Independent public-record guide: USA-Arrests.org is not the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, Forsyth County Law Enforcement Detention Center, Winston-Salem Police Department, North Carolina Judicial Branch, North Carolina Department of Adult Correction, NC SAVAN, Pay Tel, McDaniel Supply Company or another government agency.
An arrest, inmate listing, mugshot, warrant entry or charge is not proof of guilt or conviction. Jail and police data may change after release, bond action, transfer or court proceedings. Use North Carolina court records when the disposition matters.
Winston-Salem • Forsyth County • North Carolina
Check Winston-Salem Recent Arrests Through the Right Forsyth County Source
For a recent arrest or current jail question in Winston-Salem, the practical first stop is the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office inmate inquiry. Use Winston-Salem Police records for city-police reports, North Carolina eCourts for the legal case, and state systems only when the person has moved beyond county-jail custody.
Start with the real task
Which Winston-Salem Arrest Source Should You Use?
Winston-Salem arrest information is split between several agencies. The Sheriff handles the county detention center. Winston-Salem Police maintains city-police records. The North Carolina Judicial Branch controls court information. Those systems should not be treated as interchangeable.
Forsyth County Sheriff Inmate Inquiry
Use this first when you are trying to determine whether someone is currently listed in Forsyth County jail custody or you need booking-related information.
Open inmate inquiryLaw Enforcement Detention Center
Use the detention-center pages for visitation, inmate money, commissary, phone service, mail and facility contact questions.
Open detention centerWinston-Salem Police Records
Use WSPD Records when the issue involves an arrest report, incident report or another document from Winston-Salem Police activity.
Open WSPD RecordsNorth Carolina eCourts
Use court records after the booking search when you need a hearing date, filed case, disposition, payment or other court information.
Open Forsyth County courtsNorth Carolina DAC
Use state offender resources when the person may have moved into North Carolina prison, probation, parole or post-release supervision rather than county jail custody.
Open NC DACNC SAVAN
Use North Carolina’s victim-notification system for supported custody and offender-status notifications instead of repeatedly checking arrest pages manually.
Open NC SAVAN informationA person can appear in an inmate or arrest search before a prosecutor or court has resolved the charge. Charges can change, cases can be dismissed, and a defendant may be released while the court case continues. Check the court record before describing someone as convicted.
Official county-jail workflow
How To Check Recent Arrests in Winston-Salem NC
Winston-Salem is in Forsyth County, so the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office inmate inquiry is the correct starting point for a county-jail search. A Winston-Salem Police arrest can still lead to detention in the county facility, which is why the arresting agency and the jail operator may be different.
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Open the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office inmate inquiry
Use the official FCSO Police-to-Citizen inmate page. If the direct portal rejects a saved or embedded link, return to the Sheriff’s Online Tools page and open Police to Citizens from there.
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Search the person’s legal name
Start with the name the person uses on legal identification. If the result is missing, try a middle initial, complete middle name, maiden name, hyphenated surname or another legitimate spelling variation.
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Compare identifiers before assuming a match
Common names can produce wrong-person matches. Compare available age, booking information, arrest date, charge, bond or court-date information before connecting a record to a particular person.
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Separate the arresting agency from the detention center
If the arrest was made by Winston-Salem Police, use WSPD for the police report. If the person is confined at the Forsyth County Law Enforcement Detention Center, use the Sheriff’s jail pages for visitation, money, mail and telephone questions.
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Move to North Carolina court records for the case
Once you identify the correct person, use Forsyth County court resources and the eCourts Portal for hearings, case information and disposition.
Online information is useful for screening, but call the Forsyth County Law Enforcement Detention Center at 336-917-7600 when release timing, transportation, family safety or another immediate issue depends on the answer.
Local agency boundaries
Forsyth County Sheriff vs. Winston-Salem Police vs. NC Courts
Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office
Operates the Law Enforcement Detention Center and provides the county inmate inquiry, detention services, incident-report procedures, victim services and other Sheriff’s Office functions.
Best for: jail custody, inmate services and FCSO records.
Winston-Salem Police Department
Maintains city-police records. Its Records Division is the primary repository for most official WSPD police documents and maintains incident, arrest and warrant data.
