Scranton Inmate Records and Booking Releases
Scranton is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest city in northeastern Pennsylvania. When Scranton Police Department officers make an arrest, the individual is transported to Lackawanna County Prison for booking, intake, and housing. Scranton does not maintain a standalone municipal jail. All formal booking records and inmate information are held at the county prison. Lackawanna County provides public access to inmate information through the county's website, and court records for Scranton cases are searchable through the Pennsylvania UJS portal. The VINE notification system is also available for Lackawanna County Prison.
Scranton Quick Facts
Scranton Police and Lackawanna County Prison
Scranton Police Department is the primary law enforcement agency for the city. Following an arrest within Scranton, the individual is transported to Lackawanna County Prison for processing. The prison is located at 1371 N. Washington Avenue, Scranton, PA 18509. It can be reached by phone at 570-963-6742. Because Scranton is the county seat, the prison is located within the city itself, making the geographic connection between the police and the jail system straightforward.
Lackawanna County Prison has a capacity of approximately 1,100 and maintains an average daily population near 900. It holds both pretrial detainees awaiting case resolution and individuals serving shorter sentences imposed by county courts. Arrests from Scranton Police as well as from other law enforcement agencies throughout Lackawanna County result in booking at this same facility.
Lackawanna County provides public access to inmate information through its website at lackawannacounty.org. The county website includes resources for searching the current inmate population at the county prison. Searches by name return current booking status, charge information, and court appearance dates for those currently in custody.
The Scranton city website at scrantonpa.gov provides police department contacts and general city information. For booking records and inmate status, Lackawanna County Prison is the authoritative source.
For all Lackawanna County booking releases, including arrests throughout the county beyond city limits, the county website provides the broadest access.
Note: Scranton Police can be contacted for general information about a recent city arrest, but all booking records are maintained at the county prison level.
The Scranton city website provides police department contact information and city services.
For formal booking and inmate records, Lackawanna County Prison at 1371 N. Washington Avenue is the primary source for all Scranton-area arrests.
Court Proceedings and Arraignments in Scranton
Following booking at Lackawanna County Prison, defendants appear before one of the Magisterial District Courts serving the Scranton area. Multiple district judges cover different parts of the city and county. At arraignment, the magistrate addresses bail, informs the defendant of charges, and schedules a preliminary hearing. Felony cases that survive preliminary proceedings move to Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas for formal proceedings.
Court records for all Scranton and Lackawanna County cases are publicly accessible through the Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System portal. The UJS portal provides full docket-level detail including charges, bail amounts, attorney assignments, and all scheduled appearances. Searches can be run by defendant name or docket number and are available to the public without a fee or registration.
The VINE notification system is available for Lackawanna County Prison. Registering through VINELink allows individuals and interested parties to receive automatic notifications when an inmate's custody status changes. Notifications can be delivered by phone, email, or text message based on preference. Registration is free and available online at any time.
Lackawanna County's Open Records office handles RTKL requests for county-held documents. The office is located at 123 Wyoming Avenue, Scranton, PA 18503, and can be reached at 570-963-6722.
Note: Preliminary hearings in Lackawanna County are typically scheduled within three to ten days of arraignment, depending on case type and court availability.
Accessing Scranton Records Under the RTKL
Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law gives citizens the right to access records held by government agencies. The full RTKL statute is available on the Pennsylvania General Assembly website. Both Scranton city government and Lackawanna County are subject to RTKL provisions. Requests for city police records go to the City of Scranton. Requests for jail or county records go to Lackawanna County's open records officer at 123 Wyoming Avenue.
The Pennsylvania Office of Open Records provides statewide oversight and support at openrecords.pa.gov. This resource provides model request forms, guidance on what records are considered public, and procedures for appealing a denial. Most routine booking inquiries are answerable through the county's online inmate locator without a formal request.
For criminal history spanning all Pennsylvania courts, the ePATCH portal operated by the Pennsylvania State Police provides searches of the statewide criminal history database. This tool provides a more complete picture than the county jail locator alone, covering all convictions and dispositions from courts across all 67 counties.
For individuals who have been sentenced and transferred to state correctional institutions, the PA DOC inmate and parolee locator covers all PA DOC facilities statewide. State sentences of two years or more result in transfer from Lackawanna County Prison to a state facility.
Note: RTKL requests for police incident reports from Scranton go to the city, while requests for jail records go to Lackawanna County; send each request to the correct agency.
Finding a Scranton Arrest in the System
The most direct approach for locating a Scranton arrest starts with the Lackawanna County Prison inmate locator at lackawannacounty.org. For court records independent of custody status, the UJS portal shows all cases including those for defendants who have been released on bail. VINE provides ongoing notification coverage for custody status changes.
If the person was arrested very recently, intake processing may not yet be complete. The process from arrest to appearing in the online system typically takes several hours. Checking back the following morning often resolves situations where a booking is not yet visible.
For individuals with common names, using the date of birth as a secondary search filter helps narrow results. Booking numbers, when known, provide the most precise search in the county system. The UJS portal search by defendant name is useful for confirming charges and court dates once the case is in the system.
Note: Court dates shown in the UJS portal may be continued or rescheduled by the parties; always verify upcoming dates directly with the court or through the portal on the day of the scheduled appearance.
Nearby Pennsylvania Cities
Scranton is in northeastern Pennsylvania and serves as a hub for the region. Other major cities in the state each use their county jail systems for booking and detention.