San Diego Central Jail

The Detention Services Bureau of the San Diego County Sheriff's Office operates the San Diego Central Jail (SDCJ), one of seven detention facilities throughout San Diego County. It is located in downtown San Diego, and it serves as the county's primary point of intake for male prisoners. 

The population at the San Diego Central Jail are newly booked inmates waiting for transfer to another facility, as well as pre-arraignment inmates. The facility also houses "special handling inmates," which are those with serious medical challenges, inmates under psychiatric care, inmates who are representing themselves in court proceedings, and defendants who are facing high-publicity trials.

SDCJ is a 417,000 square foot state-of-art facility that opened in May 1998. It features touch-screen controls and video surveillance, with the heart of the facility being the Central Command Center. It has the capability of electronically controlling all jail operations in the event of an emergency or major system failure.

At 230 feet tall, the San Diego Central Jail is the tallest construction project ever in the history of San Diego County. It consists of 11 floors, with 17 levels total when you count the mezzanines and basement. The building is part of the San Diego skyline, and has received numerous awards for the architectural design, interior design, and lighting design.

Inmate Search

To find out if your loved one is being held in a San Diego Central Jail facility, click here or use VINE (see below). 

VINE (Victim Information and Notification Everyday)

Victim Information and Notification Everyday (VINE) is a free and anonymous telephone service that provides victims of crime both information and notification. VINE monitors the custody status of offenders in the San Diego Central Jail and receives updated information every 15 minutes.

The Toll Free Number for California VINE is 1.877.411.5588. Anyone can call the California State VINE line to determine an inmate's custody status. To search for offender information, callers will need one of the following items:

• Offender name or alias
• Secondary search option (if there is more than one offender with the same name), such as:
  • Arrest date
  • Date of birth
  • Middle initial
  • Offender identification number

VINE will let callers know about the offender's current custody status, the location of the inmate, and their offender number.

Prison Insights

Visiting Hours and Rules

Due to the pandemic, visitation at the San Diego Central Jail may be suspended. Please call the Sheriff's Custody Information Office at (619) 610-1647 to find out if the visiting room is open, and to schedule your in-person or video visit.

Visitation operates with strict protocols in place to protect from COVID-19. Guidelines include mandatory face coverings; symptom and temperature screenings and limiting visitors to one adult and one child per visit. 

The Sheriff's Office continues to evaluate and revise the visitation schedules while still maintaining health and safety protocols.

Visit Reminders

• Visits are scheduled on a first come, first served basis and are subject to change without notice.
• You must check in 30 MINUTES prior to your scheduled visit.
• NO same day visits are allowed.
• Visit reservations must be scheduled 24-hours in advance via the Sheriff's Custody Information Office at (619) 610-1647.
• Visitors under the age of 18 years must be accompanied by a qualified adult who possesses valid photo identification and is cleared for visits. 
• Only those visitors with the valid photo identification will be allowed to visit.
• A maximum of three visitors (including children) may visit an inmate at any one time. Minors must be accompanied by their parent or legal/court appointed guardian.

Visiting Schedule

The visiting schedule at the San Diego Central Jail is based on housing assignment. 

Video Visit Times

5A-C, 6B-D, 7A-C- L 30 Minute Visits

5A-C, 6B-D, 7A-C- U 30 Minute Visits

5E, 6E, 7E, 8E, 8A-D - 30 Minute Visits

In-Person Social Visit Times

5A -U 30 Minute Visits

5A -L 30 Minute Visits

5B -U 30 Minute Visits

5B -L 30 Minute Visits

6B - U 30 Minute Visits 

6B -L 30 Minute Visits

6C - U 30 Minute Visits

6C - L 30 Minute Visits

6D -U 30 Minute Visits

6D -L 30 Minute Visits

6E - 30 Minute Visits

7A - U 30 Minute Visits

7A -L 30 Minute Visits

7B -U 30 Minute Visits

7B - L 30 Minute Visits

7C - U 30 Minute Visits

7C - L 30 Minute Visits

7E- 30 Minutes Visits

8A -1 Hour Visits

8B - 30 Minute Visits

8C - 30 Minute Visits

8D - 30 Minute Visits

8E - 30 Minute Visits

Rules for incoming inmate mail

All inmate mail must have: a return address, the inmate’s full name under which they are booked, and the correct booking number.

Mail that contains any of the following will be rejected: 

• Items that cannot be inspected without damaging (e.g., multilayered cards, Polaroids, laminated or glued items, etc.).
• Items containing foil or metal of any type, glass, wood, hard plastic, rubber, hair, leaves, flowers, paperclips, jewelry, staples, whiteout, colored paper, tracing paper, heavy art paper, glitter, confetti, stickers, tape, glue, paint, watercolors, tobacco products, other prohibited substances or any items written in crayon, chalk, or markers. 
• Items that may compromise the security of the facility. 
• Wall posters, travel brochures, catalogs, wall calendars or any other item larger than a legal-size piece of paper. 
• Personal photographs that contain nudity, partial nudity or are sexually suggestive.
• Photographs depicting gangs, gang hand gestures, weapons, drugs, or unlawful activities.
• Any material tending to incite or promote racism, violence or any other prohibited conduct. 
• Photographs can be no larger than 4”x 6.”
• Mail containing correspondence material (i.e., envelopes, paper, pencils, stamps, etc.) will not be accepted. All correspondence material must be purchased through the Sheriff's commissary. 
• Any item that contains any unknown substance or unknown odor (e.g., stains, lipstick, perfume, smoke, etc.).

