San Diego County Inmate Lookup

How to Use Who's In Jail

The fastest way to find someone in custody is the Sheriff's Who's In Jail tool at apps.sdsheriff.net/wij/wij.aspx. Type a last name and first name, clear the verification box if shown, and click LookUp. The portal then returns a short list of matches.

1. Open the Who's In Jail page in a browser.
2. Type the last name. Two letters minimum.
3. Type the first name. Two letters minimum.
4. Pass the Cloudflare Turnstile check if it loads.
5. Click LookUp and scan the result list.
6. Click a name to open the full custody profile.

Note: The site goes down for maintenance each Wednesday at noon and is usually back up within 30 minutes. If the LookUp button looks dead, do a hard refresh or close the browser and try again.

The Detention Services Bureau

The Detention Services Bureau runs all seven San Diego County jails under Sheriff Kelly Martinez. Staff book, classify, house, and release about 100,000 incarcerated persons each year. The average daily population is more than 5,000. Each facility offers medical, mental health, food, religious, school, and job programs.

The Bureau answers to several outside bodies. Oversight comes from the Board of State and Community Corrections, the San Diego County Grand Jury, state and local Fire Marshals, County Environmental Health, medical authorities, the Citizens' Law Enforcement Review Board, and the Sheriff's own inspection staff.

Roster data is live but not perfect. The Sheriff warns that release dates posted on Who's In Jail may be off while records are recalculated. Arrests by Chula Vista Police are not always shown, since that agency runs its own holding intake. Always call the facility to confirm a release time before driving out.

Roster Search Fields

Who's In Jail uses a short search form. Both name fields require at least two letters. The Turnstile box is a bot check and only appears in some browsers.

What a Jail Roster Entry Shows

Each custody profile lists basic booking and housing data plus a link to sign up for VINE alerts. The Sheriff cautions that data may not be fit for legal action. Use it as a lead, then verify by phone.

The Seven San Diego County Detention Facilities

San Diego County runs seven jails. Most share the same main phone, (619) 409-5000, with a menu to pick a facility. Men are booked in at San Diego Central Jail. Women are booked in at Las Colinas. The rest house sentenced or reentry populations.

Capacities for George Bailey, Rock Mountain, and Vista are not published in the same format as the others. The Bureau reports a county-wide average daily population above 5,000 across all seven sites.

Booking Process

Booking is the legal start of a jail stay. After arrest, a deputy drives the suspect to the right intake jail. Men go to San Diego Central Jail. Women go to Las Colinas. Staff log the arrest, photograph and fingerprint the person, and search for warrants and holds.

At Las Colinas, intake uses an open booking floor. Instead of small holding cells, new arrivals sit in an open area and are called over for medical screening, classification, and ID work. At Central Jail, the flow is more traditional, with separate holding rooms for pre-arraignment men.

Classification staff then assign housing based on charges, security risk, gang ties, medical needs, and mental health needs. Most pretrial inmates wait at Central Jail until their first court date. Sentenced and lower-risk inmates may move to East Mesa, George Bailey, or Vista.

Bond and Bail

Bail is the cash or bond a person posts to get out of jail before trial. San Diego sets bail by a county bail schedule. The arraignment judge can raise it, drop it, or grant own-recognizance release. A bail bond agent will post a bond for about 10% of the face value, but that fee is not refunded.

Some charges have no bail. These include certain violent felonies, parole holds, and federal or ICE holds. Who's In Jail flags a bail amount on each charge line. If the field is blank, call the facility records line to confirm.

Magistrate Arraignment

Most San Diego County arrestees see a judge within 48 hours, not counting weekends or holidays. At the first appearance, the judge reads the charges, sets bail or denies it, and asks if the person wants a lawyer. The Public Defender is named at arraignment for those who cannot pay.

After arraignment, the case enters Superior Court. The flow goes Superior Court › Court of Appeal (Fourth District, Division One) › Supreme Court of California. To follow the case file, see criminal records and court dockets.

