The Missouri State Prison System

The Prison system in the State of Missouri is directed and managed by the State’s Department of Corrections. The State’s DOC’s responsibility is to ensure that all the prisons in the State follow the laid down procedure of rehabilitating, treating, and educating inmates in each jail or Prison, such that inmates become better persons when released back into society. Being headed by a director, the Department of Corrections’ main goal is to provide an excellent correctional facility to offenders of the law.

Difference Between Jail and Prison in Missouri

Jail and Prison are both holding facilities for offenders of the law; this is why both terms are used interchangeably. However, there are differences in the roles, facility, and level of operation. For instance, a prison is constructed to hold a criminal who is regarded as dangerous, and so there is provision for minimum, medium, maximum security, or solitary confinement in prisons. Prisons are built for offenders who have been sentenced to a long-term stay. On the other hand, jails are constructed originally for suspects who are awaiting judgment or whose sentencing is short-term and at a County level. Jails are meant for parole violators waiting to be transferred or psychologically unfit persons waiting to be transferred to health facilities. Jails are meant for offenses that are considered misdemeanors, with sentencing not more than one year. Nowadays, jails in the State serve as the alternative custody for an over-crowded State Prison. Also, Prisons are operated at the State level while Jails are operated at County levels. Nowadays, both Prisons and Jails take up the responsibility as a correctional facility to engage inmates in rehabilitative programs but jail.

How Many Prisons are in Missouri?

There is one federal prison and twenty-two state prisons, over forty probation and parole offices, and six community supervision centers in Missouri. They are as listed below;

• Medical Center For Prisoners, Springfield- Federal Prison
• Algoa Correctional Center, Jefferson City
• Boonville Correctional Center, Boonville
• Chillicothe Correctional Center
• Cremer Therapeutic Community Center, Fulton
• Crossroads Correctional Center, Cameron
• Eastern Reception Diagnostic and Correctional Center, Bonne Terre
• Farmington Correctional Center
• Fulton Reception and Diagnostic Center
• Jefferson City Correctional Center
• Kansas City Reentry Center
• Maryville Treatment Center
• Missouri Eastern Correctional Center
• Moberly Correctional Center
• Northeast Correctional Center, Bowling Green
• Ozark Correctional Center, Fordland
• Potosi Correctional Center, Mineral Point
• South Central Correctional Center, Licking
• Southeast Correctional Center, Charleston
• Tipton Correctional Center
• Western Missouri Correctional Center, Cameron
• Western Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center
• Women Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center

The other offenders’ facilities are for the offenders on probation and parole;

• District 1- St. Joseph Community and Supervision Center
• District 2- Cameron
• District 3- Hannibal Community and Supervision Center
• District 4- Kansas City
• District 4 Central- Kansas City
• District 4 West- Kansas City
• District 5- Nevada
• District 5B- Belton
• District 5W- Warrensburg
• District 6- Columbia
• District 7B- St Louis
• District 7C- St. Louis
• District 7S- St. Louis
• District 8C- St. Louis
• District 8E-St. Louis
• District 8N- St. Louis
• District 8S- St. Louis
• District 9- Joplin
• District 10- Springfield
• District 10N- Springfield
• District 10R- Springfield
• District 11- Rolla
• District 11S- Steelville
• District 12- Farmington Community Service Center
• District 13- West Plain
• District 14- Sikeston
• District 14A- Charleston
• District 14B- New Madrid
• District 15- Hillsboro
• District 16- Union
• District 17- St. Charles
• District 18- Macon
• District 18S- Kirksville
• District 18S- Moberly
• District 19- Liberty
• District 20- Camdenton
• District 21- Branson
• District 22- Cape Girardeau
• District 23- Kennett Community Supervision Center
• District 24- Independence
• District 25- Poplar Bluff Community Supervision Center
• District 26- Fulton Community Supervision Center
• District 27- Jefferson City
• District 29- Sedalia
• District 31- Caruthersville
• District 32- Lexington
• District 32S- Marshall
• District 33- Neosho
• District 36- Potosi
• District 37- Dexter
• District 38- Troy
• District 42- Nixa
• District 43- Aurora
• District 44- Cassville
• District EP
• District ERV
• Kansas City Community Release Center
• Transition Center of St. Louis

How do I search for an Inmate in Missouri State Prison?

A requester can search for an inmate in Missouri State online or offline. An inmate search can be carried out through the Offender Search on the Missouri Department of Correction website. Members of the public are entitled to general information about offenders as permitted by the law concerning public records. However, other vital and personal information is withheld from the general public and only available to eligible persons. Apart from searching online, an interested person can visit the office of the Missouri Department of Corrections, which is located at:

Missouri Department Of Corrections

3400 Knipp Drive

Jefferson City

Missouri 65109

Phone: (573) 751–8488

Fax: (573) 751–8501

Are Incarceration Records Public in Missouri

Incarceration records, arrest records, criminal records, court records, Etc are regarded as public records in Missouri. The State’s Sunshine Law ensures that public members in Missouri are granted access to public records. The Act also states the importance of giving the general public access to the records. There is no need for a moral justification before a requester can be granted access to records that are regarded as public records, except the records are made confidential.

Records that are considered public may be accessible from some third-party websites. These websites often make searching simpler, as they are not limited by geographic location, and search engines on these sites may help when starting a search for specific or multiple records. To begin using such a search engine on a third-party or government website, interested parties usually must provide:

• The name of the person involved in the record, unless said person is a juvenile
• The location or assumed location of the record or person involved. This includes information such as the city, county, or State that person resides in or was accused in.

Third-party sites are independent from government sources and are not sponsored by these government agencies. Because of this, record availability on third-party sites may vary.

How to Look Up Jail Records in Missouri?

It is possible to lookup jail records in Missouri online. The jail records can also be looked up offline by visiting the law enforcement agency responsible for the record in question. For instance, if a person is incarcerated at a County jail, the records can be looked up at the County Jail. It can also be looked up at the office of the County’s Sheriff. At the State level, jail records can be found at the Missouri Department of Corrections. Jail records can be found with the FBI through the Criminal Justice Information Services at the federal level.

Can Jail Records be Expunged in Missouri?

Jail records can be expunged for crimes that are eligible for expungement under the Missouri Law. However, the expungement of records in Missouri only means that the records are not accessible to the public and that the record holder may deny ever going to jail for the crime. The RSMo § 610.130 and RSMo § 610.140 states the criminal convictions that are eligible for expungement and the qualification for the expungement of such convictions. Some of the incarceration records that are eligible for expungement are;

• Alcohol-related driving offenses
• Crimes considered as a misdemeanor
• Municipal violation
• Infractions
• Class D felony

To qualify for expungement;

• The offender needs to file a petition for record expungement after seven years of the last sentencing for a felony offense, three years after the last sentencing for a misdemeanor offense, municipal violation or infraction, and ten years for an alcohol-related driving offense
• The person filing the petition for expungement must not have been found guilty of any other misdemeanor, city violation, or traffic offenses during the period of waiting after the last sentencing
• Such a person must have fulfilled all obligations concerning disposition, restitution, payment of fines, Etc.
• Such a person must not have pending charges
• Such a person must not exhibit an attitude that may be perceived as a threat to the society
• The expungement must be consistent with the public welfare and the interest of justice.

Having satisfied the above requirement, the record of an offender’s past time in custody may be expunged in Missouri