Durham County Inmate Search
A Durham County inmate search is the process of obtaining information about persons who are held or serving time in a correctional facility located in Durham County. The information obtained from looking up Durham County inmates is part of Durham County public records and available to interested persons on request under the North Carolina Public Records Law.
Generally, persons detained pending bail or serving a sentence term of less than one year, usually for misdemeanor offenses, are held in the Durham County Detention Facility. The Sheriff’s Office is in charge of the county correctional facility and is also designated as the record custodian. On the other hand, persons serving sentence terms of more than one year, usually for felony offenses, are held in state prisons. In such cases, information about these persons is available through the North Carolina Department of Corrections.
Durham County Crime and Incarceration Statistics
According to the 2022 annual report published by the Durham County Sheriff’s Office, the agency processed a total of 5,242 arrestees at the jail. The agency also investigated 84 aggravated assault, 135 burglary, 346 larceny, 24 robbery, 28 rape, 66 motor vehicle theft, three arson, and five murder. In comparison, the 2021 annual report showed that the Durham County Sheriff’s Office processed 4,442 total arrestees at the jail. There were investigations for 72 aggravated assault, 141 burglary, 374 larceny, 15 robbery, 12 rape, 59 motor vehicle theft, and one arson.
A year-on-year analysis showed an 18% increase in the total number of arrestees processed at the jail. Also, investigations for common crimes increased for motor vehicle theft, arson, robbery, aggravated assault, and rape. On the other hand, the year-on-year crime trend decreased for burglary and larceny.
Durham County Prison System
Durham County Detention Facility was opened in 1996 and has a capacity to hold 736 persons. The facility operates round-the-clock during the week. Besides holding incarcerated persons, the jail offers educational and vocational programs for persons detained or serving time at the facility. These include:
- Substance Abuse and Recidivism Reduction (STARR) Program
- Sexual Offender Treatment Group
- ABE/GED Classes
- Literacy Tutoring
- Vocational Classes
- Electronic House Arrest
- Work Release
- Work Details
- Work Programs
- Religious Services
- AA/NA Meetings
The jail is divided into two wings and several levels for inmate housing and other facility services. Offenders are grouped into housing pods based on their behavior/risk classification. All inmates have access to food, visiting, attorney conferences, medical, mail, canteen, exercise, and recreation services during their time in the facility.
How to Find an Inmate in Durham County
Persons looking for information on persons currently held or serving time at Durham County jail may contact the Sheriff’s Office at (919) 560-0899 or (919) 560-0898. Alternatively, the requestor may visit the Office in person during regular business hours to submit a records request for information about an inmate. Similarly, information about persons held or serving time in state prisons is available through the North Carolina Department of Corrections. Requestors may call the agency directly or use an offender search tool to obtain the information they seek.
How Does a Durham County Inmate Search Work?
Inmate information is available to interested members of the public per the North Carolina Public Records Law. Despite facilitating public access to this information, state laws prohibit the dissemination of inmate records that may contain sensitive information or details about minors. As such, juvenile records are restricted from general public access. Persons who wish to obtain sealed or restricted records must obtain a court order to that effect.
That said, records obtained from a Durham County inmate search can provide a requestor with physical descriptive information, incarceration details, trial information, and sentencing details about the person of interest. To obtain these details, however, a requestor must provide the record custodian with the necessary details to facilitate a search. When an inmate search returns a matching result, requestors can expect to see the information listed below about an inmate.
- Full name
- Gender
- Race
- Age and date of birth
- Photograph
- Booking number
- Physical description (hair color, eye color, height, and weight)
- Bail amount and requirements
- Facility of incarceration
- Trial details and dates of court appearances
- Sentencing information
- Release information (release date, time, reason, description)
- Date and time of arrest
- Arresting agency
Where to Find a Durham County Inmate Locator
Interested persons may call the Durham County Sheriff’s Office at (919) 560-0912 or (919) 560-0898 to obtain inmate records and associated information. Alternatively, they may visit the jail or Sheriff’s Office in person during regular business hours to make an inquiry.
Meanwhile, persons who wish to obtain information about inmates in Durham County online may use the North Carolina Statewide Automated Victim Assistance and Notification (NC SAVAN) search tool. NC SAVAN facilitates offender search for persons in county jails and state prisons, as well as individuals on probation.
The North Carolina Department of Corrections maintains a registry of past and current inmates at correctional institutions across the state. The Offender Locator is available to the public for free and requestors may query it with the name, incarceration status, and identification number of an offender. It is also possible to narrow down the search results by age range, gender, race, and other criteria when there are multiple results for the same name. However, this database only contains information about persons in state prisons.
Besides the aforementioned methods and tools provided by law enforcement agencies to facilitate inmate searches, interested persons may also use inmate locators provided by third-party service providers. The same requirements are needed to facilitate searches on these sites. At the very least, the searcher must provide the inmate's name. While it is possible to find third-party inmate locators that provide the service for free, aggregate websites often charge a fee for their services. The amount varies with the site and the robustness of information available through the service provider.
How to Send Jail Mail in Durham County
Durham County Detention Center accepts personal correspondence sent to inmates at the address below.
Durham County Detention Center, NC
Recipient Name and ID Number
P.O. Box 247
Phoenix, MD 21131.
On the other hand, legal mail and correspondence to inmates are sent to the address below.
Durham County Detention Center
Inmate's Full Name and ID
P.O. Box 771
Durham, NC 27702
Note that the facility prohibits sending cash, checks, or money orders to inmates via mail. Such mails will be returned to the sender.
Durham County Jails and Prisons
The addresses of the jail and the Sheriff’s Office are provided below.
Durham County Sheriff’s Office
P.O. Box 170
510 South Dillard Street
Durham, NC 27701
Phone: (919) 560-0897
Durham County Detention Facility
219 South Mangum Street
Durham, NC 27701
Phone: (919) 560-0912
