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How Long Does It Take for an Inmate to Show in the System?

April 16, 2023 Arrest Records | Mugshot Removal | Uncategorized

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How long does it take for an inmate to show in the system?

To understand how long does it take for an inmate to show in the system, you must first understand the prison system itself. Or, what happens after the police arrest you.

The following steps are generally part of the arrest process:

1. Intake staff record your name and arrest information.

As soon as you enter the county jail or holding facility, the booking process begins. An intake officer will start a new record with your full name and date of birth. They also record the charges against you. This is now all computerized with most counties still keeping a physical official arrest record on hand.


2. You stand for a booking photograph.

The booking photograph or mugshot is the second big step in the intake process. Before digital cameras, this process used to take days but now takes seconds. The intake staff line you up and take two side and front shots. Officials upload these mugshots into the record.


3. The pat-down or full-body search.

There will always be a cursory pat-down during the booking process. However, the officers can choose to keep it at a cursory one or opt for more of a full-body search. What officers choose can impact how long does it take for an inmate to show in the system. Note, that a strip search may happen even if you face arrest on a minor charge, such as failure to pay a fine.

4. The facility takes your personal property.

Depending upon the situation, they may also take your clothing. All the items taken from you get returned upon your release, except for those that they determine are contraband or evidence of a crime. Police will likely prevent you from keeping anything of value on their person. That is unless they can prove personal ownership.


5. Police take your fingerprints.

Fingerprints are a standard and necessary part of every inmate processing. However, some counties may take fingerprints before booking photographs. In any case, officials scan and upload fingerprints into both a local and nationwide database.

6. Checking for any outstanding warrants.

Now that your full name, photograph, and fingerprints are in the system, a search begins. But here, it is on the booking officer’s side. They will look for any outstanding warrants, charges, and fines.

 

7. Health screening and potential DNA sampling.

Because of COVID-19, there have been some pretty big delays for how long does it take for an inmate to show in the system. Where before, health officials gave screenings for a basic inmate booking on a case-by-case basis, most places have this as a mandatory step. Officials may also ask for a DNA sample.

The booking record only becomes complete after the above steps are completed. All the above steps. At that point, police save your record and enter your info into the system.

Okay, but how long does it take for an inmate to show in the system?

This depends upon the county and its own personal policies. In general, all correctional and intake facilities have a complete list of all inmates uploaded to their system daily. Your info may be searchable as soon as two hours after the date you entered the facility.

A facility recording your inmate information for their own records is only the first step. Remember, during the intake process, the booking personnel are checking against other records. They are checking for other arrests, warrants, and fines by name, photo, fingerprint, and eventually DNA.

This means other facilities and organizations will likewise receive the arrest records. One important organization to know of is VINELink.

What is VINELink?

VINELink is an organization that works with many local and state agencies. Their goal is to ensure data is accurate and that victims of crimes can have good information about their offenders. Unfortunately, in doing so, they step on the rights of people who may eventually have charges dismissed

This is because VINELink stores all offender information it receives from local law, and state facilities. They then make some or all of that information available through their website. They also will notify victims if and when you walk free.

Police update this organization’s inmate system near-simultaneously with official facilities. As long as the connected facility is online and connected. Thus, if you are trying to locate or find an inmate and aren’t having luck with an official source, this is the second-best choice for non-federal inmates. It will typically take between two hours and a day for an inmate to show up in this system.

VINE reports that it will not remove offender information. Instead, it recommends anyone concerned with their information to report to their arresting facility any incorrect data.

The good news is that expert lawyers and removal groups can act as a critical third-party. They can even remove certain information in select situations.

But whether a given inmate can apply for information removal will depend upon the specifics of your case.

How Do You Get Removed From an Inmate Search?

Once you leave a county or state correctional facility, you will typically get removed from the inmate search. This occurs between two hours before release time to a full day after your release date.

This, however, isn’t necessarily true for those in federal prison systems. For federal prisons, information on all inmates entered and released after 1982 remains online.

But that isn’t all. Some people who didn’t even serve time in a federal facility may still have their information available via the federal system.

Why? Because the federal records may still include information on individuals who were:

  • Detained pre-trial.
  • Held as a material witness.
  • In lockup for civil contempt.

It requires a special court record and proceeding to remove your info from this federal system. As such, we recommend hiring a lawyer. Only an experienced lawyer can speak to the specifics of any one case and make the best recommendations.

Mugshot Websites: How Long Does It Take for Inmate Records to Show Up On Mugshot Websites?

Important note, both the above answers relate specifically to inmate searches done via county and state correctional websites. If you are looking for the answer to how long does it take for an inmate to show up online in the system across the Internet. As in, booking photographs shown in online newspapers and mugshot websites.

So, are you asking how long does it take for inmate records to show up on mugshot websites?

On average, mugshots and all related booking information will show up online within one to three days of an arrest.

IMPORTANT NOTE. If you are searching Google for inmate information about yourself or someone you love, don’t click the mugshot websites. Also, don’t click any mugshot photos found via the Google Images search.

This is because every time someone clicks a direct link on Google, its algorithms will take note. The more people visit a website, the more “relevant” it becomes.

And the last thing anyone wants is Google thinking inmate information and booking photographs are “relevant” responses to a Google search of your name.

So instead of clicking links via Google, if you must, use alternative search engines. Private search engines like DuckDuckGo and non-US search engines like MetaGer are ideal. But the best idea is not to go to mugshot websites at all. Instead, contact an experienced mugshot removal team like ours.

EraseMugshots: Removing Private Information From the Internet Every Day and Solving the How Long Does it Take for an Inmate to Show In the System Problem

The best way to remove inmate records and photographs from the public online system is to act fast. To be proactive. If you or someone you know is arrested and are concerned about online reputation hits, contact EraseMugshots immediately.

Our team provides fast, around-the-clock monitoring of inmate records across the Internet. We also have connections in every state and understand how to reach all the major national and regional mugshot websites.

As such, we can identify and remove inmate records as they appear in search engine results. In some cases, we can even do so before they are made available. This type of preemptive work can really save a person’s relationships and career.

And if you or someone you love has already been arrested and gone to jail, don’t fret! Our expert team can still assist. Being proactive is ideal. But when we can’t be proactive and preemptive, we be precise.

We find every instance of your listing online. And, we eliminate those mentions wherever possible. We also repair your image via the building of a more positive online presence.

The final question is then, are you ready?

Contact our team today or call (844) 935-1118 to learn more. Or the reputation of someone you love who has been hurt by an online publication or inmate record release.

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