New Haven County Inmate Search
An arrest is the act of taking a person who is suspected of having committed a crime into custody by a law enforcement agency. A state law enforcement agency may arrest an individual to prevent the suspect's escape or preserve evidence of a crime. An arrest is meant to restrain a suspect’s freedom of movement for interrogation, investigation of a criminal act, and enforcement of applicable laws.
Once an individual is arrested in New Haven County, the law enforcement officer will initiate the booking process, which may include interrogation and creating the official arrest report. The suspect may be released if the officer files no charge after interrogation or if the suspect posts bail. An arrestee may also be released on the promise that they would appear in court for arraignment on a set date. If they fail to appear in court on their arraignment date, an arrest warrant may be issued for the capture.
Eight (8) jails and five (5) prison facilities are found in New Haven County. Most of these facilities are maintained by the local police department of the municipality (town or city) where they are located. Meanwhile, the Manson Youth Institute, New Haven Correctional Center, Cheshire Correctional Institution, New Haven Juvenile Detention Center, and Webster State Correctional Institution are under the Connecticut Division of Correction. The New Haven Juvenile Detention Center serves as both a jail and prison.
The New Haven Correctional Center serves the Superior Courts in New Haven, Bantam, Litchfield, and Waterbury and its primarily used to houses pretrial offenders. The Cheshire Correctional Institution is used to house adult offenders serving long-term sentences. The Manson Youth Institution (formerly known as Cheshire Youth Institution) is a male correctional facility is used to detain sentenced offenders between the ages of 16 and 21 years.
Generally, inmates in New Haven County jails include those suspected to have committed a crime or were caught in the act of committing a crime. Inmates confined at the prison facilities are those offenders awaiting trials or sentencing and offenders sentenced after being convicted by a law court.
Inmate records are considered public in the United States and therefore are made available by both traditional governmental agencies as well as third-party websites and organizations. Third-party websites may offer an easier means to search, as these services do not face geographical limitations. However, because third-party sites are not government-sponsored, the information obtained through them may vary from official channels. To find inmate records using third-party aggregate sites, requesting parties must provide:
- The location of the sought-after record, including state, county, and city where the inmate resides.
- The name of the person listed in the record, unless it is a juvenile.
New Haven County Crime and Incarceration Statistics
New Haven County's crime and incarceration statistics are available at the municipality level. There is no centralized information on the entire county’s crime and incarceration statistics. Hence, individuals that want to find out New Haven County’s crime and incarceration statistics would need to review each municipality’s statistics. Most municipality’s Police Department publishes annual reports containing their respective municipality’s crime arrest statistics. For instance, according to the East Haven Department of Police's 2021 Annual Report, more arrests were made in 2021 compared to 2020. The reports state that there were 988 arrests in 2019, 703 in 2020, and 810 in 2021.
Furthermore, according to the CT Department of Correction monthly statistics, 672 inmates were confined in New Haven Correctional Center as of February 2023. The facility has had a 6.4% decline in the number of detainees compared to the previous year (2022) when 718 inmates were housed there.
New Haven County Prison System
The New Haven County jail system serves as the Local Police Department detention and correctional facility for offenders arrested in New Haven County. The New Haven Correctional Center provides housing for pretrial offenders while sentenced offenders are housed in Correctional Institutions in New Haven County. The prison facilities are managed by the Connecticut Department of Correction.
The correctional systems in New Haven County include the following components: specialized housing units, protective custody, and restrictive housing. The holding capacity for the jails and prison facilities in New Haven County varies and are as follows:
- New Haven City Jail - 182-bed capacity
- Guilford City Jail - 75-bed capacity
- East Haven City Jail - 167-bed capacity
- Naugatuck City Jail - 162-bed capacity
- Milford City Jail - 189-bed capacity
- West Haven City Jail - 51-bed capacity
- Meriden City Jail - 116-bed capacity
- Waterbury City Jail - 78-bed capacity
- New Haven Correctional Center - 833 inmate capacity
- New Haven Juvenile Detention Center - 91 inmate capacity
- Cheshire Correctional Institution - 1495 inmate capacity
- Manson Youth Institution - 544 inmate capacity
- Webster State Correctional Institution - 356 inmate capacity (closed January 15, 2010)
How to Find an Inmate in New Haven County
Interested persons can contact the local Police Department of the municipality where the subject (i.e. offender) was arrested to find an inmate in New Haven County. Municipalities Police Departments in New Haven County may be contacted by phone at:
- New Haven Police Department - 203 – 946 – 6257
- East Haven Police Department - 203 – 468 – 3820
- West Haven Police Department - 203 – 937 – 3900
- Waterbury Police Department - 203 – 574 – 6906
- Meriden Police Department - 203 – 630 – 4000
- Naugatuck Police Department - 203 – 729 – 5222
- Milford Police Department - 203 – 874 – 2366
- Guilford Police Department - 203 – 453 – 8473
Record seekers may also use the Request for an Arrest Record form to find an inmate in New Haven County. A properly filled arrest record request form may be submitted online, by mail, by fax, or in person to the New Haven Department of Police Services.
