California Inmate Search

The CDCR has a State Offender Locator system that offers prisoner information to the public, subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. The inmate records database provides information on prisoners currently incarcerated by the Department. That means the CDCR removed information of already released prisoners from the database. In addition, the department says that while the database is regularly updated, new information may take a couple of days before it reflects on the website. They also reserve some information about convicts for safety and security reasons.  

How to Find an Inmate in California 

The website notes that information on the database may not include new inmates and presently transferred convicts between correctional facilities. To locate an inmate in California, here’s what you do: 

• Step 1: Go to the State Inmate Locator page on the CDCR website, agree to the Terms and proceed on to the inmate locator tool.  
• Step 2: You can either use the inmate’s CDCR number or the last name. If you have the CDCR number, the search will reveal the specific inmate’s information, as all numbers are assigned to inmates uniquely. If you use the last name option, the locator will reveal all inmates that match the last name you searched for. You can then proceed to find the inmate. You can use the other available search filters including the first and middle name to further narrow down your search.  
• Step 3: Click on the name of the prisoner you want and this will reveal the prisoner’s full information. The database will reveal the inmate’s age, incarceration date, facility and parole eligibility. Unlike some state correctional departments, The CDCR does not show inmates’ mugshots.  

Division of Juvenile Justice 

The DJJ incarcerates youth of up to 25 years that are perpetrators of serious offenses. The department, in addition to incarceration, offers education and trauma-aware therapy in efforts to rehabilitate and reintroduce them back to society.  

To search for current juveniles in the DJJ Youth Information database, you must submit a written request to the department through the following address: 

Division of Juvenile Justice  

P.O. Box 588501  

Elk Grove, CA 95758-8501 

You must include the youth’s full name, birth date and booking date in your letter. In addition, not everyone is entitled to this information. Either the youth themselves, their attorneys or parents or guardians can request for this information. The exceptions are law enforcement authorities who are involved in ongoing cases.  

California Inmate Roster 

The CDCR operates 35 adult prison facilities in the State of California. The prisons have a combined capacity of over 85,000 inmates. The CDRC owns 34 of these prisons, with the California City Correctional Facility being a lease from private prisons company CoreCivic.  

Women are incarcerated at the California Institute of Women and the Central California Women’s Facility. The Folsom State Prison houses both women and men in separate units within the campus.  

The department is in charge of other incarceration facilities around the state, including fire camps and juvenile facilities. Prisoners on death row reside at San Quentin State Prison and the Corcoran State Prison. Women on death row are jailed at the Central California Women’s Facility.  

The most recent data from CDCR provides that 95.5% of inmates in California are male, the rest being female. 28.3% are Black, 21% are white and the Hispanic population makes up 44.1% of the population. 6.6% of inmates are classified as “others”.  

About California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation 

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is a state agency and the primary law enforcement authority in charge of the correctional system in California. The department is headquartered at 1515 S St #101n, Sacramento, CA 95811. Its head of department is Kathleen Allison.  

CDCR was founded in 1885 to operate and manage prisons in the State of California. In 1851, the state commissioned the first facility - a wooden ship dubbed “The Waban”. The 30 prisoners in the Waban subsequently built the San Quentin State Prison - the second facility in the state. Since then, the department has commissioned 31 more incarceration facilities across the state.  

The California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison, Corcoran is the largest inmate by population with over 4,800 inmates, although the facility exceeds its inmate capacity by 41%. On the other end, the California Institution for Women is the least populous with a little over 1,500 inmates making up 111.1% of the prison’s inmate capacity.  

The total number of inmates incarcerated in California fall just shy of 115,000. The average population across all facilities exceeds the prison’s maximum capacity by 24%.