Best for: WSPD arrest reports, incident reports and police-record questions.
North Carolina Judicial Branch
Controls court records, hearing information, filings, court payments and case status. Forsyth County uses the statewide eCourts system.
Best for: court dates and legal disposition.
North Carolina DAC / SAVAN
These state resources become useful after the question moves beyond a local arrest. DAC deals with state correctional custody and supervision; SAVAN supports victim notification.
Best for: state custody, supervision or notifications.
The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Administration Building, county detention center and court facilities are all in the downtown government area, but they perform different jobs. Do not go to the jail expecting the jail staff to produce a city police incident report or treat an inmate-search result as a certified court disposition.
Forsyth County detention
Forsyth County Law Enforcement Detention Center
The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office Law Enforcement Detention Center is at 201 North Church Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101. The Sheriff’s Office describes it as an adult maximum-security facility that houses male and female pretrial inmates and sentenced misdemeanants.
Public visitation depends on the inmate’s housing unit. The official visitation page contains a housing-unit schedule, so identify the person’s current housing information and check the live Sheriff page before traveling.
Visit planning
Forsyth County Jail Visitation Hours and Registration
The Sheriff currently lists three public visitation windows: 9:00–11:30 a.m., 1:00–3:00 p.m. and 5:30–7:30 p.m.. Those times do not mean every housing unit receives visits every day.
Check the housing-unit schedule first
The official page uses a grid showing which units have visitation on specific days. Reopen that schedule immediately before planning a trip.
Open official visitation scheduleRegister before the session is nearly over
Visitors must be registered for visitation at least 30 minutes before the visitation period ends. Arriving at the final minute can mean missing that session.
Different hours apply
The detention center currently lists attorney visitation seven days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m..
Use the separate clergy procedure
Clergy visitation has its own requirements. Do not assume the ordinary public-visitation rules apply.
Check current requirementsConfirm the inmate is still housed at the detention center, identify the applicable housing unit, recheck the visitation schedule and allow enough time for registration and security procedures.
Commissary and deposits
How To Put Money on a Forsyth County Inmate Account
The Sheriff’s current commissary page identifies McDaniel Supply Company as the detention center commissary provider and lists both a detention-center kiosk and an online provider route.
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Open the official Forsyth County commissary page
Start with Inmate Commissary. Use provider links found there instead of searching for an inmate-payment website independently.
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Choose the detention-center kiosk or official online provider
The Sheriff’s Office lists a kiosk in the detention-center lobby that accepts cash or credit cards, along with the McDaniel Supply website for account deposits and available care packages.
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Watch for the booking-time limitation
For people booked Friday after 3:30 p.m., over the weekend, or Monday before 10:30 a.m., the Sheriff’s current page says public deposits become available after 11:00 a.m. Monday.
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Use the correct inmate identity
Confirm the person’s full name and inmate information before depositing. A deposit to the wrong account can be difficult to correct.
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Use official help if the deposit fails
The Sheriff’s commissary page currently lists McDaniel Supply assistance at 912-427-9022. Recheck the county page first in case the provider or number changes.
Records lobby kiosk
The Sheriff says the kiosk is behind the receptionist area and permits deposits into inmate accounts. The public lobby is currently listed as open Monday through Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Online commissary route
Use the McDaniel Supply link reached through the official Forsyth County commissary page. That reduces the chance of entering card details on an unofficial inmate-payment page.
Calls and correspondence
Forsyth County Inmate Phone Service and Mail Rules
Pay Tel Communications
Forsyth County’s current telephone page identifies Pay Tel as the inmate telephone provider. Friends and family may need a prepaid or direct-bill account to receive calls.
Open official telephone pageGeneral mail is handled through a processing system
The current detention-center mail notice says non-legal mail, other than approved publications, is sent through the facility’s designated mail-processing procedure rather than directly to the jail.
Read current mail policySend legal mail directly to the facility
The Sheriff’s mail policy says legal mail should not go to the scanning center. It must be clearly marked as legal mail and mailed directly to the detention center for handling under the facility’s privileged-mail procedure.
