Santa Monica Jail

Inmate Information

If you need information regarding a person in custody, please contact SMPD jail staff at (310) 458-8482.  If the arrestee is in the Los Angeles County Jail, information can be obtained by calling (213) 473-6100 or you may search for an inmate's record by visiting the Los Angeles County Sherriff's Department Inmate Information Center.

Visitation Guidelines

The Santa Monica Police Department allows visitation of inmates daily, between 10:00 am - 11:30 a.m.  Those who wish to visit inmates must abide by the following guidelines in order to be permitted into our facility:

• Possess a valid identification in the form of a driver's license, passport, military identification card, or government issued identification.
• Only two (2) adults are allowed per visit.
• No person under the age of 18 is allowed to visit an inmate, unless they are accompanied by an adult with proper identification.

Facility Overview

The Santa Monica Police Department's Jail is regulated by the Board of State and Community Corrections and Title 15 of the California Code of Regulations. It is a state-of-art, Type I, modular pre-arraignment facility that holds both male and female adult arrestees for up to 96 hours. The facility has a capacity to house a maximum of 92 inmates.

Our primary mission is to take custody of arrestees and ensure their safety and security until their arraignment and release.  We operate a 24 hour facility that is staffed with a Jail Manager, (14) Jailers, (2) Jail Service Attendants, and (1) Police Officer.

Staffing

Jailers are unarmed, civilian employees of the Santa Monica Police Department that are responsible for the processing, booking and fingerprinting of arrestees.  All Jailers undergo an extensive background investigation, medical, psychological and polygraph examinations prior to being hired.  Upon appointment, they attend a paramilitary, 10-week Corrections Officer Academy consisting of both physical and academic requirements.

Booking Process

For every arrestee, we conduct a booking process by which information concerning the arrest, charges against, and identification of the suspect, among other pertinent facts, is collected. The booking process includes:

• Recording of the inmate's personal information and description
• Photographing of arrestee (also known as mug shot)
• Fingerprinting
• Collection of personal property
• Collection of DNA, if required.

Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2002 (PREA)

The Santa Monica Police Department complies with the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA) and has established standards to prevent, detect, and respond to sexual abuse, harassment and retaliation against arrestees in the Santa Monica City Jail

Report sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment on behalf of a detainee or prisoner in the Santa Monica City Jail.