Boston Inmate Population

Boston is the state capital and the largest city in Massachusetts with about 673,000 residents. The city falls under Suffolk County for all jail and corrections matters, and the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department runs two facilities that hold the local inmate population. People arrested in Boston go to the Nashua Street Jail for pretrial detention or the South Bay House of Correction for sentenced terms. Suffolk County does not have an online inmate locator, so most searches go through the phone or through a written public records request. This page covers how to find someone in custody in Boston, where to call, and what records you can get from the city and county.

Suffolk County Jail Facilities in Boston

Both of the county's jail sites sit in Boston. The Suffolk County Sheriff's Department runs them under Sheriff Steven W. Tompkins. People arrested in Boston by city police or state troopers go through booking at the jail that matches their custody status. Pretrial holds go to Nashua Street. Sentenced inmates go to South Bay.

The Nashua Street Jail at 200 Nashua Street in Boston holds pretrial detainees. It has 682 beds. Most of the people there have not yet been to trial. They are waiting for a court date or could not make bail. The jail sits close to the courthouses in downtown Boston, which cuts down on transport time. To ask about an inmate at this site, call the records office at (617) 635-1100 ext. 3005. Staff can tell you if a person is there and share basic booking details like charges and intake date. You need the person's full legal name to run a search.

The South Bay House of Correction at 20 Bradston Street in Boston is the larger facility. It holds 1,892 beds. Inmates here are serving sentences of up to two and a half years. Some may also be held on civil commitments. South Bay is where most county jail programs are based, since people there stay long enough to take part in classes and training. Call the records office at (617) 635-1000 ext. 2017 to check on an inmate. Staff can confirm custody status and give you a release date if one has been set. If you do not know which site holds the person, try both numbers.

How to Search the Boston Inmate Population

Suffolk County does not have an online inmate search tool. This sets it apart from some other Massachusetts counties. If you need to find out whether someone is in a Boston jail, the fastest method is a phone call. For pretrial inmates, call Nashua Street at (617) 635-1100 ext. 3005. For sentenced inmates, call South Bay at (617) 635-1000 ext. 2017. Have the person's full name ready. Staff can tell you if that person is in custody at their site.

Suffolk County does not take part in the VINE system. In many other parts of the state, VINELink lets you search for inmates and sign up for alerts when someone gets moved or released. That tool does not cover Suffolk County. If you need to track a release date, you have to call the jail and ask.

The screenshot below shows the VINELink search page, which covers state prisons and some county jails but not Suffolk County.

You can still use VINELink to search state prison inmates if you think the person may have been transferred to a DOC facility.

For state prison inmates, the Department of Correction has a search page at mass.gov. State prisons hold people with sentences over two and a half years. If the person you are looking for got a long sentence in a Suffolk County court, they may have been moved to a state prison rather than staying in a county jail. The DOC search tool and VINELink both let you look up state inmates by name or ID number.

Boston Court Records and Case Searches

Court records can tell you about the criminal case that led to someone being in jail. The state court system at masscourts.org lets you look up docket information from any Massachusetts court, including the Suffolk County courts that handle Boston cases. Search by name or case number. The results show charges, hearing dates, and case outcomes. This does not tell you if a person is still in jail, but it gives you the legal side of the picture.

Criminal cases in Boston go through one of several courts depending on the charge. The Boston Municipal Court handles most misdemeanor and lower-level felony cases. Serious felonies go to Suffolk Superior Court. Both feed into the MassCourts system. Juvenile cases are sealed under state law and will not show up in a public search. If you need records from a sealed or impounded case, you have to file a motion with the court that handled it.

The iCORI system at icori.chs.state.ma.us is another option. It lets you run a criminal record check on yourself or, in some cases, on another person. There is a fee for each search. iCORI pulls from the Criminal History Systems Board database and shows convictions and pending cases across the state. It is not a jail search tool, but the records there can help you piece together where someone might be held.

Boston Inmate Population Records Requests

Massachusetts public records law gives you the right to request documents about the inmate population. Under M.G.L. c. 66, § 10, any person can ask a government agency for records it keeps. The law covers most documents made or received by state and county agencies as defined in M.G.L. c. 4, § 7. You can use this law to request booking logs, daily population counts, incident reports, or other records from the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department.

For records from the sheriff, contact the Records Access Officer at (617) 635-1100 ext. 3082. Written requests are preferred. The department has 10 business days to respond under the law. Some large requests may take longer. If the sheriff's office denies your request or misses the deadline, you can file an appeal with the Supervisor of Records within 90 days.

The City of Boston has its own public records process for police records and other city documents. The city's Records Access Officer is Grace Jung. You can reach her at grace.jung@boston.gov or by phone at (617) 635-4037. Her office is at 1 City Hall Square, Room 615, Boston, MA 02201. The city also runs an online public records portal.

The screenshot below shows the City of Boston's public records portal.

You can submit requests through this portal or by email. The first two hours of staff time on a request are free. After that, the city charges $25 per hour. Copies cost $0.05 per page.

Boston Police Department Records

The Boston Police Department handles arrest records and police reports for incidents in the city. Their headquarters is at One Schroeder Plaza, Boston, MA 02120. The main number is (617) 343-4500. Police records can show you arrest details, charges, and the names of people taken into custody. These records are separate from the jail records kept by the sheriff.

To get a copy of a police report, email POLICEREPORT@PD.BOSTON.GOV. Include the date and location of the incident, the names of the people involved, and a copy of your photo ID. The Public Service Counter can also help at (617) 343-4633. Officers there handle walk-in requests during business hours, Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM. Response times vary based on the type of report and how old it is.

Keep in mind that police records and jail records serve different purposes. A police report tells you what happened at the scene and what charges were filed. Jail records tell you where a person is held and when they might get out. You may need both to get the full picture. The police department falls under the city, while the jails fall under the county sheriff. These are two separate agencies with different records systems and different request processes.

Statewide Inmate Population Search Tools

If the person you are looking for is not in a Suffolk County jail, they may be in a state prison. The Massachusetts Department of Correction holds people with sentences over two and a half years. The DOC search page at mass.gov walks you through how to use VINELink and the phone line at 1-866-277-7477 to find state inmates. You can search by name or offender ID.

The Massachusetts Sheriffs' Association website has links to each county sheriff's department across the state. Some counties have online inmate lookup tools, but Suffolk is not one of them. If you think the person may have been moved to another county, the association site can point you to the right sheriff's office. Each county runs its own jails and keeps its own records, so you need to contact the right one.

Suffolk County Inmate Population

Boston is in Suffolk County, and all jail facilities serving the city are run by the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department. The county also covers Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop. For full details on both jail facilities, visiting rules, inmate programs, and how to file public records requests with the sheriff, see the Suffolk County page.

View Suffolk County Inmate Population

Nearby Cities

These cities are near Boston. Some are in Suffolk County and share the same jail facilities. Others are in neighboring counties with their own sheriff's departments and separate inmate records.