Scanned-mail copies can be requested
The current policy provides a process for a released inmate to request digital copies of scanned mail using the inmate’s identity and ID number. Follow the current PDF rather than an old third-party mailing guide.
Forsyth County changed its non-legal mail process in 2024. Open the current Sheriff’s mail notice immediately before sending correspondence because the processing address, required inmate identifiers and provider can change.
City police records
How To Get a Winston-Salem Police Arrest or Incident Report
The Winston-Salem Police Department Records Division is the main repository for official documents from most WSPD police activity. It maintains local incident, arrest and warrant data and supports public report requests.
336-773-7922
Use for arrest-report, incident-report and police-record questions.
Call Records Division336-773-7700
Use for non-emergency police information and routing.
Call WSPD725 N. Cherry Street
Vivian H. Burke Public Safety Center, Winston-Salem, NC 27101.
Open WSPD Records-
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Decide whether you need an arrest report or incident report
WSPD provides separate public request routes. Use the type that matches the document you actually need rather than asking for a generic “background check.”
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Open the official request page
Use Winston-Salem Incident & Arrest Reports and choose the appropriate public report request.
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Provide specific identifying information
Use the event date, name, location, case or report number and other known information that helps Records staff identify the correct document.
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For in-person help, use Records Division hours
WSPD currently lists police-report service Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.. Check the city page before traveling on a holiday or during an operational closure.
Winston-Salem Police states that its local arrest records are not certified and do not include court dispositions. For a certified record containing court disposition, the city directs users to the Forsyth County Clerk of Court. A fee applies to certified court records.
County incident reports
How Forsyth County Sheriff’s Incident Reports Work
If the incident was handled by the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office rather than Winston-Salem Police, use the Sheriff’s record procedure. The Sheriff’s Office has different disclosure and identification rules from WSPD.
| Requirement | Current FCSO Guidance |
|---|---|
| Location | Records Division, second floor/main entrance, Sheriff’s Administration Building, 301 North Church Street. |
| Hours | Monday–Friday, excluding holidays, 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m. |
| Public copy | General public may request the front page of an incident report in person. |
| Full report | The Sheriff’s page says a full incident report requires authorization through a court order signed by a judge. |
| Identification | The current page lists a valid North Carolina driver’s license or state ID. |
| Report number | Applicant should provide the report number issued by the initiating law-enforcement officer. |
Legal status after arrest
How To Find a Forsyth County Court Case After a Winston-Salem Arrest
North Carolina now uses eCourts statewide. The Judicial Branch says all 100 counties use the Enterprise Justice electronic case-management system, so Forsyth County court searching is no longer based on a separate legacy county system.
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Open the official Forsyth County Judicial Branch page
Start at Forsyth County — North Carolina Judicial Branch. This page links to court dates, courthouse information, court services and county-specific resources.
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Use Portal when you need case information
Open the statewide eCourts page and select Portal. Portal supports court-record searches, hearing searches and eligible court payments.
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Search the legal name or case information
Use the person’s legal name and filter carefully for Forsyth County. The official system also supports searching hearing information by name, county, date range and other available fields.
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Match the court record to the booking
Compare name, dates and case details. The charge shown during booking may not remain identical after prosecutorial review or court action.
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Call the Clerk if you need certified or procedural help
The Forsyth County Clerk of Superior Court phone number listed by the Judicial Branch is 336-779-6300. Use the court rather than the jail when the issue is a certified disposition or court-document question.
Use jail search for
- Current inmate status
- Booking clues
- Detention information
- Jail-service routing
Use eCourts for
- Case information
- Hearing dates
- Filed court record
- Disposition and court follow-up
Bond and release
What To Do When You Need Bond Information
North Carolina bond decisions are judicial matters. The Forsyth County Sheriff’s victim-services guidance notes that after arrest, a defendant is brought before a magistrate or judge and bond and a court date may be set.
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Verify the person is actually in Forsyth County custody
Check the inmate inquiry and confirm the correct person before discussing payment or release.
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Review the available booking or bond information
Write down the charge, booking information and any displayed bond details. Do not assume the amount or conditions are unchanged if the record is old.
