When someone you care about disappears without a word, your mind races through worst-case scenarios. Did they get arrested? Are they sitting in a cell somewhere, unable to reach out? The silence is maddening, and finding answers shouldn’t be so frustrating — but that’s exactly what the system does.
If you’re trying to figure out how to know if someone was arrested, you have options. Here’s the quick rundown:
- Search online public records through county jail and police department websites
- Check state and federal inmate databases for broader searches
- Call local law enforcement directly to ask about recent arrests
- Visit the county courthouse in person for official records
- Use third-party public record search tools (though these aren’t always accurate or up-to-date)
Unfortunately, finding out if someone was arrested takes persistence, and if your loved one is facing criminal charges, they need a Houston criminal defense lawyer immediately — before they say something that makes their case harder to win.
Mark Thiessen is a board-certified ACS-CHAL Lawyer-Scientist who has secured 140+ Not Guilty verdicts and thousands of dismissals for clients facing serious charges. If you’ve discovered that someone you know has been arrested, don’t wait.
Call Thiessen Law Firm today at (713) 864-9000 or contact us online to protect their future.
How to check if someone got arrested in Texas
Can you look up public records in Texas online?
Yes, and this is usually your fastest option. Texas law makes most arrest records public information, which means you can access them without jumping through too many hoops — assuming you know where to look.
Keep in mind: these websites are not always updated instantaneously and the booking process can often last many hours. If you don’t see your friend’s name on HPD or the county jail’s site, we recommend calling and speaking to a real human to see if your loved one is still going through the booking process.
County jail and police department websites
The best place to start your inmate search in Texas is the Houston Police Department’s website or Harris County Jail’s website, where you can look up an inmate and see whether or not they’ve been processed, what their bail is set at, what charges they’re facing (whether it’s a DWI over the legal drinking limit, they were arrested for mushrooms, or something else entirely), and when they were booked. Smaller counties might have less sophisticated systems, but most maintain some type of online prisoner information Texas database.
State and federal inmate databases
If you can’t find someone in the local county system, they might be held at the state or federal level — especially if their charges are more serious or if they’re already convicted and serving time.
For state prisoners, check the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) Offender Search. This database includes anyone currently incarcerated in a Texas state prison or who’s been released from one.
For federal inmates, use the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Inmate Locator. This covers anyone in federal custody anywhere in the United States, which is helpful if the person you’re looking for was arrested on federal charges.
How do you find someone when they get arrested if you can’t find it online?
If online databases are outdated or incomplete, the best way to find out if someone has been arrested is to contact the local jail or sheriff’s office directly by either calling or showing up in person. This direct approach ensures you get the most accurate and up-to-date information.
Call local law enforcement
Pick up the phone and call the local police department or sheriff’s office where you believe the arrest happened. Have the person’s full name and date of birth ready — this will help them search their system faster.
Be prepared for some runaround. Jail staff are often overworked and may not be particularly helpful over the phone, but keep asking. You have a right to know if someone is in custody, and they have an obligation to tell you.
Visit the county courthouse in person
If phone calls aren’t getting you anywhere, showing up in person at the county courthouse or jail can force the issue. Court clerks can access records that might not be online yet, especially if the arrest was very recent.
Bring identification and be ready to fill out a request form. Some courthouses charge a small fee for copies of official records, but simply asking if someone is in custody shouldn’t cost you anything.
What information do you need to search for an inmate correctly?
If you want accurate results without wading through dozens of wrong people, you need to arm yourself with as much identifying information as possible before you start searching.
Here’s what you should gather before diving into any inmate database:
- Full legal name exactly as it appears on their drivers license (first, middle, and last)
- Date of birth
- Physical identifiers (Height and weight, race or ethnicity, eye color, hair color, distinguishing marks like tattoos or scars)
- Booking number or inmate ID if you already have it
- Location information (i.e. if they were picked up in Harris County, start with the Harris County Jail website)
Jail databases aren’t sophisticated. They don’t autocorrect your typos, they don’t suggest alternatives when you misspell a name, and they definitely don’t merge results from similar searches. The more specific information you have going in, the faster you’ll get answers and the sooner you can focus on what really matters: getting them the help they need before they make their situation worse.
