Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility

Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility

The Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility is located in Santee, California and is the first point of intake for female prisoners being held in San Diego County.  If you or someone you love is being held at this jail, you could use the help of a good Santee bail bonds company.

History

The facility opened in 2014 and replaced a jail that had been constructed in 1967. The original facility housed juveniles for a time before it began serving females in 1979.

Las Colinas is staffed by nearly 278 sworn employees in addition to a professional staff of 143.

Location and design

Constructed at a cost of $268 million, Las Colinas is located on a 45 acre site near the San Diego River on a portion of the historic Edgemoor Farm Property. On one side of the property a single family neighborhood can be found and there are plans for a business park on the other side.

Strict attention was paid to landscaping and building design during the construction process to ensure both staff and inmate safety. For example, trees are set back 50 feet from not only buildings but fences and walls.

Inmates are housed in different clusters and security levels based on the latest guidelines.

New Facility

In a first for San Diego County, Las Colinas uses what is known as an opening booking process when detainees enter the facility. Instead of being taken from holding cell to holding cell as they are booked into the facility, they are placed in an open seating area and called from there to complete medical screenings and other parts of the intake process. After an inmate finished a part of the booking process, she is returned to the seating area where they wait to be called to the next portion. While they are waiting, prisoners have access to both restrooms and telephones.

Holding cells are used only for those prisoners whose actions or classification levels require them to be processed in a more secure manner.

Las Colinas also makes use of new technology and body scanners to prevent drugs and other prohibited items from entering the facility.

Deputies can be found on duty in the facility’s inmate housing areas rather than in station’s apart from where the prisoners are. Known as direct supervision, this provides a greater level of interaction between staff and inmates, allowing conflicts to be resolved before they rise to the level of a crisis.

Services

Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility strives to help inmates make a successful return to society by offering academic, pre-employment and vocational training classes in a therapeutic environment.

Mail Call

Prisoners can buy pre-stamped envelopes and postcards from the facility’s commissary. Those who do not have money are provided with a limited number of pre-stamped envelopes. Family and friends may also deposit money into an inmate’s account.

When writing to an inmate, include your name and address on the left hand corner of the envelope and the inmates first and last name, booking number and name and address of the facility in the center of the envelope.

All incoming mail to inmates to the facility is inspected by deputies to ensure it does not compromise safety or security.

The mailing address for Las Colinas is 451 Riverview Parkway, Santee, California 92071.

Visiting Hours

Las Colinas offers an on-site video visitation option for all its housing units and is the only visitation option for those who are assigned to higher security housing. Video visits are a half-hour in length and are available beginning at 8:15 a.m. through 9:20 p.m. each day.

Contact visits of 60 minutes are permuted Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday Friday and Saturday for inmates housed in units 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D and 2A. Inmates in units 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D may have visitors for 30 minutes on Sunday, Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

To learn more about Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility, visit its website at www.sdsheriff.net/detentionfacilities/lcdrf.html or telephone 619.402.1312.