Lancaster Inmate Population

Lancaster inmate population records are held by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The city sits in the Antelope Valley in northern LA County, and it does not run its own jail. All people arrested in Lancaster get booked through the LA County jail system, the largest in the country. You can search for Lancaster inmates online at no cost using the Sheriff's Inmate Information Center. The tool lets you look up anyone in county custody by name, booking number, or date range. This page covers the ways to find inmates connected to Lancaster, from county jail to state prison.

LA County Jail Search for Lancaster

The Los Angeles County Sheriff operates the Inmate Information Center, which is the main way to find Lancaster inmates. This search tool covers every jail and holding facility in the LA County system. That includes the Lancaster Sheriff's Station on Sierra Highway and all the larger county jails. The system is free. No sign-up needed. Type in a last name and a first name and click search. Each result shows the person's booking number, current charges, bail amount, next court date, and which facility they are in right now.

Lancaster does not have its own city jail. The Lancaster Sheriff's Station has holding cells, but they are for short-term use only. After someone gets arrested by Lancaster deputies, they get processed at the station and then transferred to one of the larger LA County facilities. Men usually go to Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic, the Twin Towers Correctional Facility downtown, or the North County Correctional Facility in Saugus. Women go to the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood. The transfer can happen the same day as the arrest. So if you search for a Lancaster inmate, the facility listed might not be in Lancaster at all. It could be anywhere in the county system.

The screenshot below shows the LA County Sheriff's Inmate Information Center search page. This tool covers all Lancaster bookings through the county system.

Results load fast. If you get too many hits for a common name, use the date range to narrow things down. The system updates several times a day as new Lancaster arrests come in and inmates move between facilities.

Note: LA County holds over 12,000 inmates at any given time, so partial name searches can return long lists.

Statewide Search for Lancaster Inmates

VINELink covers all of California. It works for Lancaster. You can search by name and see if someone is in custody in any county jail across the state. VINE also sends alerts. Sign up to get a call, text, or email when an inmate's status changes. This is free. Call 1-877-411-5588 to use VINE by phone. Crime victims often use it, but anyone can search. There is no restriction on who uses VINE to check on Lancaster inmates.

For Lancaster inmates sent to state prison, the CIRIS inmate locator is the right tool. CDCR runs this search. It covers all 34 state prisons in California. Type in a name or CDCR number and the system shows which prison holds the person, the admission date, and scheduled parole hearings. CIRIS does not include county jail inmates. County jail and state prison are two separate systems. Jail holds people before trial or on short sentences. State prison is for people convicted and sentenced to more than a year. Once someone from Lancaster gets a state prison sentence, they leave LA County custody and enter CDCR.

The BSCC Jail Profile Survey tracks monthly data on LA County jail population numbers. It shows capacity, average daily counts, and trends. Lancaster's bookings are part of the larger LA County total. The survey gives context on the system that handles all Lancaster inmate population data.

Lancaster Inmate Records and Access Laws

Booking records in Lancaster are public. California law makes this clear. Government Code 6254(f) requires law enforcement agencies to release arrest information, including names, charges, bail amounts, and booking dates. The LA County Sheriff complies with this by posting inmate data on the Inmate Information Center. You do not need to provide a reason for your search. Anyone can access it.

Criminal history records are different and have limits. Penal Code 11105 restricts full criminal background reports to the person themselves, authorized agencies, and certain employers. The online jail search tool is not a background check. It only shows who is in custody right now. To get your own criminal record, submit fingerprints at a Live Scan site in Lancaster and pay the $25 DOJ fee. Several Live Scan locations operate in the Antelope Valley area. Results take a few business days to come back.

Under Penal Code 11142, the DOJ can share summary criminal history with qualified entities for specific purposes. This does not apply to the general public. If you need records beyond the current jail roster, the DOJ Record Review process handles that. The Lancaster Sheriff's Station can also provide copies of arrest reports and incident logs for recent cases. Call the station to ask about those.

Lancaster Court and Legal Resources

Lancaster cases go through the Antelope Valley Courthouse at 42011 4th Street West. The courthouse handles criminal arraignments, preliminary hearings, and trials for people arrested in Lancaster. If an inmate has a court date, it shows up in both the LA County Superior Court case search and the jail inmate search tool. The court assigns the LA County Public Defender to people who cannot afford a lawyer at arraignment.

Legal aid options exist for Lancaster residents. The Antelope Valley office of the Public Defender handles criminal cases. Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County serves the area for civil matters. If you need to find the status of a Lancaster court case, the LA Superior Court website has a case search by name and case number. Bail information also shows up in the inmate search tool. Most Lancaster arraignments happen within 48 hours of arrest.

• Antelope Valley Courthouse: 42011 4th Street West, Lancaster, CA 93534
• Lancaster Sheriff Station: (661) 948-8466
• LA County Sheriff: (213) 473-6100
• Neighborhood Legal Services: (800) 433-6251
• CDCR ID Unit: (916) 445-6713

Nearby City Inmate Records

These cities near Lancaster share related jail systems or court areas. Each page covers how to search inmate records in that city.

Los Angeles County

Lancaster is part of Los Angeles County. The county page has full details on all jail facilities and search tools.