Orleans Parish Jail Roster Search
The Orleans Parish jail roster tracks all detainees held at Orleans Parish Prison in New Orleans. The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office runs the facility and provides a public detainee search tool on its website. You can also use the LAVNS portal to look up inmates. Orleans Parish is one of the busiest booking operations in Louisiana, and the jail roster updates frequently throughout the day. This page shows you how to search the Orleans Parish jail roster, what the results include, and where else to look for inmate records in the parish.
Orleans Parish Prison Quick Facts
Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office
The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office runs the jail and keeps the roster. OPSO handles all bookings, releases, and detention operations in the parish. "The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office (OPSO) provides an online inmate search tool for the public to locate individuals currently incarcerated within the Orleans Parish Prison." The sheriff's office is at 819 South Broad St in New Orleans. You can call 504-822-8000 for general questions about the office.
"Orleans Parish Jail is the primary detention facility for the city of New Orleans and Orleans Parish." Because Orleans Parish and the city of New Orleans share the same boundaries, all city arrests go through this one facility. The OPSO processes every booking. That is a lot of people moving through the system in a major city. The jail roster changes throughout the day as new bookings come in and people get released or transferred.
| Agency | Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office (OPSO) |
|---|---|
| Sheriff Office | 819 South Broad St, New Orleans, LA 70119 |
| Office Phone | 504-822-8000 |
| Prison Address | 2800 Perdido Street, New Orleans, LA 70119 |
| Prison Phone | (504) 202-9339 |
| Website | opso.gov |
Search the Orleans Parish Jail Roster Online
The best way to search the Orleans Parish jail roster is through the OPSO Detainee Search tool. Go to opso.gov/246/Detainee-Search to access it. "Search for Detainees. Search. Select a name in the results. Details display below names." Type in a name and the system shows you matching results. Click on a name to see more details about that person's charges, booking date, and bond status.
"OPSO Detainee Search provides real-time information on currently detained individuals. Search by name or booking number." This is one of the more advanced parish jail search tools in Louisiana. It gives you real-time data, not data that is hours old. That makes it very useful if you need to know right now whether someone is in custody at Orleans Parish Prison.
The screenshot below shows the Orleans Parish detainee search tool on the OPSO website.
The search results show each detainee's name, booking number, and charges. Click through for full details on any person listed on the Orleans Parish jail roster.
Orleans Parish Inmates on LAVNS
You can also search the Orleans Parish jail roster through the statewide LAVNS system. "This agency is providing this roster of incarcerated offenders to the public and law enforcement in the interest of public safety." The LAVNS portal pulls data from all 64 parish jails in Louisiana. Orleans Parish is part of that network.
"LAVNS will automatically collect offender transaction data from the state's sixty-four (64) parish jail systems, the state Department of Corrections (DOC) and the Louisiana District Attorneys' Association (LDAA) at regular intervals on a seven days per week, twenty-four hours a day, three hundred sixty-five days a year basis (7/24/365 basis)." So the Orleans Parish data flows into LAVNS regularly. For the most current results, the OPSO Detainee Search is usually faster. But LAVNS works well too, especially if you want to set up custody alerts.
VINELink is the national version of LAVNS. "Presently, LAVNS offers everyone access to a state imprisoned person's location by Internet [www.vinelink.com] and a 24-hour, toll-free telephone number: (866) 528-6748." Both tools pull from the same data for Orleans Parish inmates.
Note: For the fastest results on the Orleans Parish jail roster, use the OPSO Detainee Search rather than LAVNS.
Orleans Parish Sheriff Website
The OPSO website at opso.gov has much more than just the jail roster. It covers programs, services, news, and contact information for the sheriff's office. You can find details about visitation, inmate commissary, and how to post bond. The site is well organized and easy to use compared to many other parish sheriff websites in Louisiana.
Below is a screenshot of the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office main website.
From the main site you can navigate to the detainee search, read about jail programs, and find contact info for the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office.
How Booking Works in Orleans Parish
When someone gets arrested in New Orleans, they go to Orleans Parish Prison for booking. "NOPD does not operate a city jail. All arrestees are booked through Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office." So whether the New Orleans Police Department, state police, or another agency makes the arrest, booking happens at the same place. This is why the Orleans Parish jail roster is the single source for all local inmate data.
During booking, staff take photos, fingerprints, and record all charges. Bond amounts get set by a judge or magistrate. The whole process can take several hours depending on how busy things are. Orleans Parish handles a high volume of bookings. Once the data is entered, it shows up on the OPSO Detainee Search tool and feeds into LAVNS shortly after.
If you need to find someone who was just arrested, call (504) 202-9339. Staff at the prison can check the system and tell you if someone has been booked. They can share the charges and bond amount. For people arrested by NOPD, you can also call the police department at (504) 658-5757, though they will likely point you to the sheriff's office for jail info.
Orleans Parish Jail Roster and Louisiana Law
Under LSA-R.S. 44:1, jail rosters are public records. The Orleans Parish jail roster is open to anyone who wants to see it. You do not need to be a victim, an attorney, or a family member. The public records law covers most government documents in Louisiana, and inmate rosters are part of that.
LSA-R.S. 15:574.12 sets the rules on what inmate data can be released. Public info includes the inmate's age, offense, conviction date, and sentence length. Internal documents like pre-sentence reports and parole files are confidential. This applies to everyone on the Orleans Parish jail roster.
LSA-R.S. 15:1229 is the law behind LAVNS. It requires the state to maintain a system for tracking inmates across all 64 parishes. LSA-R.S. 14:405 bars inmates from creating social media accounts while they are in custody. Both of these statutes apply to people held at Orleans Parish Prison.
State Resources for Orleans Parish
The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections runs the state prison system. Some inmates at Orleans Parish Prison may be waiting for transfer to a state facility. "At present, there are more than 36,000 people serving time for state felonies. Louisiana simply doesn't have the capacity to house all of people serving time for state felonies in state correctional facilities." Parish jails, including Orleans, sometimes hold state inmates while they wait for a bed at a state prison.
"Family and friends of people assigned to the custody of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections can locate the person by searching on the Louisiana Automated Victim Notification System (LAVNS). This site is updated every 24 hours and makes it easy to search by location, name, and ID/case number." If someone has been moved from Orleans Parish Prison to a state facility, LAVNS can help you track them down.
Note: For state inmates held at Orleans Parish Prison, LAVNS may show the facility as the current location.
Cities in Orleans Parish
Orleans Parish and the city of New Orleans share the same borders. They are one and the same. There are no other cities in this parish. Every arrest in New Orleans goes through Orleans Parish Prison. The New Orleans Police Department handles law enforcement, but the sheriff's office handles the jail. That is why the Orleans Parish jail roster is the only roster you need to check for New Orleans arrests.
Nearby Parishes
These parishes border Orleans Parish. If someone was arrested outside New Orleans city limits, they would go to the jail in that parish instead. Check the arrest location to make sure you are searching the right roster.