Did Your High School Classmates End Up in Jail?

With its tough classes and social interactions, high school can be a blur. However, one thing everyone can agree on is that they want to be successful post-high school. They want to be able to go back to their high school reunion and talk with their former peers about the interesting, high-paying work that they’re currently doing. The one person no one wants to be at the 25-year reunion is the kid that went to jail after high school.

Everyone gossips about who is doing what after high school, and the ex-felon will most definitely turn heads in the wrong way. Before heading back to your reunion, here are a few ways you can search through records to learn which of your former classmates went to jail.

Use free online services, don’t pay

One of the easiest ways to find out if a former classmate went to jail is by checking online services that keep track of current and former jail inmates across the country. Aside from state and federal databases, a lot of companies have created free arrest records and databases where people can search for individuals who’ve been arrested. Some sites will require a name search to find the information for which you’re looking, and some require you to pay for a download of the information. Since there are free services online, don’t feel the need to pay outright if you can find the information for free on another site.

See if they went to jail or prison

One thing that is important to know is the difference between jail and prison. The key difference between the two is the length of stay at which an inmate will reside in one of these institutions. A stint in jail is much more short-term than prison. And since there are federal and state prisons versus county jails, you can search different databases for each. Federal prisons have a database of all of their inmates, and jails have an inmate locator, as well.

Check your county’s mugshots webpage

Similarly, most counties in the United States have web and Twitter pages devoted to posting mugshots as people are arrested. If you have the time to scroll through Twitter or search names on the mugshots website, you might find the information for which you’re looking. The only obstacle to this tactic is the fact that if someone was arrested as a minor, the mugshot and arrest details are likely private. Nevertheless, these sites and Twitter pages have years of data on arrestees, so scour through your old high school photos you may have saved on your home’s free photo storage system, and compare them to any mugshots you may find.

Contact your local jail

If you’re too curious and cannot find this information in an online search, try looking offline and contact your local jail. If aspects of the case are closed, it’s public knowledge and they should have records available. You can look up how to contact them, but you’ll need specific names to ask about. This tactic should likely be a last resort, as the work of law enforcement is valuable and time sensitive. However, it’s a viable possibility to answering any questions you might have.

High school is a weird time for most people, but for some, it can end with a stint in jail. No matter the crime, no one wants to be that former classmate that’s done hard time. They’re often the talk of any high school reunion. If you’re curious about whether or not someone you know has been to jail or what their possible crimes might’ve been, there are plenty of different ways you can find this information, both in online and offline searches.