NYC DOC Inmate Locator Scraper

NYC DOC Inmate Locator Scraper

Scrape NYC Department of Corrections inmate records by NYSID, Book & Case, or name, up to a million per run. Each record includes full name, ID numbers, custody status, and facility details. No login or API key. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

The NYC Department of Corrections Inmate Locator lets the public search for people in city jails, but it only shows one record at a time and has no export. This Actor reads the public lookup directly, takes an NYSID, Book & Case, or first and last name, and returns every matching inmate in one flat row. No browser, no manual copying, no rate-limit headaches.

Who uses it	What they scrape NYC Department of Corrections Inmate Locator for
Defense attorneys	Check a client's current custody status and facility before a court appearance
Bail bondsmen	Verify an inmate's ID numbers and booking details before posting bond
Journalists	Track who is being held in city jails and for how long
Researchers	Build a dataset of NYC jail populations for policy analysis

What it does

This Actor collects NYC Department of Corrections inmate records by NYSID, Book & Case number, or first and last name, and returns each match as a flat row.

• 🔍 Direct lookup: search by NYSID or Book & Case number for an exact match
• 👤 Name search: enter first and last name to find all matching inmates
• 📊 Bulk collection: set maxItems to pull up to a million records per run
• 📁 Flat output: every inmate comes back as one row with all fields from the locator

Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.

What you can do with NYC Department of Corrections Inmate Locator data

⚖️ Check a client's custody status.

A defense attorney enters a client's NYSID before a hearing and gets the current facility and booking details in seconds.

📈 Track jail populations.

A researcher runs the Actor daily with a list of names and builds a time series of who is in NYC jails.

🔎 Find a missing person.

A family member searches by first and last name to see if a loved one is in city custody.

📰 Report on incarceration.

A journalist pulls records for a story on bail reform and compares booking dates across facilities.

Why choose this scraper

	What you get
No manual copying	The locator shows one record at a time; this returns every match in a single dataset
No API key	Reads the public lookup directly, no registration or OAuth
Fixed schema	Every inmate comes back with the same fields, ready for analysis
Bulk ready	Set maxItems up to 1,000,000 to collect large lists in one run

How it compares

No other Store actor targets NYC Department of Corrections Inmate Locator the same way, so the honest comparison is with the alternatives teams actually weigh.

	NYC DOC Inmate Locator Scraper	Build it in-house	By hand
Setup	Run it now, zero config	Days of engineering	None, but hours per pull
When NYC Department of Corrections Inmate Locator changes	Maintained for you	You fix it	You re-learn the page
Proxies, retries, anti-bot	Built in	Your problem	Browser only
Output	Fixed JSON schema, CSV/Excel export	Whatever you build	Copy-paste
Cost	Pay per result	Engineering time	Analyst hours

Configure the run

Drive the Actor from an NYSID, Book & Case number, or first and last name, and set maxItems to cap how many inmates are collected per run. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

{
  "maxItems": 10,
  "lastName": "Smith"
}

A larger pull:

{
  "maxItems": 200,
  "lastName": "Smith"
}

Pricing

Pay-per-result: $0.021 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

Results collected	Approximate cost
100 results	$2.10
1,000 results	$21.00
10,000 results	$210.00

New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.

Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. Upgrade your Apify plan to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

Run it

1. Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit.
2. Open the NYC DOC Inmate Locator Scraper.
3. Set your inputs and any filters, then click Start.
4. Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the Dataset tab.

Run it programmatically through the Apify API (run-sync-get-dataset-items) or the ApifyClient for JavaScript and Python.

Use with AI agents (MCP)

Give an AI agent live access to NYC Department of Corrections Inmate Locator through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:

claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=parseforge/nyc-doc-inmate-locator-scraper"

Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.

Troubleshooting

Why am I getting no results?

Check that you entered a valid NYSID, Book & Case, or first and last name. The locator only returns exact matches for ID numbers and exact name matches for name searches. Try a more common name or verify the ID.

The Actor returns fewer records than maxItems.

That means there were not enough matching inmates. The Actor stops when it has collected all matches or reached maxItems, whichever comes first.

I get an error when I enter an NYSID.

Make sure the NYSID is exactly as it appears on official documents, with no spaces or dashes. If the problem persists, try searching by name instead.

The run takes a long time.

Name searches can return many matches, and the Actor must fetch each one. Lower maxItems or use a more specific name to speed things up.

FAQ

Question	Answer
What is an NYSID number?	NYSID stands for New York State Identification number. It is a unique ID assigned to a person by the state's criminal justice system. You can enter it in the Actor to look up an inmate directly.
Can I search by name only?	Yes. Provide a first name and last name, and the Actor will return all matching inmates. The more specific the name, the fewer results you get.
What is a Book & Case number?	A Book & Case number is the booking number assigned by the NYC Department of Correction when a person is admitted to a facility. It is another way to look up an inmate directly.
How many records can I get in one run?	You can set maxItems up to 1,000,000. The Actor will stop after collecting that many inmates or when there are no more matches.
Does this work for all NYC jails?	Yes, it covers all facilities run by the NYC Department of Correction, including Rikers Island, Manhattan Detention Complex, and others.
Is this legal to scrape?	The NYC Department of Corrections Inmate Locator is a public website. Scraping public data is generally allowed, but you should review the site's terms of service and comply with all applicable laws.
What format is the output?	The Actor returns each inmate as a flat row in JSON, and you can export the dataset to CSV, Excel, XML, or JSON from the Apify platform.
Do I need an API key?	No. The Actor reads the public lookup directly, so there is no registration or API key required.

Related actors

• nyc-doc-inmate-locator-scraper: Use this Actor to scrape NYC Department of Corrections inmate records by ID or name.

Browse the full ParseForge collection for more scrapers.

🆘 Need help? Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.

⚠️ Disclaimer. This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by New York City Department of Correction. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.