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Call the detention center when timing matters
Use 336-917-7600 for official detention-center routing before traveling or making arrangements based on an online result.
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Use North Carolina courts for the legal case
For hearing dates, judicial conditions or court status, use the Forsyth County Judicial Branch page or call the Clerk of Superior Court.
Verify the person’s custody through the official inmate system and independently call the responsible agency. Caller ID, text messages and emailed payment instructions can be spoofed.
Victim assistance
Forsyth County Victim Services and NC SAVAN
The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office has a victim-services coordinator who can provide information about victims’ rights, safety planning, the criminal-justice process and case-status resources. North Carolina also operates SAVAN for supported automated notifications.
336-917-7167
Use for Sheriff’s Office victim-support questions and case-status guidance.
Open victim services1-877-NC-SAVAN
North Carolina lists 1-877-627-2826 for statewide automated victim assistance and notification.
Call NC SAVAN336-727-2112
Forsyth County Sheriff’s Communications Section. Call 911 for an immediate emergency.
Call communicationsAutomated systems can help track custody changes, but people with an immediate safety concern should also maintain direct contact with the relevant victim advocate, law-enforcement agency or court.
County jail vs. state custody
When To Use NC DAC Instead of Forsyth County Inmate Search
| Question | Best Starting Source | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Was someone recently booked locally? | Forsyth County Sheriff inmate inquiry | Local jail custody and booking route. |
| What happened to the criminal charge? | NC eCourts Portal | Court case and hearing/disposition information. |
| Is the person now in NC state prison? | NC Department of Adult Correction | State correctional custody and offender information. |
| Do I need custody-change notifications? | NC SAVAN | Automated victim-assistance and notification system. |
Forsyth Correctional Center is an NC Department of Adult Correction minimum-security prison in Winston-Salem. The Forsyth County Law Enforcement Detention Center on North Church Street is the local county detention facility. Searching one does not necessarily tell you what is happening in the other.
Troubleshooting
Why Someone May Not Appear in the Forsyth County Inmate Search
A missing name does not prove that an arrest never occurred. Work through the likely explanations before using a private mugshot page as a substitute.
| Possible Reason | What To Do Next |
|---|---|
| Different spelling or legal name | Retry full legal name, middle name or initial, hyphenation, maiden name or legitimate alternative spelling. |
| Recent booking has not appeared yet | Call the detention center when the matter is time-sensitive. |
| Person was released | Search NC eCourts; the criminal case can continue after release. |
| Different county | Confirm where the arrest occurred and which jail accepted the person. |
| State custody | Check NC DAC if the person may have moved into state correctional custody. |
| Record is restricted or removed from ordinary public access | Use the court or responsible agency. Do not attempt to bypass sealed, expunged, juvenile or other legally restricted records. |
- Retry the legal name.Nicknames are poor search keys.
- Open the portal from the Sheriff’s official site.Direct P2C URLs can occasionally reject saved or embedded requests.
- Call 336-917-7600 for an urgent jail-status question.Do not rely on a screenshot when timing matters.
- Check WSPD Records for city-police documentation.A police record is separate from the current inmate list.
- Check NC eCourts.Release from jail does not end the court case.
- Use NC DAC only for state correctional custody or supervision.The state system is not the Forsyth County jail roster.
Local contact directory
Winston-Salem Arrest, Jail, Police and Court Contacts
336-917-7600
201 North Church Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101.
Call detention center336-917-7001
301 North Church Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101.
Call Sheriff administration336-773-7700
Non-emergency/information number.
Call WSPD336-773-7922
Arrest reports, incident reports and police-record routing.
Call Records336-779-6300
Use for court-document and Clerk’s Office questions.
Call Clerk of Court336-917-7167
Victim rights, safety planning, support and criminal-justice information.
Call Victim ServicesForsyth County Law Enforcement Detention Center
- Address
- 201 North Church Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101
- Phone
- 336-917-7600
- Use for
- Detention-center and inmate-service questions.
Winston-Salem Police Department
- Address
- 725 North Cherry Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101
- Records
- 336-773-7922
- Use for
- WSPD arrest, incident and police-document questions.
