Butte County Federal Custody Boundary
The Bureau of Prisons operates federal prisons and maintains the durable public locator for federal sentences. It is not a Butte County jail system. No BOP prison was identified within Butte County, and no local federal facility should be inferred from the facility map.
A federal defendant may pass through several stages. The U.S. Marshals Service can hold a pretrial prisoner through a contracted jail. After sentencing, BOP may designate an institution in another state. A later locator result can document that BOP custody, while the earlier Butte release sheet documents only a local handoff if Butte County was involved.
Jurisdiction controls the search. Ordinary Butte arrests belong with the sheriff and iCourt. Idaho felony prison sentences belong with IDOC. Federal sentences belong with BOP. Immigration detention is a separate civil custody path handled through ICE.
Search a Federal BOP Record
The BOP Inmate Locator generally covers federal prisoners released after 1982. A register number is the strongest key. The locator accepts BOP, FBI, DCDC, or INS numbers. A name search uses first, middle, and last name, with age, race, and sex filters.
- Choose number search when a federal identifier is known.
- Otherwise enter the exact name and add available identity filters.
- Compare register number, age, race, sex, and name details.
- Read the displayed location, status, and release date.
- Save the date checked because a future date can change.
- Review the federal court record for the legal sentence or release order.
A no-result does not prove that no federal event occurred. Name variants, non-BOP federal custody, and older records can affect the search. BOP directs inquiries about pre-1982 records to the National Archives.
The Butte County release search remains the correct route for the county booking, release authority, and destination that preceded a federal handoff.
Read Federal Release Results
The locator's words have a narrow scope. They describe the BOP record, not every possible form of custody or court control. “Released” or “Not in BOP custody,” paired with a past release date and no current facility, supports that the listed BOP custody episode ended.
| BOP display | What it supports | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Current facility | Reported BOP custody and assigned location | Does not show a Butte booking history |
| Future release date | Current federal projection | Can change after recalculation |
| Released / Not in BOP custody | The listed BOP custody episode ended | Does not exclude supervision or another hold |
| Unknown | The term or date is undetermined | Does not prove release or continued custody |
A BOP release does not end court-ordered supervised release by itself. It also does not exclude a state warrant, county case, ICE custody, or later federal sentence. Check only the other systems for which a factual basis exists.
View the Federal Locator Screen
The official BOP name and number search shows the separate identifier and name routes used to locate a federal record.
The federal fields differ from IDOC's Butte sentencing-county match. A BOP result must be tied to the person by its federal identifiers, then compared with the federal docket and any documented local transfer.
Do not treat the locator as a nationwide jail roster. It does not replace USMS information about a pretrial prisoner or ICE information about civil immigration detention.
Confirm a Federal Prison Release
A past BOP release result is the first public confirmation for the federal prison episode. Next, inspect the federal court docket or release order for the legal disposition. Court records explain the sentence and any supervision, while BOP reports its custody status.
- Match the register number and personal identifiers.
- Record the exact BOP status and release date.
- Check the federal judgment for the sentence and supervised-release term.
- Ask Butte County for a destination if the person first left the county jail.
- Use ICE or a state locator only when a separate handoff or hold is indicated.
- Request a BOP record when the locator lacks needed detail.
A future release date is projected and can change. BOP has warned that sentence recalculation can temporarily affect displayed dates. “Unknown” means the term or date is undetermined, so it cannot be converted into an estimate.
Note: A BOP release date confirms the federal prison record, not unrestricted return to the community or the end of every legal obligation.
Request Federal BOP Records
Use the BOP Freedom of Information Act route when the public locator does not supply enough detail. Identify the person, register number, relevant dates, and exact record sought. A request for a release entry, designation history, or transfer record is easier to process than an undefined request for a complete file.
Federal FOIA is not the Idaho Public Records Act. Do not send a BOP request to Butte County or IDOC. Each agency holds its own part of the custody chain. BOP may apply federal privacy, security, law-enforcement, and other lawful exemptions.
For a local booking and handoff, request the Butte County sheriff's release entry. For a filed federal judgment, use the federal court record. For USMS operational material, use an appropriately scoped USMS request. The agency that created a record is the correct custodian.
Distinguish BOP From USMS
The U.S. Marshals Service manages federal prisoners from arrest or remand through commitment, release, or return to another authority. Its Prisoner Tracking System is restricted. USMS has no ordinary public historical locator comparable to BOP.
A federal pretrial person may therefore be absent from the BOP locator. Use the federal court docket and order, determine whether BOP designation occurred after sentencing, and make a narrow USMS records inquiry when needed. Do not reinterpret a blank BOP result as release.
| Federal stage | Useful source |
|---|---|
| Federal arrest or remand | Federal docket and USMS custody channel |
| Post-sentence prison designation | BOP Inmate Locator |
| Past BOP release | BOP locator plus federal judgment |
| Operational USMS history | Scoped USMS records request |
If Butte County says “transferred to USMS,” the local custody episode ended, but community release did not occur. Preserve the receiving-agency name and time before following the federal record.
Separate BOP From ICE Custody
ICE civil detention is not BOP imprisonment. An immigration detainer can ask a jail or prison to hold a person for an ICE handoff when other custody would end. A county or BOP release can therefore become a transfer rather than community return.
The ICE Online Detainee Locator searches an exact A-number and country of birth, or a name with country of birth and optional birth date. ICE states that the locator includes current detainees and people released from ICE custody within the prior 60 days. Disappearance after that period proves nothing.
If the Butte sheriff or BOP record indicates an ICE handoff, check promptly and use the Detention Reporting and Information Line at (888) 351-4024 during its posted service hours. Do not call a custody transfer deportation or removal unless an official immigration record establishes that outcome.
Build the Butte Federal Timeline
A complete timeline uses records in order. The Butte sheriff entry can show the local release or receiving authority. The federal court docket explains remand, judgment, and sentence. USMS covers the pretrial or transfer stage. BOP covers the designated federal prison sentence and later release result.
After BOP release, the judgment may show supervised release. A probation office, not IDOC District 7, handles federal supervision. The research did not identify a specific federal supervision office for a particular person, so no local assignment should be invented.
If another authority assumes custody, continue only through that authority's official source. The chain may be Butte to USMS to BOP, or BOP to ICE, but it must come from actual records. Never infer the chain from a missing roster entry.
The result should answer three separate questions: when Butte County custody ended, whether BOP custody began and ended, and whether another legal or custodial status remained. Keeping those questions apart prevents a transfer from being mislabeled as release.