Deputies review everything sent into the facility. Do not send cash, stamps, coins, drugs, cigarettes or any other property with your letter. 

Instructions for sending email to your inmate

Search for your inmate on the San Diego County Sheriff's Department Who’s in Jail page using the inmate’s name. To prevent spelling conflicts, you may search using only the first two letters of the first and last name.

When you submit that search, you will get a screen asking you to enter a 5-letter code. Enter the five letters and submit it—the letters are not case sensitive.

Next, the result list should include one or more names. Click on the last name of the correct inmate to view the inmate’s page in the Who’s in Jail system. Please note that the last name may not look like a link, but it is.

There is an envelope icon located about halfway down the page that you can click in order to send a message. When you do so, you will be asked to verify your email address. 

How to Call an Inmate

Inmates at the San Diego Central Jail cannot receive incoming phone calls. However, they have access to phones and can make outgoing calls from the inmate housing area on a daily basis. 

All phone calls from San Diego County Sheriff's Department jails are free. This includes local, long distance, and international calls. An inmate can make unlimited phone calls per day, but each call is limited to 15 minutes.

California law has established the right of an arrested person to make at least three free local telephone calls upon being booked: one call to an attorney, one to a bail bond agent, and one to a relative or other personal contact. Phone calls are recorded and may be monitored at any time.

How to Send Money

To deposit money into an inmate's account—or to send a care package—click here for the San Diego Sheriff's Office online commissary.

In order to send money or place an order, you'll need to provide the Booking Number that identifies the inmate you are placing the order for. If you don't know the Booking Number of the inmate, you will be able to verify the inmate's booking number from the checkout page.

Programs For Inmates

Medical and Psychiatric Services

With "Special Handling Inmates" being a large part of the inmate population, SDCJ provides a wide range of medical and psychiatric services, including on-site dialysis, infectious disease control, and dental care. 

All inmate medical care is provided by physicians, psychiatrists, dentists, nurses, and clinical social workers. SDCJ’s Psychiatric Stabilization Unit is the largest acute psychiatric treatment facility in San Diego County.

Educational Courses

In collaboration with Grossmont High School District, inmates may receive courses in the High School Equivalency Exam, Adult Basic Education and Computer Literacy

Vocational Opportunities

Inmates who take part in the vocational program learn valuable skills and may receive certifications, preparing them for employment opportunities in the community. 

Inmates learn valuable skills and may receive certifications, preparing them for employment opportunities in the community. Vocational opportunities include Culinary Arts, Food Handlers, ServSafe, Commercial Laundry, Janitorial Trades, Production Sewing, Landscape Maintenance, Employment for Life, Construction Trades and CIVIC'S Landscape.

Commercial Laundry:

This program gives students instruction and hands-on experience in various commercial laundry operations.  Students work in a variety of different areas, including receiving and sorting garments for cleaning, operating and controlling industrial washing machines and drying machines, preparing products for storage, and dispatch. 

CIVICS:

The Community Involved Vocational Inmate Crew Services (CIVICS) program is a partnership between the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and the San Diego County Parks and Recreation Department in an effort to complete various park projects throughout the county. 

Construction Trade:

This program provides practical, commercial-level experience in the construction field. Students work on such projects as carpentry, masonry-concrete, plumbing, electrical, drywall, painting, welding and other areas of expertise involving tenant improvements, remodeling, and small building structures.

Culinary Arts:

Students in this program work in the kitchen and the coffee cart. They learn about sanitation, safety, terminology, weights and measurements, functions of ingredients, recipes, and formulas. 

Industrial Sewing:

The Industrial Sewing program offers students practical experience in a commercial sewing environment. Students learn pattern-making, cutting, sewing, and other practical methods. And, they make the uniforms for all of the jails, tablecloths, napkins, face coverings, and other special projects such as Honorbands. 

Wellness

Yoga is offered as a stress management tool through different exercises and meditation.Trauma Art workshops are taught by an artist to help participants use drawing techniques of lines, figures, perspective, etc. to process their emotions.

Theater Arts offers inmates a creative outlet via a partnership with The Old Globe and Playwright Projects. 

The Old Globe program examines Shakespearean and other theatrical characters through reading and the performance of monologues. Participants perform at least one published monologue-style piece, develop, write and edit at least one original personal narrative piece. 

Participants in the Playwright Project develop their own script for a play with the mission of improving literacy, communication, and creativity.

Pro Per Services

Inmates who represent themselves in court proceedings receive support in the form of the Legal Research Area, telephones, supplies and limited office work (e.g., photocopying).

Psycho-Social

Psycho-social classes are based on the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy curriculum. Classes include Thinking for a Change, a 12-week course addressing self-cognitive change, social skills and problem solving. 

Gender Responsive and Trauma Informed curriculum: Beyond Anger and Violence focuses on anger along with the traumas experienced while addressing cognitive behavioral restructuring and grounding skills for trauma triggers.

Pictures of San Diego Central Jail

Careers at San Diego Central Jail

If you are interested in a career with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department and would like more information about the job openings in the San Diego Central Jail, click here.