About Texas Department of Criminal Justice
The (TDCJ) Texas Department of Criminal Justice is a state government agency in Texas, United States of America. It is in charge of statewide adult criminal justice, including managing prisoners in state prisons, jails, and private correctional institutions, Moreover, it handles the financing and management of community supervision, and monitors offenders released on parole or mandated supervision. The department's headquarters are in Huntsville's BOT Complex, and its offices are at Austin's Price Daniel Sr. Building.
The TDCJ-CID History
Over the years, state prisons have been concentrated in certain counties at the expense of others. For instance, a 2010 census report indicated that Walker, Brazoria, Coryell counties, and Anderson and Liberty had the most state prisons and jails. Currently, most of the prisons are located near Stephen F. Austin's old colony. Furthermore, the naming of prisons has been after people. For example, most prisons currently in operation have been named after Texas governors, TDCJ employees, Texas House members, mayors, police officers, and judges. Previous jails were named after deceased TDCJ employees and governors. The TDCJ had to change its naming policy in 2000 to accommodate such name changes.
The TDCJ built most employee housing before the mid-1990's prison expansion. There are 22 units with less than 80% manning, eight (36%) of which have officers' quarters.
Texas Prison System bought its first prison farm. This was the Central Unit at Smithville Prison Property. This Unit also uses buildings from the former Gatesville State School, a juvenile penal institution, making it the third-oldest prison complex in Texas, behind Huntsville and Jester I.
Many Texas prison farms used no cells but rather ethnically segregated dormitory units called "tanks." Around 1960, TPS began referring to prisons as "units," which was a euphemism for "modern jail practices, professionalism, and a shift away from a racial past.
The Coffield is TDCJ's largest facility, with 4021 inmates. On the other hand, the Christina Crain Unit is the largest female prison, holding 2,013 inmates
Texas's Prison System Structure
The Texas Department of Correctional Institution Division (CID) controls the operations of more than 106 correctional facilities. These facilities include State prisons and jails, medical institutions housing criminally ill convicts, drug abuse punishment centers, intermediate sentence facilities, and TDCJ CID-run pre-release and transfer facilities. The TDCJ also hires private companies to run a few private prisons, jails, transfer centers, and multi-use facilities.
Moreover, the Texas DOC has contracts with two private prison and jail operators, namely the Management and Training Corporation (MTC) and LaSalle Corrections.
On its website, the TDCJ offers a comprehensive list of these amenities. Look for current private and state-run correctional institutions in Texas, as well as their locations and classifications, in the Texas State Prison Directory. In addition to these, Texas has many municipal and county prisons.
Texas Inmate Records
Inmate records in Texas contain identifying information about people detained in different detention centers around the state. The records contain inmate personal information such as
- Names.
- Genders.
- Ages.
- Dates of birth.
The TDJC-CID Inmate records also contain administrative information such as prisoners'
- Custody statuses.
- Locations.
- Registration numbers.
The operators of correctional facilities may make all or portion of these records public depending on several factors such as the sensitivity of the case.
Texas County and Municipal Prisons Offender Locator
Go to the Correctional Institutions Division website to perform an offender locator process of an inmate in any Texas prison. Municipal prisons are normally managed by city police departments, while sheriff's offices handle county jails. Typically, these institutions house only pretrial detainees and people serving short terms for petty charges.
You can visit the sheriff's office section of a county website or the police department website to learn more about a municipality's jail. In most cases, such websites provide prisoner locator tools for locating those remanded in local prisons. Alternatively, look out for the contact information for the local jail or the law enforcement organization in charge of the detention facility on the city or county website. The actual location of the county or city jail and its contact phone number will be included in this information. Inquire about prisoner records by calling or visiting the jail.
Texas Inmate Search
Texas CID Inmate Search Online
You may conduct a DOC inmate search online in Texas. You only have to enter the last name and at least the first letter on the Texas Inmate Search Page. A page will pop up with a list of:
- Texas prisoners.
- Their TDCJ numbers.
- Estimated release dates.
- Assigned units.
However, this service won't function if you don't deactivate your pop-up blocker.
Texas DOC Offender Locator
The TCID is one of the few states that offers this service. It allows you to receive information about Texas inmates through email. The email notification contains various prisoner records, including:
- TDCJ Number.
- Conviction offense.
- History of incarceration.
- Currently imprisoned (offense, county, and court of conviction).
- Date of expected release.
However, you need to specify what you're looking for in your email. In addition, there are some inmate's details that you must be aware of for this service to be effective such as the inmate's name and incarceration number. The name has to be accurate, or you'll receive the wrong or no information at all.
Alternatively, you can provide the precise date of birth if you don't know the TDCJ number. It will also be important to provide the date of birth and inmates’ age estimation if you know it and details on their county of conviction.
You can send these details to this email which will go through the system and generate a reply for you
Texas CID Inmate search by phone
The TDCJ may also give prisoner location via phone in addition to the online locate function. Call the department line at (936) 295-6371 or (800) 535-0283 to get this information. You can also contact (844) 512-0461 if the Board of Pardons and Paroles has not voted on the inmate's status. (512) 406-5202 is the number to call if the voting has taken place. Inmates' TDCJ or SID numbers, as well as their dates of birth, must be provided to inquirers.
State Prisoner Lookup
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice keeps thorough information of offenders completing their sentences in state prisons throughout Texas. The relevant DOC has a consolidated database of prisoners that anybody may access.
All prisoner database records are kept separately by county prisons, police jails, and municipal jails in Texas, and complete information may be found on their own websites.
Inmates jailed in institutions run by the CID and private contractors have their records kept by the TDCJ. Use the Offender Information Search tool on the TDCJ website to locate these prisoners. Anyone may use this tool to look for a person's name, TDCJ number, or state identification (SID) number in the TDCJ's inmate database. They may also choose a gender and or race to reduce their results.
Follow the steps below to look for any prisoner in the DOC:
- Step 1: Go to the Texas Department of Corrections' prisoner search webpage.
- Step 2: Fill in the relevant fields with the inmate's name, id, age, gender, and DOB.
- Step 3: Select 'Submit' from the drop-down menu.
A list of all convicts who meet the given criteria will appear on the results page.
Victim Assistance
Victim Information & Notification Everyday (VINE) is a countrywide program for victims of crime. This service provides information to educate the public and keep victims safe. It features an internet site where people may track their offender's progress. As a result, this is an important resource for any victim of a crime in Texas or any other state.
The Texas Victim Services Division also assists victims and their families in Texas and those outside the Texas crime has harmed. The Victim Services Division utilizes a confidential database to notify offenders by email, letter, or both.