Visitation Rules

Each jail handles visits a bit differently. Central Jail does both in-person and video. East Mesa and South Bay run video visits only. All video visits are 30 minutes, two visits per week per inmate, with a one-day-ahead booking through SmartInmate.

Adult visitors need a valid government photo ID. A minor must come with a parent, a court-named guardian, or another adult with legal custody. Effective November 6, 2025, East Mesa requires all visitors to check in a full hour early.

Mail Rules

Each detention facility takes regular U.S. mail. Write the inmate's full name and booking number on the envelope and use the facility street address. Do not send cash, gift cards, polaroids, or items with glitter, glue, or tape. Books and magazines must ship direct from a known publisher or store.

The Sheriff also offers email through an outside vendor listed on the homepage as Email. Letters move faster than paper mail but cost a small fee per page. Greeting cards, photos, and certain document scans can also be sent through the email tool.

Money Deposits and Commissary

Family and friends can put money on an inmate's books. The Sheriff homepage links to Cash Deposits and Sheriff's Commissary. Funds can be loaded online, by phone, or at a lobby kiosk. Inmates use the balance for snacks, hygiene items, paper, stamps, and clothing.

Gift packs may be sent through the same vendor portal for major holidays. Limits and fees change, so check the vendor page each time. Note: Sheriff staff do not take cash at the lobby desk; all deposits go through the kiosk or online tool.

Phone Calls and Tablets

Inmate phone service runs through a private vendor. Calls from inside any San Diego County jail now show the number 727-349-1561 on caller ID. Some mobile carriers tag that number as spam or block it. To get calls from a loved one, save the number in contacts and unblock it.

Tablets are issued in some housing units for messages, calls, and approved entertainment. Tablet content is monitored. All calls except those with attorneys are recorded.

Special Custody Needs

Central Jail holds the largest acute psychiatric unit in the county. Inmates with serious mental health needs are screened at intake and may move to a medical or psychiatric bed. The Bureau works with county Behavioral Health and outside hospitals for high-acuity cases.

Other special housing covers protective custody, gang separation, medical isolation, and elderly inmates. Family members who think a loved one needs help should call the facility records line and ask to speak to a Watch Commander.

24-Hour Inmate Info Line

The Sheriff runs a 24-hour custody phone line at (619) 409-5000. Press the menu option for the right jail to check custody status, ask about visit times, or get help with a deposit. The line is the best way to verify a release after Who's In Jail goes stale.

For VINE alerts, register at vinelink.com or call (877) 411-5588. VINE will text or email you when an inmate is released, moved, or pending release. See the released inmates page for the full VINE walk-through.

VINELink: Custody Status Notifications

VINE is free and anonymous. The Sheriff promotes it at sdsheriff.gov/resources/domestic-violence/vine and through a link on each custody profile. The national site is at vinelink.com.

Sign up with a phone number or an email. Pick the alert type. VINE then sends a message when the inmate is released, transferred, or has a court date change. Crime victims and witnesses often use it for safety. Family members use it to plan rides home from jail.

Releases and Custody Status

People leave San Diego County jail in several ways. Some post bail. Some get an own-recognizance release at arraignment. Some finish their sentence. Some move to state prison through the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Each path shows up in custody status on Who's In Jail before the record drops off the live list.

For a person no longer in county custody, the next stop is the released inmates page. That page covers VINE, the state CDCR locator, the federal BOP locator, and Megan's Law. For active arrest warrants, see warrant records.

More Official Sources

The Detention Services Bureau home page sits at sdsheriff.gov/bureaus/detention-services-bureau. The full facility list with addresses, custody phones, and program details is at sdsheriff.gov/bureaus/detention-services-bureau/detention-facilities.

Related Searches

For people recently let out, see released inmates. For broader population and capacity data, see inmate population. For active arrest warrants, see warrant records. For the underlying court case, see criminal records.