San Diego Central Jail

San Diego Central Jail

San Diego Central Jail, located in San Diego, California, is the main intake location for the majority of male inmates of San Diego County. There are over 200 professional employees of the facility, and an additional 200 sworn employees. They deal with somewhere around 69,000 new inmate bookings every year.

Most of those housed at the facility are either inmates who are recently booked and awaiting transfer to a different facility, or individuals that are waiting for their hearing.  If a loved one is being held at this facility, you’ll need the help of a good San Diego bail bonds company. Other special case inmates like inmates with physical or mental impairment, inmates that are representing themselves in court, and high profile cases that have received a lot of media attention are also at this facility. The facility is able to house 944 inmates at a time.

Inmate Training Options

San Diego Central Jail provides inmates with some tools and training that can help them upon their release. In addition to behavioral classes that are designed to address the issue or issues that led to their being incarcerated, like Anger Management classes, Substance Abuse, and Life Skills classes, the facility offers basic education and more specialized training for job skills.

Inmates are able to take classes to prepare for their high school equivalency exam and take classes in Adult Basic Education. Computer Literacy helps inmates learn what will be an essential skill upon their release. There are also certificate classes available to make inmates more appealing to employers. Included in the vocational opportunities program is training in careers that range from construction and landscaping to cooking and printing. With a certificate of completion in one of the offered programs, the chance that the inmate will come back into the facility at some point after release is lessened.

The jail offers programs created specifically for incarcerated veterans that are created to reduce the number of veterans who return to jail. These programs encompass a wide area of training and services. The United States Department of Veteran’s Affairs assisted in the creation of the program.

San Diego Central Jail’s Psychiatric Security Unit the most comprehensive acute psychiatric treatment program in all of San Diego County. For this reason, inmates that need extensive psychiatric care are typically housed in this facility. There are many other medical services, as well. They have on-site dialysis treatment and HIV treatment services available for inmates who need these and other types of specialty medical care, including some dental services.

Visitation Information

In order to visit an inmate, one must either use the online reservation system or call the facility between 10:00 and 2:00 Monday through Wednesday. Visits are 30 minutes each and every inmate can receive two unique visits per week. There is no set schedule for visiting times, so those wishing to visit an inmate will need to either check the website or call in order to check the schedule for visiting. Anyone wishing to enter the facility to visit an inmate will need to show proof of identification in the form of government issued ID.

Inmates can purchase stamped envelopes and postcards in order to send them to friends and loved ones. They can also receive mail while housed at the facility. There is no limit on the number of letters an inmate receives as long as they fall within the guidelines set by the county. The envelope must be properly filled out, with the name and address of the facility along with the name and booking number of the inmate. A return address needs to be legible and in the proper place on the envelope. Inmates can also receive emails, though they will be unable to respond via email, as all outgoing mail still goes through the regular channels.

Telephones are available to inmates throughout most of the day in the common areas. These telephones are not able to receive incoming calls, and all outgoing calls are collect calls from the jail. Except during certain times, like medication disbursement and meals, and unless a specific inmate has restricted privileges, the telephone can be used as often as an inmate likes.