Mishawaka 72 Hour Booking Records

When someone is arrested in Mishawaka, Indiana, they are booked at the St. Joseph County Jail in South Bend. Mishawaka Police Department officers make arrests across the city, but the county sheriff holds all booking records under Indiana law. This page explains how to search those records, what the booking process looks like, and which tools are available statewide to help you find current and recent inmate information. All persons listed in booking records are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Mishawaka Inmate Search at St. Joseph County Jail

All booking records for Mishawaka arrestees are held at the St. Joseph County Jail, located at 401 W. Sample Street in South Bend. The St. Joseph County Police Department runs the jail and maintains an online inmate search tool at sjcpd.org/inmate-search. You can search by name to find out whether a person is currently in custody, when they were booked, and what charges they face. The search is free. You do not need an account or any special permission to use it.

Mishawaka sits directly adjacent to South Bend, and the two cities share this same facility. So whether an arrest happens on Main Street in Mishawaka or downtown South Bend, the booking destination is the same jail. The Mishawaka Police Department can be reached at 574-258-1678 or by email at mpdrecords@mishawaka.in.gov for questions about specific arrests made by city officers. Their office is at 100 Lincolnway West, Mishawaka, IN 46544.

For general jail information, visit sjcpd.org/jail. That page covers visitation rules, phone policies, and what to expect when a family member has been booked into the facility.

The Indiana County Jail Public Portal is another option. This statewide tool aggregates inmate data from participating counties. St. Joseph County is included, so you may be able to find Mishawaka booking data through that portal as well.

Below is a screenshot of the Indiana County Jail Public Portal, which covers St. Joseph County bookings along with other Indiana counties.

Indiana County Jail Public Portal inmate search

The portal is updated regularly and lets you search across multiple counties at once.

What Happens After an Arrest in Mishawaka

When a Mishawaka Police Department officer makes an arrest, the process follows a standard sequence. The officer takes the person into custody and transports them to the St. Joseph County Jail for booking. At the jail, staff record personal information, photograph the person, take fingerprints, and log the charges. This creates the booking record that becomes public under Indiana law.

Indiana law requires that a person who is arrested and not released must be brought before a judge within a set window. The "72 hour booking" term refers to the period right after arrest when booking data is freshest. Records from this window show who was just taken into custody and on what charges. These records are public under IC 5-14-3, Indiana's Access to Public Records Act. That statute gives the public the right to inspect most government records, including jail booking logs, without needing a reason.

Not all records are open. Information that could identify victims of certain crimes or endanger an ongoing investigation may be withheld. But standard booking data, the name, the charge, the date, the arresting agency, is available. If you believe records are being improperly withheld, you can contact the Indiana Public Access Counselor for guidance.

Below is a screenshot of the Mishawaka Police Department website, which handles all city arrests before transferring persons to the St. Joseph County Jail.

Mishawaka Police Department official website

The department page includes contact information and links to records request forms.

Indiana Statutes Governing Booking Records

Two statutes are especially relevant when searching booking records in Mishawaka. The first is Indiana Code 36-2-13-5, which governs county sheriff recordkeeping. Under this law, the St. Joseph County Sheriff must maintain accurate records of everyone booked into the county jail. This covers Mishawaka arrests just as it covers arrests in any other part of the county.

The second is IC 11-8-2-5, which addresses records held by correctional facilities. This statute reinforces that jail booking data must be kept and that the public can access it. Together, these two laws mean that when someone is booked after a Mishawaka arrest, a record is created, it is preserved by the county, and it is open to anyone who asks.

If a case moves through the court system, you can track it using the MyCase public portal. MyCase is Indiana's statewide court case lookup. It shows filings, hearing dates, and case outcomes for most courts in the state, including St. Joseph County courts that handle Mishawaka cases.

Statewide Tools for Mishawaka Booking Searches

Beyond the St. Joseph County Jail search, several statewide tools can help you find booking and custody information for a person arrested in Mishawaka.

VINELink (Victim Information and Notification Everyday) lets you search inmate status and sign up for automatic notifications. If you need to know when a person is released or transferred, VINE is the right tool. You can call 866-959-VINE (8463) to reach VINE by phone.

If a person has been transferred out of the county jail to a state prison, use the IDOC Offender Search. This tool from the Indiana Department of Correction tracks people serving sentences in state facilities. Short-term bookings at the county level will not appear here, but anyone serving time in an IDOC facility will.

Below is a screenshot of the VINELink notification system, which covers St. Joseph County and other Indiana counties.

VINELink victim notification and inmate status search

VINELink notifications are free and can be set up by anyone, not just crime victims.

For court-level records tied to Mishawaka arrests, use the MyCase public portal. MyCase shows filings in St. Joseph Superior Court and other local courts. Booking records and court records are separate systems, but they often overlap for the same case.

Nearby Indiana Cities

Check booking records for other cities in northern Indiana.