Avoid bad matches and wasted trips
Common Winston-Salem Arrest Search Mistakes
- Searching Winston-Salem Police when you actually need the current jail roster. Start with Forsyth County Sheriff’s inmate inquiry for county custody.
- Using the jail record as the final case result. Move to NC eCourts when the disposition matters.
- Assuming the arresting agency operates the jail. WSPD can make the arrest while FCSO handles detention.
- Driving to visitation without checking the housing-unit schedule. Public visiting days depend on the inmate’s assigned unit.
- Depositing money through a search-engine ad. Start from the Forsyth County commissary page and follow its provider link.
- Sending ordinary inmate mail directly to the detention center. Non-legal mail currently uses a separate processing procedure.
- Sending legal mail through the ordinary scanning route. Legal/privileged mail has a separate direct-facility process.
- Using a WSPD arrest record when you need a certified disposition. WSPD says its arrest records are not certified and do not include court dispositions.
- Confusing Forsyth Correctional Center with the county detention center. One is an NC DAC prison; the other is the county jail.
- Using public arrest data as a regulated screening report. USA-Arrests.org is not a consumer reporting agency. Employment, housing, credit, insurance and similar decisions require legally appropriate procedures and reliable disposition information.
Winston-Salem questions
Recent Arrests Winston-Salem NC FAQs
Where can I check recent arrests in Winston-Salem NC?
Start with the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office Police-to-Citizen inmate inquiry. Winston-Salem is in Forsyth County, and the Sheriff’s Office operates the county Law Enforcement Detention Center. Use NC eCourts separately when you need the court case or disposition.
What if the Forsyth County inmate inquiry link does not open?
Return to the Forsyth County Sheriff’s official Online Tools page and select Police to Citizens from there. Direct Police-to-Citizen links can occasionally reject bookmarked, embedded or automated requests even though the official service is still available.
Is Winston-Salem Police the same agency as the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office?
No. Winston-Salem Police handles city policing and maintains WSPD police records. The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office operates the county detention center and inmate inquiry. An arrest can involve both agencies at different stages.
How do I find the court case after a Winston-Salem arrest?
Use the North Carolina Judicial Branch Forsyth County page and eCourts Portal. Portal can be used to search public court records and hearing information. The Forsyth County Clerk of Superior Court phone number is 336-779-6300.
Where is the Forsyth County jail in Winston-Salem?
The Forsyth County Law Enforcement Detention Center is at 201 North Church Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101. The main detention-center phone number is 336-917-7600.
What are the public visitation hours at the Forsyth County jail?
The Sheriff’s current page lists public visitation periods of 9:00–11:30 a.m., 1:00–3:00 p.m. and 5:30–7:30 p.m. The day depends on the inmate’s housing unit, and visitors must register at least 30 minutes before the visiting period ends.
How do I put money on a Forsyth County inmate account?
Start with the Sheriff’s official Inmate Commissary page. It currently lists a detention-center lobby kiosk and McDaniel Supply Company as the commissary provider. Some recently booked inmates have deposit timing restrictions, so check the official page before paying.
How do I request a Winston-Salem Police arrest report?
Use the Winston-Salem Police Department Incident & Arrest Reports page or contact the WSPD Records Division at 336-773-7922. The Records Division is at 725 North Cherry Street and currently provides police-report service Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Why is someone missing from the Forsyth County inmate search?
The person may have been released or transferred, the name may be entered differently, the booking may not yet be visible, another county may have custody, or the matter may now appear mainly in court records. Recheck the legal name, search NC eCourts and call the detention center when custody confirmation is urgent.
When should I use NC DAC or NC SAVAN instead of the Forsyth County jail search?
Use NC DAC when the person may be in state correctional custody, probation, parole or another state supervision status. Use NC SAVAN when you need supported victim notifications about custody or offender-status changes. Neither replaces the Forsyth County inmate inquiry for a recent local jail search.
Official verification
Official Winston-Salem, Forsyth County and North Carolina Sources
Begin with the source that matches your actual question. Jail custody, police reports, court disposition, state correctional custody and victim notification are separate functions. Crossing those sources carefully is more reliable than treating a mugshot or booking entry as a complete criminal record.