Booking

In law enforcement and criminology, booking is the intake process of admitting an arrestee or convict into a prison or police station.

Booking also means making an appointment of some kind.

Process

United States & United Kingdom

In the United States and United Kingdom, this process involves being fingerprinted, photographed (having a mugshot taken), and having one's possessions confiscated. Different facilities have different rules about what items prisoners are allowed to keep. Usually, inmates are permitted to keep prescription glasses with no tint on the lenses, approved medical devices like hearing aids, their legal papers, and a few other things.

In the United States, if an arrestee can't bail out of jail, or they're beginning a prison term, they're given a prison uniform and other jail-issued items. They are also informed of the facility's rules and regulations.