Kentucky Inmate Search
Table of Contents
How Are Inmate Records in Kentucky Created and Stored?
Kentucky inmate records are the files associated with each inmate incarcerated within the state. These records include every event that happens in the inmate's life, including moving to other facilities, taking part in educational or rehabilitation programs and altercations with other prisoners. These records are created by law enforcement when the person is arrested and then later by corrections officials. The Commonwealth of Kentucky Department of Corrections is the government entity in charge of storing and maintaining inmate records for the state. They are kept online and available to the public for inmate searches.
How to Perform a Kentucky Inmate Locator?
Finding someone incarcerated in a Kentucky jail or prison is very easy. Due to the Freedom of Information Act, inmate records are kept online in a central repository so that anyone can perform an inmate lookup any time of day or night. The Commonwealth of Kentucky Department of Corrections provides two different avenues of looking up an inmate in Kentucky. They first have their own private inmate locator feature called KOOL, and then they have links to the national VINELink system as well. They do have a disclaimer that they do not guarantee the accuracy of the information within the KOOL system. When performing an official Kentucky inmate search, always use official channels. If you want to perform a personal search for inmate records, try Infotracer's search tool. It includes criminal records, arrests and more.
What Does Kentucky’s Prison System Look Like?
The Kentucky prison system is very well organized and defined with different facilities designed to service the corrections population in different ways. The Commonwealth of Kentucky Department of Corrections oversees the entire state prison system. The prison facilities in Kentucky include:
12 State Prisons- 5 Federal Prison Facilities
- 120 County Jails
- 6 Youth Detention Centers
- Community Residential Programs
- 20 Reentry Service Centers
Did you Know?
- 87% of prison inmates in Kentucky are male, 13% female.
- From 1979–80 to 2012–13, state and local government expenditures on corrections in Kentucky increased by 259 percent (from $207,016,134 to $744,106,000).
- As of 2016, there were 2,942 women in Kentucky federal prisons.
- As of 2016, the reported number of non-U.S. citizens held in custody in Kentucky was 154
- Between 2007 and 2016, the Kentucky prison population increased by 3%
Types of Jails and Prisons in Kentucky
The facilities under the direction of the Commonwealth of Kentucky Department of Corrections includes state prisons with varying degrees of custody/security, community residential centers, and reentry programs. The community residential centers help released inmates obtain work and housing, along with providing educational supports and other life skills living outside of prison. The reentry service centers help transition inmates before they leave prison. The state also has five federal prisons for housing inmates who broke federal laws. Each county has a local county jail, and the state has six youth detention centers to house juvenile offenders under the age of 18.
How Many People are Locked up in Kentucky?
Kentucky’s prison system holds 23,022 residents in various kinds of correctional facilities, from which 11,871 residents are held in state prisons, and 11,151 in local jails.
| Correctional Facilities: | Totals: |
|---|---|
| State Prisons | 11,871 |
| Local Jails | 11,151 |
Kentucky State Prisons
Kentucky has twelve state prisons in the state. They are overseen and managed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky Department of Corrections and Commissioner, Kathleen Kenney. The twelve state prisons in Kentucky include:
- Bell County Forestry Camp
- Blackburn Correctional Complex
- Eastern KY Correctional Complex
- Green River Correctional Complex
- KY Correctional Institution for Women
- Kentucky State Penitentiary
- Kentucky State Reformatory
- Lee Adjustment Center
- Little Sandy Correctional Complex
- Luther Luckett Correctional Complex
- Northpoint Training Center
- Roederer Correctional Complex
- Western KY Correctional Complex
How to Locate State Prison Offender Information in Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky Department of Corrections is the entity in charge of inmates and inmate records for the state. They have two options for finding an inmate in Kentucky prison. Follow the steps below:
- Visit the Commonwealth of Kentucky Department of Corrections website
- From the main menu, choose "About"
- Next, using the sidebar menu choose "KY Offender Online Lookup," and then select "KOOL" from the sub-menu
- Now you have two options. You can choose to use the KOOL tool or use the VINELink system, which is a third-party website
- If you use the KOOL system, click the link that says, "Enter the Kentucky Offender Online Lookup System."
