Maine Inmate Search

Approximately 1,890 inmates are housed in Maine State's prisons, despite the facilities' operational capacity of roughly 2,642. In a similar vein, the county's correctional institutions currently house at least 1,400 prisoners. The jails with the most inmates in Maine are Penobscot, Kennebec, and Androscoggin, with roughly 162, 153, and 149 inmates, respectively.

An inmate search tool offers comprehensive details about a person detained in Maine. It may disclose the prison where such a prisoner is kept as well as other important details. Friends and family of those who are detained in the state can easily look up information about their loved ones and assist them in staying in contact by using the Maine inmate search tool.

What is Maine Inmate Lookup?

The Maine Inmate Lookup tool, called the Maine Adult Resident/Adult Community Corrections Client Search Service, is maintained by the Maine Department of Corrections. This resource is a part of the Maine.gov website system. Not only can the public use this tool to find someone in a Maine prison, but they can also locate an inmate on probation, in jail, in a federal prison outside of the state, and those inmates who are enrolled in a community corrections program.

When searching the Inmate Lookup tool, the user can search by the MDOC number (prisoner ID) or name and also choose other criteria like gender, age, weight, height, eye color, hair color, race, tattoos or scars, status, and location along with offense type. You do not need to know a lot of information to search, it could be as simple as just the inmate's first and last name. However way you search, the tool will provide information about the inmate.

In general, inmate lookup services improve the administration of correctional facilities' openness. It gives the public useful information on the visitation schedule of a correctional facility, which can typically assist friends and family of inmates who wish to visit their correctional facilities. These visits typically assist families in supporting the offender by allowing them to stay in touch with their loved ones while they are incarcerated, which helps them preserve vital family ties and prevents them from worrying excessively about their safety or well-being.

What Information Can You Find in a Maine Inmate Search?

Individuals who conduct inmate searches in Maine will typically find the following information:

• Inmate's MDOC number
• Inmate's name
• Inmate's image
• Inmate's status
• Inmate's date of birth
• Inmate's race/ethnicity
• Inmate's gender
• Inmate's earliest possible release date
• Inmate's location

How Are Inmate Records in Maine Created and Stored?

Inmate records are first created when someone is arrested for committing a crime. The RAP sheet is the first entry into the file containing the suspect's name, address, physical description, and details of the crime, any victims, and property. The suspect is then held in custody until his or her hearing or a trial. All the events that take place in the suspect's life are added to the record. The State of Maine Department of Corrections (MDOC) is the agency in charge of keeping and maintaining inmate records. They keep them online in a central repository so that all members of law enforcement, family, friends, and the general public can perform an inmate search efficiently.

What Does Maine's Prison System Look Like?

The Maine prison system is relatively simple with most correctional facilities overseen by the same agency: The State of Maine Department of Corrections, and Commissioner Randall A. Liberty. The Commissioner is assisted by Deputy Commissioner, Anthony Cantillo. The department is also made up of Associate Commissioner, Directors, Wardens, Correctional Administrators, and other officials.

On their website, they describe their purpose as: "MDOC is responsible for the direction and general administrative supervision, guidance, and planning of both adult and juvenile correctional facilities and programs within the State". The Department is directly in charge of seven state correctional facilities with a combined capacity of over 2,500. The security levels in the facilities vary depending on the purpose they serve.

Searching for Maine prison records or records under Maine's jurisdiction but held in another state is easily accomplished through the MDOC website. Follow the instructions below to find a Maine inmate in state prison.

• Visit the State of Maine Department of Corrections Prisoner Search on the Maine.gov website
• Read the information regarding what the search will yield and click the continue button
• Next, fill in at least the name fields but others if you have the information or want to narrow your search
• Review the results, which include the MDOC number, name, image, status, date of birth, race, gender, release date, and location. You can now click on the MDOC number in any row to see further details about the inmate

Types of Correctional Facilities in Maine

Maine has a few different types of correctional facilities. They include local county jails which house individuals who were recently arrested and need to be detained until their hearing or trial. Maine has a good number of state prisons of varying degrees of custody/security that house prisoners of different demographics, with one housing only women prisoners. They also have two juvenile detention centers to house youth offenders under 18.

Maine State Prisons

Maine has seven state prisons. All of them fall under the direction of the State of Maine Department of Corrections. The list of Maine state prisons includes:

• Bolduc Correctional Facility - minimum security, holds 221 inmates
• Downeast Correction Facility - minimum security, holds 48 adult inmates
• Mountain View Correctional Facility - minimum to medium-security, holds 448 adult male inmates
• Maine Correctional Center - minimum to medium-security, holds 650 male and female prisoners
• Women's Center - holds 86 adult male inmates, focused on reducing recidivism and substance-abuse treatment for women prisoners
• Southern Maine Women's Reentry Center - reentry center for 100 adult female inmates
• Maine State Prison - medium to special custody level for 993 inmates

Maine County Jails

Maine's sixteen county jails house inmates who are suspected of crimes and are awaiting their hearing or trial. In some cases, a judge will sentence only a few months in county jail, and they house those types of inmates also. County jails in Maine are under the supervision and management of the local county Sheriff's Office. Each of Maine's sixteen counties has a Sheriff's Office to keep the peace, arrest suspects, and hold them in custody until they progress through the justice system.

