The Queens County Inmate Roster is a public resource that allows you to find out who is currently in custody in New York facilities. On the QueensCourt.us website, you can find publicly available information about current and recent inmates. Since Queens is one of New York City's five boroughs, custody is managed by the NYC Department of Correction (DOC), not a separate county sheriff's office. Online searches are available through the official Person in Custody Lookup tool on the DOC website, which is updated regularly throughout the day. Additionally, information can be obtained by calling the 311 hotline or visiting the facility in person.
Search Current Inmates in Queens Jail
Searching for an inmate arrested in Queens County is done through the citywide DOC system. Here are the main methods.
Online Search
- Go to the Person in Custody Lookup page on the NYC DOC website.
- Enter the person's last name and first name or their booking number (Book and Case Number).
- Click the search button — the system will display results for all DOC facilities, including individuals arrested in Queens (county code — QN).
Also, use QueensCourt.us to search for publicly available court information related to a specific case.
By Phone
Call the citywide 311 hotline (or 212-NEW-YORK from outside the city). The operator can provide information about the inmate's location if you provide the person's full legal name.
In-Person Visit
Relatives and other interested parties can contact the facility where the inmate is held directly. Most individuals arrested in Queens initially go to one of the facilities on Rikers Island or the Queens Detention Facility.
Juvenile offenders are not displayed in the public DOC roster. Their cases are handled by Family Court, and records are confidential under New York State law.
Find Queens Jail Booking Records Online
A booking record is created when a detained person is officially registered at a detention facility. During this process, the following are recorded:
- Unique booking number (Book and Case Number)
- Date and time of admission
- Charges presented
- Arresting agency (NYPD, Port Authority Police, etc.)
- Basic identification data — name, date of birth, gender
The online P.I.C Lookup tool shows some of this data: current detention location, case status, and basic charge information. The full booking record is usually not published publicly — to obtain it, you need to submit a records request directly to the NYC Department of Correction.
If the person has already been transferred to a state facility, use the Incarcerated Lookup of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS). This database covers inmates serving sentences in state prisons and provides information about previously incarcerated individuals.
To check criminal history at the state level, there is a separate procedure through the Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS). It involves fingerprinting and a fee.
Search the Queens Jail Roster by Last Name or Booking Number
The P.I.C Lookup system offers two main search methods.
By Last Name
Enter the last name in Latin characters in the appropriate field. Adding the first name significantly narrows the results — this is useful when the last name is common (e.g., Garcia or Smith). The system searches for an exact match, so check the spelling. If you're unsure of the spelling, try entering just the last name without the first name.
By Booking Number
The Book and Case Number is a combination of numbers and letters assigned during registration. If this number is known (e.g., from a lawyer or court notice), enter it for an instant result.
What to Do If the Search Yields No Results
- Check the spelling — even one extra letter changes the result.
- The person may not yet be registered: it can take several hours between arrest and appearance in the database.
- The detainee may have already been released on bail or by court order — after release, the record disappears from the current roster.
- If the person was transferred to a state facility, search through the DOCCS database.
- Call 311 and ask the operator to check the data manually.
Jail Roster Updates and Search Limitations in Queens
The NYC DOC updates the online roster throughout the day, but there can be a delay of several hours to about a day between the actual booking and the record appearing in the system. Arrests that occur late at night or on weekends sometimes appear only the next business day.
There are several important limitations to be aware of:
- Only current inmates. The roster shows those currently in DOC custody. It is not an archive of all past arrests.
- Released individuals disappear from the database. Once a person is released, their record is removed from the P.I.C Lookup — usually within a few hours.
- Data entry delays. Spelling errors or technical glitches can temporarily hide a record.
- Transfers. If an inmate is transferred to another facility (e.g., from Rikers to a state prison), the record in the city database will disappear. Then you need to search in the State Commission of Correction locator system.
For information about arrest warrants issued by the NYPD, contact the criminal court information line through NYC311. The inmate roster does not contain data on open warrants — only on individuals already in custody.