The Department of Justice and the Department of Correction may also be contacted to find inmates in New Haven County. While the Department of Justice provides custody for offenders under prosecution, the Department of Correction is responsible for inmates who are serving their sentences. In addition, the individual correctional facilities in New Haven County may be contacted to look up inmates.
How Does New Haven County Inmate Search Work?
The Connecticut Freedom of Information Act (CT-FOIA) provides that any public agency with a record of arrest may allow public members to inspect and request copies of such records. Records of the arrest in New Haven County include the name, race and address of the suspect, the date, time and place of the arrest, and the offense or reason for the arrest.
Conn. Gen. Stat. per §§ 1-215 mandates law enforcement agencies to disclose records of the arrest of any persons and any other documents that depict the custody of such a person while the prosecution is pending. Inmate search in New Haven County may generate some of the following information depending on the case status of the inmate.
- Inmate full name (last, first, and middle names including alias)
- Sex, race, and age of the inmate
- Mug shot (photograph
- Date of birth
- Booking number
- Hair and eye color, height, and weight
- The residence address of the inmate
- Release status and information
- Next court date (if applicable)
- Arrest information (date, time, location, arrest officer)
- Case information
- Bail condition and amount
- The trial court information and presiding judge
- The fine amount and other financial impositions
- Sentencing date and details
- Disposition information (code and details)
Where to Find a New Haven County Inmate Locator
The New Haven County inmate locator may be accessed through the websites of the local Police Department where an arrest was made or the area where the offender is supposed to have committed a crime. The local police department is responsible for maintaining the municipal jail in New Haven County. For instance, the New Haven arrest record check can be used to locate an inmate in the New Haven city jail. The New Haven record check requires the requestor to provide the first and last name, Date of Birth, and social security number of the subject of the search. The sex, race, middle name, phone number, email address, and address of the person are additional information that may help to timely locate an inmate in New Haven.
The arrest log on the website of the municipal local Police Department may also be used to locate an inmate in New Haven County. For instance, the East Haven Police Department provides a Weekly Arrest Log on its website.
Interested individuals may also use the Connecticut Department of Corrections inmate locator to find arrested suspects incarcerated at correctional facilities in New Haven County.
For offenders who are charged with breaking the United States federal, prosecuted, and convicted by the U.S. Federal court in New Haven County, if sentenced, the record of such an inmate maybe with the Bureau of Prison. Also, individuals convicted for federal offenses, who are serving their sentences at the correctional facilities in New Haven County may have their inmate records with the Bureau of Prison. To find these categories of inmates, interested persons can find the Inmate Locator on the website of the Bureau of Prison.
How to Send Money to a New Haven County Inmate
Anyone may send money to a New Haven County inmate provided it is in the acceptable form. An inmate can receive money from persons on the inmate’s visiting list and those not on the list. The acceptable forms of money to be deposited into the inmate’s account are money orders, certified checks, and electronic deposits.
The money order should be sent through the U.S. Mail. The money order should contain the inmate’s full name and correctional identification number. The sender must include the completed Inmate Trust Fund Remitter Form and the money order in the mail but no correspondence to the inmate must be included. The money order shall be addressed to:
Inmate Trust Fund
P.O. Box 290800
Wethersfield, CT 06129-0800
Electronic transfer of the fund to the inmate’s account can be made through any of the approved payment companies which are JPAY, TouchPay, and Western Union. For Western Union,
Pay to: Connecticut DOC
Code City: CTDOC
Account: 8-digit Inmate Number and Inmate Last Name. Add zeros at the beginning of the inmate number is less than 8 digits.
