East Chicago Jail Mugshots and Booking Records
East Chicago jail mugshots are processed by the Lake County Sheriff's Office, which operates the county jail at 2293 N. Main Street in Crown Point. East Chicago is a city in Lake County in northwest Indiana, and all arrests by city police flow through the Lake County booking system. The booking process includes a photograph under IC 36-2-13-5, and those images are part of the public arrest record under IC 5-14-3-5. This page covers how to find current and historical East Chicago jail mugshots, including the Lake County inmate search, VINE notifications, and other state tools.
East Chicago Quick Facts
Lake County Sheriff and Inmate Search
The Lake County Sheriff's Office books all people arrested in East Chicago. The jail is in Crown Point at 2293 N. Main Street. The Lake County Sheriff's website is at lakecountysheriff.com, and the public inmate search is available at lcso.org/inmate-search. You can search by name to see who is currently in custody, along with their charges, bond amounts, and booking dates.
Lake County is one of the most populous counties in Indiana, and the jail handles a large volume of bookings from multiple cities, including East Chicago, Hammond, and Crown Point. The system is busy. If you are trying to locate someone arrested recently in East Chicago, the online inmate search is the fastest first step.
For full details on the Lake County Jail, including visitation hours, mail rules, and contact information, see the Lake County page on this site.
East Chicago Police Department
The East Chicago Police Department is located at 2301 Columbus Drive, East Chicago, IN 46312. The main number is (219) 660-0000. The department's page is at eastchicago.com. For city arrests, the police department is the starting point for incident reports and general arrest information.
East Chicago Police Department official page, where you can find contact information and records access for city arrests and jail mugshots.
City officers make the arrest and prepare incident documentation. After arrest, the person goes to the Lake County Jail in Crown Point for booking and photographing. The mugshot itself is a Lake County Sheriff record, not a city record. If you need the booking photo, contact the Lake County Sheriff's records division.
Under IC 5-14-3-5, arrest information is public. The East Chicago Police Department must respond to a written public records request within seven days. For anything specifically in the county jail system, the sheriff is the right contact.
Indiana INjail and Statewide Tools
Indiana's statewide INjail portal at public.indianajail.gov aggregates current inmate data from county jails across the state. You can search by name to find someone held in Lake County and see their current booking status. The portal is free and does not require registration.
Indiana INjail statewide jail portal for searching East Chicago and Lake County booking records and jail mugshots.
The IDOC Offender Locator at offenderlocator.idoc.in.gov tracks people serving state prison sentences. If someone arrested in East Chicago was convicted and sent to a state facility, this tool shows where they are held. The county jail and state prison systems are separate, so you may need to check both.
VINE Notifications for Lake County
VINE is Indiana's inmate notification service. It tells you when an inmate's custody status changes at the Lake County Jail. Register at VINELink.com or call 1-866-959-VINE (8463). You can choose to get alerts by phone, email, or text message. The service is free.
Indiana SAVIN at indianasavin.in.gov is a companion tool that gives custody status across both county and state facilities. Both systems are useful for tracking people who may move between the jail and other facilities.
Court Records After Booking
Cases that start with an East Chicago arrest go to Lake Circuit Court or one of the Lake Superior Courts. Indiana's online court records system, MyCase, lets you search by name or case number to see charge filings, hearing dates, and dispositions. It won't show the mugshot, but it ties the arrest to the court case so you can track what happened after booking.
Lake County handles a large number of cases each year. MyCase updates regularly but may not reflect same-day filings. For very recent arrests, checking the county jail inmate search first is faster than checking MyCase.
Public Records Law and Expungement
Arrest records in Indiana are public. IC 5-14-3-5 gives the public the right to request arrest data from any law enforcement agency. This includes both city police records and county jail records. Agencies must respond within seven days.
Exceptions exist. IC 5-14-3-4 lets agencies hold back records from open investigations, juvenile matters, and other protected categories. If a request is denied, the agency owes you an explanation. IC 10-13-3-27 governs limited criminal history records, which are a different and more restricted category than standard arrest records.
Expungement under IC 35-38-5-5 removes past arrest and conviction records from public access once a court grants the petition. If someone had an arrest expunged, that record will not appear in routine public searches. Questions about records denials can go to the Indiana Public Access Counselor at in.gov/pac. Their opinion on mugshot access is relevant reading.
Nearby Cities
These Lake County cities also have pages on this site with local jail and booking information.