A move from Buffalo to Alden is never announced, it appears as a different facility code the next time the roster is rebuilt. Start with the search below.
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Erie County publishes one roster for both of its jails, so finding somebody at Alden is the same document as finding somebody in Buffalo. What tells them apart is a single column. That column decides a twenty five mile drive, which address goes on an envelope, and which visiting schedule applies, and it is the only notice a family gets when somebody is moved between the two.
Open the roster, find the person, and read across to the Facility column.
| Code | Facility | Where |
|---|---|---|
| ECCF | Erie County Correctional Facility | 11581 Walden Avenue, Alden |
| ECHC | Erie County Holding Center | 40 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo |
Alden sits roughly twenty five miles east of downtown Buffalo. Getting this wrong is not a small error: it is an hour of driving, a returned envelope, or arriving on a day the other building does not take visitors.
Erie’s roster carries no transfer history and no note when somebody changes building. A person moved from the Holding Center to Alden appears under a different code the next time the file is generated.
That makes the roster your only notification, and it is a passive one. Before every letter, every deposit and every drive out to Alden, open the current file and check the code. It is the single habit that prevents most of what goes wrong here.
Search results look inconsistent for this facility because three different official bodies call it three different things.
They are the same building at 11581 Walden Avenue. If a court document or a state record uses “penitentiary”, that is not a different place and not a different form of custody.
Five columns: ICN number, name, date of birth, facility and booking date. The ICN number is the one to keep, since Erie says it comes from the person’s wristband and every other process demands it.
What is not there: charges, bail, bond, release date, housing unit, photograph. For a bail figure you need the court, not the Sheriff.
The document is alphabetical by surname with no search field, so use your reader’s find function and use the date of birth column to separate people with the same name.
Every page footer carries the moment the file was built. It is a regenerated document rather than a live feed, so somebody booked in after the last build will not be on the copy in front of you.
Two consequences worth holding together:
When either matters, ring Alden on 716-937-9101 or the Holding Center on 716-858-7638.
Erie also links to VINE on 1-888-846-3469, presented under victim services rather than as a family directory. VINE’s strength is notification: it tells you when a custody status changes, which is exactly the event the roster fails to announce.
So the two tools divide neatly. The roster answers where somebody is right now. VINE answers when that changes, if you register for it.
6 of 7 questions
Read the facility column on Erie County's roster. ECCF is the Correctional Facility in Alden, ECHC is the Holding Center in downtown Buffalo. The two are about twenty five miles apart with separate visiting schedules and separate mailing addresses, so the code decides everything that follows.
Inmate SearchNo. The roster carries no transfer history and no notification, so a move shows up as a different facility code the next time the file is rebuilt. Checking the code before each letter, deposit or visit is the only protection available.
Inmate SearchBecause the New York State Commission of Correction uses that legal name for it, while the county calls it the Erie County Correctional Facility and state criminal justice data calls it Erie County CF. Three names, one building at 11581 Walden Avenue. A document saying penitentiary is not describing somewhere else.
Inmate SearchThe Inmate Control Number, which Erie says is on the person's wristband. It sits in the first column of the roster, and it is required on the first line of an envelope and on every deposit you make. Take it down once rather than looking it up each time.
Inmate SearchNo. It has five columns and charges is not one of them, nor is bail, bond, release date, housing unit or a photograph. A bail figure comes from the court rather than from the Sheriff's Office.
Inmate SearchCheck the footer timestamp first, because the roster is a regenerated file rather than a live database and somebody booked in afterwards will not appear. If the file is current and the name still is not there, call Alden on 716-937-9101 or the Holding Center on 716-858-7638.
Inmate SearchIt is worth it for one specific reason. The roster will never tell you that somebody has been moved or released, and VINE is built to notify you when custody status changes. Use the roster to find them now and VINE on 1-888-846-3469 to be told when that changes.
Inmate SearchThe ICN number goes on the first line.
View ArticleConfirm the code before you drive out here.
View ArticleEvery route asks for the ICN number.
View ArticleIf the code reads ECHC, this is the guide you want.
View ArticleSearch for your loved one and start sending photos, letters, and messages today.
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All information on this page comes directly from official government and facility sources. How we verify information › Last verified September 17, 2026. Official source: www4.erie.gov/sheriff/jail-management-division ›