- Once you reach the search form, you can search using just the offender's name, but if you click the “Advanced Options” button, you will see a lot of extra search criteria to choose from like DOC#, criminal details, location, age, race, gender and much more.
- Fill in the fields you want and hit "Search Data." You will see the results in a table showing name, location, DOC#, and offense
- You can click the offender's name for more information
Kentucky Federal Prisons
The state of Kentucky also has five federal prisons that hold inmates who have violated federal laws. The federal prison facilities in Kentucky are:
- Ashland FCI - low security housing 1,244 male offenders
- Big Sandy USP - high security housing 1,260 male offenders
- Lexington FMC - administrative medical center housing 1,491 male and female offenders
- Manchester FCI - medium-security holding 912 male offenders
- McCreary USP - high security housing 1,508 male offenders
How to Search for an Inmate in a Kentucky Federal Prison
Finding an inmate in federal prison in Kentucky is a different process than for state-run facilities. All federal prisons are owned and operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FOB). Therefore, anyone wanting to look up a Kentucky federal prison inmate must contact them. They do have an offender search feature on their website and a page for each facility so that friends and family can contact each prison directly. They also have information on visitation, sending gifts and money and phone calls with prisoners.
Kentucky County Jails
Kentucky has 120 counties, each comprised of a few cities and towns. Each county has a local Sheriff's Office, and they operate and manage the county jails. Local law enforcement is entirely responsible for inmates housed in these facilities. The population generally consists of suspects awaiting a trial or hearing or inmates who have been sentenced to small stints in jail rather than months or years in prison.
Kentucky's County and Local Jail Prison Population During 2011-2016 years
| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 7,190 | 8,487 | 8,213 | 8,966 | 9,738 | 11,151 |
| Male | 6,093 | 7,172 | 7,212 | 7,728 | 8,049 | 9,118 |
| Female | 1,097 | 1,315 | 1,001 | 1,238 | 1,689 | 2,033 |
How to Perform a Kentucky Jail Inmate Search
The jail system in Kentucky is fragmented among each of the counties. Therefore, there is no central repository for information on inmates. Anyone wanting to perform a Kentucky jail inmate search must contact the Sheriff's Office directly in the town where the person was arrested. Some of the county Sheriff's Offices have a website of their own with an inmate search or list of current residents.
Kentucky Juvenile Detention Centers
Kentucky has six juvenile detention centers that house youth offenders under the age of 18. All of these youth correctional facilities are overseen and managed by the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice (KY DJJ) Program Services Division. The services provided are split into development centers, group homes, and day treatment programs. The facilities include:
- Boyd Regional Juvenile Detention Center
- Breathitt Regional Juvenile Detention Center
- Campbell Regional Juvenile Detention Center
- Fayette Regional Juvenile Detention Center
- McCracken Regional Juvenile Detention Center
- Warren Regional Juvenile
How to Search for Juvenile Detention Center Inmates
Despite the vast storehouse of information available online today, juvenile records are sealed until the person is 18 years old. Then, offenders have the option of applying to have the records expunged. Therefore, anyone wanting to find someone incarcerated in a Kentucky juvenile detention center won't be able to search online. They can, however, contact the facility directly and inquire about a specific inmate. Depending on the custody level and rules, they may or may not be supplied with information.
Kentucky Reentry Facilities
In a serious effort to reduce recidivism, Kentucky has twenty reentry service centers that house inmates before they are released to help them establish connections in the outside world, find gainful employment, housing, and teach other life skills. These service centers also assist parolees and probationers. The list of reentry service centers in Kentucky include:
- Bluegrass Career Development Center.
- The Burns M. Brady Center.
- Chestnut House.
- Chrysalis House, Inc.
- CTS-Russell.
- Dismas Charities - Diersen.
- Dismas Charities - Lexington.
- Dismas Charities - Louisville.
