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VISITATION AND SECURITY

Social Visits

Inmates are allowed two social visits per week, each visit lasting 30 minutes.  For the purpose of counting weekly visits, the week begins on Sunday and ends on Saturday.  Inmate workers are allowed additional visit time, but their visit schedule is dependent on their work schedule.  Social visits are normally non-contact, conducted through a visit window using telephone handsets.  Contact visits are allowed at the East Mesa, Descanso, and Facility 8 Detention Facilities.

Each facility has a visit schedule.  You can get visit information specific to each facility by selecting the facility below: 

Descanso Detention Facility Las Colinas Detention Facility
East Mesa Detention Facility San Diego Central Jail
Facility 8 Detention Facility South Bay Detention Facility
George F. Bailey Detention Facility Vista Detention Facility
 
The following guidelines are important to remember when visiting:
 

  • Reservations should be made one day in advance by calling the number listed on the facility visit page.  For the Descanso Detention Facility, you may call and schedule visits up to one week in advance.
     

  • When calling for a visit reservation, please have the following information available for each visitor:
     
    •

Photograph of Inmate visit area
  • Full name
  • Date of Birth
  • Home address
  • Telephone number 

·        Identification Number  (Unexpired) required for visitors age 16 and older   

  • Driver’s License

  • Federal, State, Local Government identification card (any state)

  • Military Identification

  • Passport

  • U.S. Immigration identification (including visas)

  • Border crossing card issued by the United States Department of Justice

  • Current high school identification

  • Matricula Consular ID card issued after April 22, 2002 by the Consul General of Mexico.
     

  • Walk-in visits will be accepted, on a space available basis—and first come, first served—as long as the visitors check in one hour before the visit time.  Once a visit is scheduled, no “add-ons” will be made over the phone.  Additional visitors may be allowed, up to the maximum of three, by arriving one hour prior to the visit and checking in with the other visitors.  Cancellations are not accepted over the phone.  Due to security reasons, East Mesa Detention Facility, Facility 8 and Descanso Detention Facility do not accept "walk-in" visits. 
     
      
  • While we attempt to honor all visit reservations, visits may be changed or cancelled without notice.  Also, changes in the inmate’s housing assignments may automatically cancel a scheduled visit.  Visits will not be scheduled if the inmate has been previously scheduled for court on the same date. 
     
  • Visitors must check in together one hour before the scheduled visit.  If a visitor is late, the visit may be cancelled.
     
  • A maximum of 3 visitors (including children) may visit an inmate at any one time, and only one visit is allowed per day.
     
  • Minors must be accompanied by their parent or legal guardian. 
     
  • Visit times are subject to change or cancellation due to facility security or disciplinary reasons.
     
  • Disabled access visiting areas are available.  If you have special needs, please inform our staff when you reserve the visit.
     
  • If you are on probation, Watch Commander approval is necessary to visit.
     
  • There is no expectation of privacy in a jail facility.  Social visits may be monitored or recorded.
     
  • If you have previously been convicted of a felony and served time in state prison, you may not enter the grounds of a county jail without the permission of the Facility Commander.  That permission should be obtained in writing before attempting to schedule a visit. Entry to the facility grounds without such permission is a felony (California Penal Code §4571).
     
  • An excessive pattern of late arrivals or “no-shows” for visits will result in the loss of phone reservation privileges or the suspension of visits.

 

Rules for Descanso, East Mesa and Facility 8 Detention Facilities

Due to the privilege of having contact visits at these facilities, the following additional visit regulations must be observed:
  • Nothing is to be brought into the facility except I.D. and car keys.  One blanket, one diaper, and one bottle can be brought in for a baby.  The following items are specifically prohibited:  purses or bags, food or beverages, pets, firearms, knives, or other weapons, drugs or alcohol, and cigarettes.  Keys are to be hung on board provided.  All visitors must have a reservation to visit.  Visits may be cancelled due to inclement weather.
     
  • Dress Code: No strapless garments, no halter-tops, no bare midriffs, no see-through, wrap around skirts, tops or dresses.  No mini-skirts or short dresses.  Shorts must not be shorter than mid-thigh in length.  No slits on skirts or dresses.  No latex or skintight pants, skirts or shorts.
     
  • No reclining together on the grass or tabletops.  Visitors and inmates must sit across from each other, no laying or sitting on laps, no draping of legs, no body rubs/massages, no hugging, no straddling benches. 

 

Hospital Visits

Occasionally, inmates may be admitted to hospitals for medical treatment.  Visits may be allowed for hospitalized inmates, subject to approval of the Watch Commander.  Persons wishing to visit a hospitalized inmate must check in at the San Diego Central Jail and register for the visit.  The Watch Commander will be consulted concerning the inmate’s suitability to have visitors.  If the visit is approved, a visit pass will be issued, which can be taken to the hospital and presented to the assigned Deputy or Guard.  In addition to normal visiting guidelines, the following rules apply to visits occurring in hospitals:
  • All visits must conform to the hospital’s regular visiting hours and policies
  • Only two visitors are allowed at a hospital visit for the duration of 30 minutes.
  • Two visits per week are allowed, Sunday through Saturday.
  • Inmates cannot receive items of any type from social visitors.
  • Any deviation from the above rules requires Watch Commander approval.

 

Marrying in Jail

Inmates who wish to marry while in the Sheriff’s custody may do so pursuant to a Confidential Marriage License.  In order to qualify for this type of license, couples must meet the following requirements, as set by the State of California.
  • The prospective parties must be at least 18 years old.  Minors may NOT obtain a confidential marriage license.
  • The parties must be living together as a couple at the time they apply for the marriage license, and must sign an affidavit on the license attesting to those facts.
  • The couple MUST be married in the county where the license is issued.
  • No witnesses are required to be at the ceremony, and no witnesses sign on the marriage license.
  • The marriage license is a confidential record and is registered at the County Clerk’s Office in the county where it was issued.

If a couple meets these requirements, they can take the following steps to get married while one of them is in custody.

 
  • The fiancé or fiancée arranges for a qualified Notary Public to visit the inmate to sign the documents required for the license.  The Notary Public will issue the license and collect the County’s fee of $50 plus a service and mileage charge, which usually amounts to an additional $50 to $60. 
     
  • The fiancé or fiancée arranges for the official who will come to the jail and perform the marriage ceremony.  The ceremony may be performed by a member of the clergy or by other civil authorities qualified by law.  In some cases, the Notary Public may be authorized to solemnize the marriage.  In most cases, a fee is charged for this service, averaging about $100. 
     
  • The inmate submits an inmate request to the facility Watch Commander for a special visit on the desired date and time.  If the visit is approved, the inmate notifies the fiancé or fiancée, who then makes the arrangements for the ceremony.  The visit for a marriage ceremony is generally held during normal visiting hours, and will not be a contact visit unless facility visits are normally contact visits.

 

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