-number search box. Accessible official text from St. Louis County did not expose a public local roster form during research. The county Police jail information page exists, but it carries contact and program information rather than a live search widget. That means the practical local lookup runs by phone, by Sunshine request, or by checking Case.net for a court case tied to the booking.
The county Police jail information page at stlouiscountypolice.com jail inmate information sits inside the Resources and Services area.
That page lists the contact path and the program information, then routes users to phone contact for live status. Build pages should not invent a roster field set that the county does not publish. Use the official phone path and verify any field list with Justice Services before relying on it.
Note: A local searchable jail roster form was not visible in accessible official county text during research, so confirm any current online roster directly with Justice Services before using it for legal purposes.
Missouri DOC Offender Web Search
The Missouri Department of Corrections runs the statewide Offender Web Search. A St. Louis County resident sentenced to state prison or supervised on state probation or parole is in this database. The Missouri Courts site says the tool includes current offenders including probation and parole. Discharged offenders are not in the public search, and an all-offender file is published as a nightly compressed download for researchers.
The DOC homepage at doc.mo.gov links to the Offender Web Search and to the constituent services contact.
The DOC homepage is the official entry to the state search. Use it instead of any third-party mirror.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes / Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offender name | Text | One identifier needed | DOC guidance says provide the full name and correct spelling. |
| Inmate number / offender number | Text | Optional | Direct identifier; narrows or solves the search. |
| Date of birth | Date / text | Optional | DOC says date of birth helps if available. |
| Social Security number | Text | Optional, not displayed | Used only if needed when asking DOC constituent services. |
A DOC profile usually shows the full name, the DOC number, the current status or supervision type, the current institution or field office and the public-facing offense information. The page does not show discharged offenders, so a clean DOC result for a name does not always mean the person never had a state case. People with sealed or confidential reasons may be excluded for safety, security or confidentiality.
Federal BOP Inmate Locator
Federal cases in the St. Louis region go through the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. People in federal custody are tracked by the Bureau of Prisons. The BOP runs a public inmate locator that covers federal inmates from 1982 to the present. A St. Louis County resident facing federal charges, sitting in federal pretrial detention or serving a federal sentence usually appears in this system, even if held in a contract bed inside a county jail. The locator runs by register number or by name.
The locator and the field list match the official BOP form. The build copy below restates the field labels exactly as they appear in the federal form, with no invented options.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes / Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| BOP Register Number / DCDC / FBI / INS number | Text | Optional if name search used | Number search is the most precise method. |
| First Name | Text | Required for name search | Covers federal inmates from 1982 to present. |
| Middle Name | Text | Optional | Narrows the result list. |
| Last Name | Text | Required for name search | Required when running a name lookup. |
| Race | Dropdown | Optional | Standard BOP race filter. |
| Age | Number | Optional | Helps narrow common names. |
| Sex | Dropdown | Optional | Male or female filter. |
| Search | Button | n/a | Runs the lookup. |
| Clear Form | Button | n/a | Clears all entries. |
A federal profile generally shows the inmate identity fields, age, race, sex, projected release date when set, and the current facility location. The BOP locator is separate from the Case.net court system and from the Missouri DOC system. Federal and state cases run on parallel tracks.
What a St. Louis County Inmate Profile Shows
Inmate profile fields vary by system. A local Justice Services confirmation usually carries a smaller field set than a state DOC profile, and a federal BOP profile reads differently again. Because the local online roster was not exposed in official text during research, the field list below uses verified official profile fields from related state and federal sources. Treat it as the safe baseline. Confirm extra fields with Justice Services if a specific item matters for a legal filing.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Full name | Legal name of the person in custody; may include known aliases. |
| Date of birth or age | DOB on state and federal profiles; age range on some state pages. |
| Custody status | In custody, on probation, on parole, transferred, released, or absconded. |
| Location or facility | State institution, federal facility, or field office assigned. |
| DOC number / register number | Permanent system identifier for state or federal records. |
| Offense information | Public-facing offense or commitment information when available. |
| Sex and race | Standard descriptors on federal BOP and state DOC profiles. |
| Reporting agency | Listed in MOVANS results; identifies the agency tied to custody status. |
| Release date | Federal BOP shows release date when set; state systems may show a parole-eligibility or sentence completion date. |
| Custody-status change reason | MOVANS public guide lists the reason custody status changed. |
The court side of an inmate's story sits in Case.net. Bond amount, charges, hearings, judge or commissioner and disposition are court fields, not jail fields. Cross-reference the local jail and the court record before drawing conclusions.
