Justice Center Release Destinations
The St. Louis City Justice Center is the City’s active local jail. It holds people awaiting court action as well as people serving local sentences. A completed departure can lead to several destinations. Bond, a court order, time served, sentence expiration, dismissal, or another case event may return a person to the community. A departure can also place that person in Missouri Department of Corrections custody, another jurisdiction’s custody, or federal custody. Each event ends the CJC stay, but only the first group means release into the community.
Ask for both the release type and destination. A release transaction or Letter of Incarceration from the City of St. Louis Division of Corrections establishes the local custody period. The associated Missouri Case.net docket may explain the court action. If it shows a commitment to Missouri DOC, use the state offender system next. A federal case requires the federal docket and, after designation, the Bureau of Prisons locator. This sequence prevents a transfer from being mistaken for freedom.
| CJC departure | Best next record |
|---|---|
| Bond or court release | City release transaction and court docket |
| Local sentence completed | Letter of Incarceration and judgment |
| Missouri DOC transfer | DOC offender search and sentence record |
| Other warrant or authority | Destination field and receiving agency |
| Federal transfer | Federal docket and BOP locator when applicable |
Confirm a Justice Center Release
The City inmate locator instructions require an exact first and last name. A matching result indicates current City custody. No match is only a starting clue because the person may have been released, may still be on a police floor or at a substation, or may have been entered under a different exact name. The locator does not function as a past-release archive.
- Search the exact name in the official City locator. Record the spelling used and whether a current match appears.
- Call Corrections at (314) 621-5848. Ask for Data Entry and the released-person Letter of Incarceration route.
- Search Case.net for the St. Louis City case. Read the latest order, disposition, sentence, and commitment language.
- If Missouri DOC received the person, use the Missouri DOC Offender Search. Its live individual search excludes fully discharged offenders, so older cases may require a records request.
- For a federal sentence, check the BOP Inmate Locator. A BOP release result addresses federal custody only.
A missing City locator result does not prove release. Obtain the completed event record and destination before drawing that conclusion.
Justice Center Release Contacts
The City of St. Louis Department of Public Safety’s Division of Corrections operates CJC. The Sheriff does not run this jail. That local structure matters because a request sent to a typical county-sheriff records unit will not reach the St. Louis City custodian. Use the main Corrections number to resolve the proper extension, especially for a released-person letter.
St. Louis City Justice Center200 South Tucker Boulevard
St. Louis, MO 63102
Phone: (314) 621-5848
Email: dps-justice-center@stlouis-mo.gov
Facility: open continuously
Administration: Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Official pages publish different Data Entry extensions for released-person letters. The Corrections FAQ lists 2255 and 2226, while the contacts page lists 1097 and 1033. Rather than assume one list is current, call the main number and ask for the Data Entry or Letter of Incarceration route for a person already released. Intake is listed at extension 2247. Property uses extension 2233 or 2270.
Justice Center Custody Facts
The official Justice Center page identifies CJC as a local detention facility that opened in 2002. The building has six stories and a stated capacity of 860. These facts describe the facility, not a count of releases. The City’s separate population dashboard reports aggregate custody figures but does not name people who recently left.
The official facility screen helps confirm the correct jail and its current contact route.
View the City’s Justice Center description and custody link.
The image shows the City source that should anchor a facility check before a release record is requested.
Justice Center Release Records
A Letter of Incarceration is a distinct City proof product for someone who was held by Corrections. It can document the custody period after the live roster stops returning the name. For fuller detail, request an existing booking and release transaction under Missouri’s Sunshine Law. Identify the person, approximate custody dates, booking number if known, and the specific fields sought. Useful fields include admission date, completed release date, release type, releasing facility, destination, transfer authority, and booking identifier.
Send a City Sunshine request to the appropriate custodian and name the Division of Corrections. Missouri Revised Statutes section 610.026 governs access and fees. The City does not publish a flat fee for release records, so request a cost estimate. Ask for the record in its original electronic form when practical. A narrow request helps the custodian locate the right transaction and identify any lawful redaction.
- Release
- A completed departure from local custody, whether to the community or another authority.
- Transfer
- A handoff to another custodian. It is not the same as community release.
- Discharge
- The end of a correctional term or supervision status, which may occur after physical release.
- Detainer
- A request or legal hold that may send a person to another authority.
Bond and Completed CJC Release
Bond payment is not the same moment as release. The City’s official bond instructions warn that processing can take several hours after payment. Staff still must verify the order, check other holds, complete internal steps, return eligible property, and authorize departure. The correct time for a release record is the completed event time, not the payment receipt time.
Bond locations and hours depend on the person’s custody stage and how long the person has been held. The City lists separate routes for police custody, shorter CJC stays, and longer CJC stays. It also distinguishes weekday and weekend windows. Those schedules identify where payment can be made. They do not promise when a person will walk out. Call the listed bond contact for the exact case and then confirm physical release through Corrections.
State bond questions use (314) 641-8214, while the Corrections contacts page lists (314) 622-3231 for municipal bond. The amount is set by the court, and the City tells users to call for the exact total. No general amount should be inferred from another case.
Police Custody Versus CJC Release
A newly arrested person may still be in St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department processing, on the first floor, or at a substation awaiting transport. The City locator itself identifies this as a reason for no match. SLMPD Prisoner Processing can be reached at (314) 241-8339. That gap matters most soon after arrest, when a user might wrongly treat an empty exact-name search as evidence that the person left custody.
The Division of Corrections cannot issue a Letter of Incarceration for someone held only by SLMPD. For police-only custody, use the police arrest or custody record, any bond receipt, and the municipal or circuit court docket. If the person was admitted to CJC, the Corrections record becomes relevant. Establishing that boundary first avoids asking the wrong office for a record it never created.
Note: A City Justice Center release letter applies only when the person actually entered Division of Corrections custody.
Workhouse Records After Closure
The former Medium Security Institution, widely known as the Workhouse, is not a current St. Louis City jail. The City says MSI has held no detainees since June 2022, and demolition began in March 2025. Old directory pages, maps, and search results must not be used for current visiting or release instructions. CJC is the one active local Corrections facility identified by the Commissioner’s Office.
Historical MSI records still have value. A person confined there before closure may have an admission and release trail held by City Corrections, along with a Case.net docket. A Sunshine request should name MSI, the person, the approximate date range, and the exact fields wanted. The request should not treat the old facility as if it maintains a current desk.
The City’s Re-Envisioning MSI page documents the closure and demolition status.
That official history marks the dividing line between an old MSI record request and a current CJC custody search.
Property After a CJC Release
Property return is a separate post-release task. It does not prove the release type, destination, or sentence status. The Division of Corrections lists a former-inmate property-return service and a dedicated CJC Property Unit. Call the main number and ask for extension 2233 or 2270. Confirm the current pickup procedure, identity documents, and whether someone else may collect property before traveling.
Keep the property receipt apart from the release record. The receipt may show that items were returned, while the release transaction or Letter of Incarceration identifies the custody period. Court and DOC records answer different questions about the case and any supervision that follows. For the complete named-person path and City record fields, use the St. Louis City released-inmate search and records coverage.
Note: Corrections contact details can change, so resolve the Property Unit through the main CJC number before visiting.