- Dismas Charities - Owensboro.
- Dismas Charities - Portland.
- Dismas Charities - St. Ann's.
- Dismas Charities - St. Patrick's.
- The Healing Place.
- Hope Center, Inc. - George Privett for Men.
- Hope Center, Inc. - Ball-Quantrell Jones for Women.
- Hope Center, Inc. - Jacobs House.
- Keeton Corrections - Paducah.
- Salvation Army - Lexington.
- WestCare - Hal Rogers Appalachian Recovery Center.
- Volunteers of America.
How to Search for Reentry Service Center Inmates in Kentucky
The process for conducting a prison inmate search in Kentucky for prisoners located in one of the twenty reentry service centers is the same as for state prisoners. Follow the steps below:
- Visit the Commonwealth of Kentucky Department of Corrections website .
- From the main menu, choose "About."
- Next, using the sidebar menu choose "KY Offender Online Lookup," and then select "KOOL" from the sub-menu.
- Now you have two options. You can choose to use the KOOL tool or use the VINELink system, which is a third-party website.
- If you use the KOOL system, click the link that says, "Enter the Kentucky Offender Online Lookup System."
- Once you reach the search form, you can search using just the offender's name, but if you click the “Advanced Options” button, you will see a lot of extra search criteria to choose from like DOC#, criminal details, location, age, race, gender and much more.
- Fill in the fields you want and hit "Search Data." You will see the results in a table showing name, location, DOC#, and offense.
- You can click the offender's name for more information.
Why are People Incarcerated in Kentucky?
The state of Kentucky has 41,000 people in prison. Roughly 26,000 of them are in state prison, and 13,000 are in local jails. Thirty-five hundred reside in federal prison, and only a small number are in juvenile detention centers. Sixty percent of the prison population in Kentucky are there due to a drug charge. Thirty-four percent have committed property crimes, and about 4.25% of the inmates were incarcerated due to violent crimes. Only 0.50% are in prison because of a sex offense.
Kentucky’s Incarceration Rate and Statistics
Kentucky’s incarceration rate for year-end 2016 under state prison or local jail jurisdiction per 100,000 population was 518, which is higher than an average incarceration rate by 15%. The number of Kentucky prisoners at the year-end of 2016 was 23,022, from which 13% were female prisoners, whereas the number of male prisoners was 20,080 in 2016.
| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 479 | 489 | 461 | 474 | 490 | 518 | 527 |
| Male | 862 | 875 | 836 | 852 | 875 | 916 | 933 |
| Female | 107 | 114 | 98 | 108 | 115 | 130 | 133 |
Where Do Kentucky Inmates Go When They are Released?
Kentucky has an extensive reentry program with various facilities to help inmates reintegrate into society before even leaving prison. These lower-security facilities help prisoners get jobs, find housing, get treatment for addictions or mental health issues, and re-establish relationships with family or friends as they transition out of prison back into society.
How Does Parole Work in Kentucky?
The parole system in Kentucky is a supervisory program where an inmate is released early before completing their sentence. They are released with strict supervision and rules they must follow. If they fail to check-in with their parole officer or follow any of the other rules, they will go back to prison to finish their sentence. Parole is usually only granted to low-risk offenders who have behaved well in prison.
Parole Population
| Type of Parole Entry: | Number of Parolees: |
|---|---|
| State Parole Population: | 15,383 |
| Entries: | 10,757 |
| Exits: | 11,910 |
| Change in 2016: | -7% |
How Does Someone Get Probation in Kentucky?
During the sentencing phase of a trial, Kentucky judges have the option of assigning probation instead of prison. The privilege of probation is generally only available to first-time offenders and other low-risk individuals with a clean past. Probation is also a supervised program, and offenders must check in regularly with their probation officer and follow other rules or risk going to prison.
Probation Statistics
| Type of Parole Entry: | Number of Parolees: |
|---|---|
| State Probation Population: | 48,457 |
| Entries: | 17,125 |
| Exits: | 17,834 |
| Change in 2016: | -7% |