Certified checks should be addressed to Inmate Trust Fund and sent with a legibly completed remitter form and must not include any correspondence to the inmate. Certified checks are only accepted from the following sources
- Attorney Checks, with a cover letter
- Employer Checks with the pay stub
- Social Security Checks
- Social Services Checks
- Tax Refunds
- Unemployment Checks
- Veteran Administration Checks
How to Visit a New Haven County Inmate
Inmates serving out their sentences in correctional facilities in New Haven County are allowed to receive visitors provided they meet the visitation requirements. Inmates are allowed to have a visiting list and only those on the inmate’s visiting list are allowed to schedule a visit. The inmate would have to submit the names and addresses of their potential visitors to their counselor. The counselor will then send a mail containing the Visiting Application and Inmate Visiting Rules and Regulations to the potential visitors. A potential visitor is required to mail back the visiting application to complete the visitor’s registration process. A criminal history check is conducted on every potential visitor before feedback (approval or denial) is given. Once approval is given, a visitor on an inmate’s visiting list can schedule a visit.
Each correctional facility has established visiting days and times. Only visitors from extremely long distances are allowed to have a special visit. This is a visit on a day and time other than the scheduled date and time and this is subject to the inmate’s counselor’s approval. A visiting right may be lost if the visiting rules are not adhered to, and a visit schedule may be canceled if there are security and safety concerns. Some of the visiting guiding rules are
- All visitors must come with valid ID (any government-issued ID, military identification, passport, or driver’s license)
- Visitors under the age of 16 and below must present a birth certificate with any other means of identification
- Revealing, seductive, offensive clothing or other clothing that draws attention may not be accepted
- Visitors are granted access to correctional facilities only if they pass all security checks including metal detector screening
- No exchange of items including correspondence between inmates and visitors is allowed
- Visits are usually non-contact. The visitor sits behind a screen or window that physically separates the visitor and the inmate. Contact visits are only by approval of the inmate's counselor and the visitor may only share a brief hug and kiss with the inmate at the beginning and end of the visitor session.
- Visitors that leave the visiting room may not be allowed re-entry except nursing mothers who request to breastfeed their babies in private.
- Visitors are expected to sign-up at least 15 minutes before the visiting session begins
- All visitors are required to remain in the assigned waiting room until it is time to commence the visit in the visiting room
- Both the inmate and visitors are expected to remain seated all through the visiting session and conduct themselves in a quiet, orderly, and dignified manner.
How to Send Jail Mail in New Haven County
Inmates incarcerated in correctional facilities in New Haven County are allowed to communicate with members of the outside community through the mail in addition to the “collect call only” telephone. There is no limit to the number of mail an inmate can receive or send at personal expense except as a disciplinary penalty. An inmate may exchange correspondence with anyone except
- A victim of any criminal offense involving the inmate
- Any persons under 18 years without parental/ guardian approval
- An inmate in a correctional facility who is not an immediate family member
- An inmate on community confinement or a parolee
- Any other persons with a restraining court order or who may be exposed to a security risk by such correspondence.
All incoming mail shall be opened and inspected for contraband in the presence of the inmate. Mails from attorneys, legal assistance to prisoners, and state and federal court officials to inmates shall not be read by any staff. Mails to inmates should be addressed as
Inmate Name and Number
Name of facility
Street address of the facility
City, State, and Zip code.
Any information that may compromise the security and safety of an individual may not be shared in correspondence with an inmate.
New Haven County Jails and Prisons
There are about thirteen (13) incarceration facilities in New Haven County comprising five (5) prisons and eight (8) municipal jails. The names and addresses of the jail and prison facilities in New Haven County are as follows:
Municipal Jails
New Haven City Jail
1 Union Street
New Haven, CT 06519.
Guilford City Jail
400 Church Street
Guilford, Ct 06437
East Haven City Jail
471 North High Street
East Haven, CT 06512
Naugatuck City Jail
21 Spring Street
Naugatuck, CT 06770
Milford City Jail
430 Boston Post Road
Milford, CT 06460-2366
West Haven City Jail
200 Saw Mill Road
West Haven, CT 06516
Meriden City Jail
142 East Main Street
Meriden, CT 06450
Waterbury City Jail
255 East Main Street
Waterbury, CT 06702
Prisons
New Haven Correctional Center
245 Whalley Avenue
New Haven, CT 06511
Cheshire Correctional Institution
900 Highland Avenue
Cheshire, CT 06410
Manson Youth Institution
42 Jarvis Street
Cheshire, CT 06410
New Haven Juvenile Detention Center (a.k.a. New Haven County Correctional Institution)
239 Walley Avenue
New Haven, CT 06511
Webster State Correctional Institution
111 Jarvis Street
Cheshire, CT 06410
(This facility was closed on January 15, 2010)