The Local Booking Process
Booking is the administrative step that records a new arrest. In St. Louis County the standard path runs from the street arrest or warrant pickup to transport to the Justice Center in Clayton. Once a person reaches the jail, intake covers identification, property inventory, a medical and mental-health screening, the booking record itself and a classification decision that controls housing inside the facility.
Court status follows on a separate track. After prosecutor filing, the case appears in Case.net with a case number, charges, bond entry and hearing date. The initial appearance and any bond hearing depend on Missouri criminal procedure, the schedule of the assigned division and the warrant status. People posting bond should confirm the current bond amount on the court record and check with the jail for posting instructions, since bond amounts can change after a hearing.
An arrest report is a police record, not a court record. The arresting agency holds the report. For records held by St. Louis County Police, the request runs through the Central Police Records Unit and the county Sunshine portal. Court charges, by contrast, are held by the Circuit Clerk and appear in Case.net once filed. The arrest records page walks through that distinction in detail.
- Arrest by a county or city law enforcement agency, or pickup on a warrant entered in MULES/NCIC.
- Transport to the Justice Center at 100 South Central in Clayton.
- Intake identification, property inventory, medical and mental-health screening.
- Booking record creation and classification for housing.
- Prosecutor filing and court case creation in Case.net when charges are filed.
- Initial appearance and bond review by the assigned division.
- Release on bond, pretrial release conditions, or continued custody pending hearings.
Visitation, Mail and Money Deposits
Visitation, mail and commissary rules at the Justice Center were not exposed in accessible official text during research. Older and secondary sources state in-person visits are limited and scheduled, but those sources are not the official county source. The right step is to call Justice Services before any visit, before mailing anything, and before sending money. Rules at county jails change with vendor contracts, staffing and facility conditions.
The county Police non-emergency line at 636-529-8210 is a useful second contact for general law-enforcement questions tied to a person in custody, but the jail itself answers visitation, mail and commissary questions at the Justice Services number.
| Item | Status From Official Research | Recommended Action |
|---|---|---|
| In-person visitation schedule | Not located in accessible official text | Call Justice Services before traveling to the facility. |
| Video visitation provider | Not located in accessible official text | Confirm with the jail; do not rely on third-party listings. |
| Visitor ID | Likely required, not verified | Bring a valid government-issued photo ID. |
| Dress code | Not verified in accessible official text | Ask Justice Services for the current rule. |
| Attorney visitation | Not verified in accessible official text | Attorneys should contact Justice Services and the assigned court division. |
| Mail format | Not verified in accessible official text | Confirm inmate name, booking number and current mail vendor with the jail. |
| Commissary and money deposits | Not verified in accessible official text | Ask the jail for the current approved deposit provider. |
Note: Confirm visitation schedule, video provider, mail format and commissary vendor with Justice Services before a visit, mail drop or deposit at the Buzz Westfall Justice Center.
Release Verification and Notifications
Custody status changes can happen at any hour. A bond is posted overnight, a person is released on their own recognizance after an initial appearance, charges are dropped, or the person is transferred to state custody after sentencing. The two best ways to track those changes are MOVANS and Case.net. MOVANS is Missouri's victim notification system, run through VINELink, and it sends phone, text or email alerts on custody changes. Case.net carries court-side changes like a bond reduction, a disposition or a sentencing entry.
The MSHP sex offender registry sits alongside these tools for separate but related searches. People released after a sex offense may carry a registration duty that shows up on the state registry, which is searchable by name, county and address. The county Police records unit also handles in-county sex offender registration and verification.
For deeper coverage of release lookups, the released inmates page walks through state DOC, federal BOP, VINELink and the sex offender registry side by side with the search fields. Population trends and the capacity of the Justice Center sit on the inmate population page.
The county Police homepage also routes to the DOC offender search link page on the Missouri Courts site, which is a clean public reference for related criminal-justice searches.
That page is a useful intermediate link if the DOC homepage redesign moves the offender-search button. It also lists the related court-side resources.