The Richland County Jail Register in South Carolina is a public resource that allows you to find out who is currently in custody at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center. On the RichlandSCCourt.us website, you can find publicly available information about current and recently processed inmates. Additionally, data is available through the official online portal of the Richland County Detention Center, by phone, or during a personal visit to the facility. The register is maintained by the Richland County Sheriff's Department and is regularly updated to reflect individuals currently held in the detention center. The search allows you to check the detention status, see the charges, and find out the bail conditions.
Search Current Inmates in Richland Jail
The fastest way to check if a person is in custody is to use the online system Research Offender — Public Access on the county's website. This system is connected to the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center database and allows you to search for inmates in real time.
Online Search: Step-by-Step Guide
- Go to the inmate search page.
- Enter the last name — this is a required field. Optionally, add the first name to narrow down the results.
- If you know the booking number, enter it for an exact result.
- Click the search button. The system will display a list of individuals matching the criteria.
- Select the desired record to view details: charges, booking date, bail amount.
Juvenile offenders are not displayed in the public register.
Additional Search Methods
- Through RichlandSCCourt.us — for searching publicly available court information related to county inmates.
- By phone — call the main line of the detention center and provide the full legal name of the person.
- In person — visit the facility's lobby during business hours and inquire at the information window.
Contact information for the detention center:
Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center
To search for individuals who have already been convicted and are in state correctional facilities, use the South Carolina Department of Corrections inmate search. To check a criminal history, there is the CATCH by SLED — a name-based search system.
Find Richland Jail Booking Records Online
A booking record is created at the moment a detained person is officially registered in the detention center. It is the first document that records the fact of being held in custody. During booking, the following data is recorded:
- Unique booking number
- Date and time of booking
- Charges presented
- Arresting agency (Richland County Sheriff's Department, Columbia Police Department, or other)
- Photo and biometric data
- Bail information, if set
These records are available through the Detention Center online portal. Each search result contains basic data from the booking record. If you need a full copy of the record or documents not available in the online system, contact the detention center administration directly by phone or in writing.
For court cases related to the arrested person, the public index of the South Carolina Judicial Department will be useful — it contains information about cases being heard in circuit and magistrate courts.
Search the Richland Jail Roster by Last Name or Booking Number
The Richland County inmate search system supports two main methods.
Search by Last Name
Enter the last name in full. Partial matches may not be supported by the system, so ensure the spelling is correct. If the last name contains a hyphen or apostrophe, try the version without them. Adding a first name significantly narrows the list, especially for common last names like Johnson or Williams.
Search by Booking Number
If you know the booking number — this is the most accurate way. The number is issued during booking and is unique for each detention case. Relatives sometimes receive this number during the first contact with the detention center.
What to Do If the Search Yields No Results
- Check the spelling of the name — even one letter matters.
- The person may have just been detained, and the data has not yet been entered into the system.
- The person may have already been released, and the record has disappeared from the current register.
- The detainee may have been transferred to another facility — for example, to state correctional facilities.
- Call the detention center at (803) 576-3200 and clarify the person's status.
Jail Roster Updates and Search Limitations in Richland
The Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center online register is updated regularly throughout the day. However, there may be a delay between the actual booking of a detainee and the appearance of the record in the system — from a few minutes to several hours, depending on staff workload.
Several limitations should be considered:
- The register only displays those who are currently in custody. It is not an archive of all past detentions.
- After release or transfer, the record usually disappears from public access.
- Data entry errors occur — incorrect name spelling can make a record invisible for search.
- Information about juveniles, federal detainees, or individuals under court protection is not published.
To obtain historical data on past arrests within the state, use the CATCH system maintained by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. This service allows you to view criminal records by name, although it is not specific to one detention center.
If you need information about a person on probation or parole, there is a separate search by the Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services. The detention center's online register does not contain this data.