How do you get someone out of jail in Texas?
Once you’ve confirmed that someone is in police custody, you’re probably going to want to get them out of custody. To do so, you’re generally going to have to post bond.
Although the two terms are often (incorrectly) used interchangeably, there is a difference between bail and bond. Bond is the money that you pay to a bail bondsman for the service of paying for bail, while bail is the amount that the court requires for a suspect in custody’s temporary or conditional release.
Bail amounts, and therefore bond amounts, depend heavily upon the severity of the charge for which the arrestee is accused, as well as their previous criminal history. Repeat offenders and those accused of more severe crimes will face much higher bail amounts than those arrested for fighting or first-time drug possession charges in Texas.
Continue reading: How much is bail for a DWI?
You’ve gotten them out of jail. Now what?
Step 1: Control the situation
If you are present during the actual arrest, try to follow these three steps:
- Calmly and politely ask the police officer for the exact name of the charges.
- Calmly and politely ask the remaining police officer for the name of the jail where your friend will be taken.
- DO NOT try to argue with the police officer. You will not change the situation and may even make things worse.
If the arrest happened without you present, try to keep them calm on the phone. Make the most of your time on the phone by finding out what they’ve been accused of and where they are. If they start rambling about an unmarked cop car, their charges, or other details of the arrest, try to make them stop. These calls are recorded and an inadvertent confession could be used against them in court.
Step 2: Call a bail bondsman
Bail bondsmen have access to information that you don’t, and as long as they know who your friend is and where they are, they are your best bet for getting your friend out as soon as humanly possible. We recommend Burns Bail Bonds in the heart of Downtown Houston.
In exchange for approximately 10% of the full bail amount, your bondsman will contact the jail, post bond, and collect your friend from jail in an expedited fashion. Best of all, you can even pay an extra fee to escalate the process by having a bail bondsman wait in line for you and deliver the necessary funds to have your friend released.
For more information on the Harris County bail reforms and personal recognizance bonds, please watch this quick video from DWI specialist Mark Theissen:
Step 3: Call Thiessen Law Firm for help
Once you post-bond and your person is released back into the world, the real fight starts. Whether they were arrested for terroristic threats in Texas, or are up against something as serious as criminally negligent homicide, every second without proper legal representation is a second wasted.
Your loved one needs someone who will fight for them from day one, not a lawyer who treats their case like just another file on a desk. They need someone who knows how to challenge illegal searches, question police procedures, and expose the weaknesses in the state’s evidence before it’s too late. This is where Thiessen Law Firm comes in.
Your loved one got arrested? Thiessen Law Firm fights back.
Figuring out how to know if someone was arrested is just the beginning. Once you find them, the clock starts ticking — every minute they sit in custody without representation is another minute the prosecution uses to build their case. Whether it’s DWI defense in Houston or any other criminal charge, waiting is not a strategy, it’s a gamble with someone’s future.
Mark Thiessen is a board-certified ACS-CHAL Lawyer-Scientist who has secured 140+ Not Guilty verdicts and thousands of dismissals for clients facing impossible odds. He knows how prosecutors think, how police cut corners, and how to tear apart weak cases before they ever make it to trial.
Your loved one doesn’t need sympathy right now — they need a fighter. Call Thiessen Law Firm today at (713) 864-9000 or contact us online to start defending their freedom.
More Helpful Articles by Thiessen Law Firm:
- The DWI Consequences No One Talks About
- What Are Common DWI Defense Strategies?
- How Long Does Alcohol Stay on Your Breath?
- What is the Sentence for Assault on a Public Servant in Texas?
- How to Beat a Felony Drug Charge in Texas