The following are some of the county jails in Maine:

• Androscoggin County Jail - Auburn, ME
• Aroostook County Jail - Houlton, ME
• Cumberland County Jail - Portland, ME
• Franklin County Jail - Farmington, ME
• Hancock County Jail - Ellsworth, ME
• Kennebec County Jail - Augusta, ME
• Knox County Jail - Rockland, ME
• Oxford County Jail - South Paris, ME
• Penobscot County Jail - Bangor, ME
• Piscataquis County Jail - Dover Foxcroft, ME
• Somerset County Jail - Madison, ME
• Two Bridges Regional Jail - Wiscasset, ME
• Waldo County Jail - Belfast, ME
• Washington County Jail - Machias, ME
• York County Jail - Alfred, ME

Maine Juvenile Detention Centers

Maine has only two juvenile detention centers in the state. They both fall under the direction of the State of Maine Department of Corrections. Their mission according to the MDOC website is: "To promote public safety by ensuring that juveniles under the Department of Correction's jurisdiction are provided with risk-focused intervention, quality treatment, and other services that teach skills and competencies; strengthen prosocial behaviors to reduce the likelihood of re-offending and require accountability to victims and communities". The two facilities are:

• Long Creek Youth Development Center - 163 youth offenders
• Mountain View Youth Development Center - 20 male/female offenders

The Division of Juvenile Services also includes community corrections offices to help transition youth offenders back into society along with a juvenile justice advisory group to help steer the directives of the program.

Maine Community Correctional Facilities

The state of Maine also has community corrections programs and reentry centers to help transition soon-to-be-released inmates. The Division of Adult Community Corrections (ACC) is in charge of the program and facilities. These programs and facilities help inmates get jobs, find housing, and re-acclimate back into society to reduce the likelihood of the inmates returning to prison or committing further crimes. Some of these facilities also help with the treatment of mental illness, substance abuse issues, and other impediments to progress once they are released. These centers also provide probationers and parolees with the means to check in and receive services as well. The community corrections and reentry centers include:

• Portland (Region 1) - which covers Cumberland and York
• Lewiston (Region 2) - which covers Androscoggin, Franklin, Kennebec, Lincoln, Oxford, Sagadahoc and Somerset Counties
• Bangor (Region 3) - which covers Aroostook, Hancock, Knox, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Waldo and Washington Counties

Why are People Incarcerated in Maine?

Maine has only about 3,500 inmates in prison. Almost half of those (1,600) are in state prisons, 1,400 are in local jails, 420 are in federal prisons in other states, and 60 are in juvenile detention centers with another 50 involuntarily committed in mental institutions, receiving treatment. Twenty-nine percent of the inmates in Maine's prisons are there because of drugs. Another twenty-one percent are in prison due to assault. Eight percent committed theft and sex offenses, 6% falsification, 5% robberies, 4% committed burglary, and only 1% are incarcerated due to murder.

Maine's Incarceration Rate and Statistics

Maine's incarceration rate for year-end 2023 under state prison or local jail jurisdiction per 100,000 population was 124, which is lower than the national average incarceration rate of 614. The number of Maine prisoners at the year-end of 2023 was 1,756, of which 173 were female prisoners, whereas the number of male prisoners was 1,583 in 2023.

The table below shows Maine's year-end incarceration rate over a 7-year period.

Life After Incarceration in Maine

Many inmates go back home to family and friends once they are released from a Maine prison. However, Maine does have reentry centers and community corrections programs to help transition certain inmates back into society. Each inmate is required to find a job, find housing, reconnect with family, or treatment for substance abuse and mental illness. Several factors, such as the case worker assigned to an ex-offender, family, and outside resources, influence the likelihood of success but Maine aims to help every inmate reenter society.

At least 31% of criminals released from Maine's correctional facilities commit a repeat offense, and many of them return to jail after being arrested. Despite attempts to facilitate the seamless reintegration of released inmates back into society, Maine has the 30th highest recidivism rate in the State.

How Does Parole Work in Maine?

Parole is a privilege given to inmates who have worked hard to behave and stay out of trouble while incarcerated. Parole is when the parole board grants a prisoner early release with some stipulations such as checking in weekly with a parole officer and finding gainful employment and stable housing. The corrections department may stipulate additional demands, and if an inmate does not comply with any of the rules, they will go back to prison to serve out the remainder of their sentence.

Maine Parole Population in 2021

How Does Someone Get Probation in Maine?

In some cases, when a person is a first-time or low-risk offender with exceptional circumstances, the judge may sentence probation instead of prison. Again, the court will specify the rules of probation, which will include being supervised by a probation officer and other goals or stipulations. If the probationer does not comply with these rules, he or she will be arrested and go to prison.

Maine Probation Population in 2022