Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta – Jail Info

Address/phone	30755-B, Auld Rd, Murrieta, CA 92563 (map) (951) 696-3050
Find an inmate	Inmate locator
Visiting info	Call (951) 696-3470 to schedule
Send care packages	Securepak

The Southwest Detention Center is in the southwest portion of Riverside County known as the French Valley adjacent to Temecula and Murrieta. Operational since 1993, the jail is also known as the Cois M. Byrd Detention Center.

When men are arrested in Riverside County, they will be taken to

• the Indio Jail,
• the Blythe Jail,
• the Robert Presley Detention Center,
• the Larry D. Smith “Banning” Jail, or
• the Southwest Detention Center,

depending on which facility is closest to the arrest location. Women are taken to Robert Presley or Larry D. Smith.

Because the Southwest Jail is next door to the Southwest Sheriff’s Station / Temecula Police Department, both complexes together are known as the Southwest County Justice Center.

The Southwest Detention Center houses:

1. arrestees until they post bail or are released on their own recognizance (known as an O.R. release), or
2. convicted defendants who have been sentenced to incarceration.

In this article, our Riverside County criminal defense attorneys¹ will explain the following:

• 1. What are the bail procedures?
• 2. Is my loved one at Southwest Detention Center?
• 3. How can I contact an inmate?
• 4. Can I visit?
• 5. How do I send mail?
• 6. How do I put money in an inmate commissary account?
• 7. What services does the jail provide inmates?
• 8. How do inmates release their property to me?
• 9. Is work release an option?

If, after reading this article, you would like more information, we invite you to contact us at Shouse Law Group.

1. What are the bail procedures?

“Bail” refers to the amount of money that a defendant (or typically someone on their behalf) must pay in order to be released from jail. It is intended to assure the arresting agency and court that the defendant will appear in court as expected.

If you pay (or “post”) bail for your loved one – and they attend all court appearances – the bail will be returned to you at the end of the case minus a small administrative fee. If, however, your loved one does not attend all of their court appearances, you forfeit that money to the court.

If you choose to post bail for an inmate at the Riverside County Southwest Detention Center, you may do so directly in the jail lobby seven (7) days a week from 7am to 10:30pm. The jail accepts three types of bail:

1. cash bail paid in full
2. cashier’s checks paid in full made payable to the Riverside Superior Court, and the check(s) must include the inmate’s full name and booking number
3. bail bonds

Note that if you pay by cashier’s check, your loved one’s release could take a while since the Southwest Detention Center will not release them until it can verify the funds. To ensure same-day release, you should post a cashier’s check by 4pm in order to allow the Jail to verify the funds before the close of business.

Note that an experienced Riverside criminal defense attorney may be able to schedule a bail hearing to ask the judge to reduce or even waive your loved one’s bail.

1.1. Bail bonds

Because most people do not have the cash to post full bail, bail bonds are the most common way to bail someone out of jail. When you use a bail bond, you are only required to pay a nonrefundable maximum of 10% of the total bond. That is, assuming that your loved one attends all of their court appearances.

You obtain a bail bond from a bail bondsman (aka a bail agent). If your loved one makes all of their court appearances, you pay nothing on top of the 10%, but you do not get that 10% back: It is the bondsman’s nonrefundable fee. If your loved one does not make those appearances, you will be liable for repaying the entire bail amount to the agent.

Local bail bondsmen advertise via the Internet and in the phone book. Make sure you verify the bondsman’s license and retain copies of any documents for your records.

2. Is my loved one at Southwest Detention Center?

To check if your loved one is incarcerated at the Southwest Detention Center, you may call the facility directly at (951) 696-3050 or you may run a search at the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department’s inmate information website.

Typically, inmates who are being held in custody must be arraigned within two (2) days of being arrested. At that point, the judge will either

• continue the arraignment or
• set the case for a pre-trial hearing.

3. How can I contact an inmate?

Southwest Detention Center inmates are not allowed to receive incoming calls. Though inmates are given time during the day to make outgoing calls to you.

4. Can I visit?

Inmates at the Southwest Detention Center are allowed to have two (2) visits per week. Visits are limited to approximately 45 minutes in length.

All visits must be scheduled at least 24 hours in advance by calling (951) 696-3470 from 9am to 5pm. Each unit within the Jail has its own visiting hours, so you should review the Jail’s visiting hours website before scheduling a visit.

Only one adult (18 years or older) visitor is allowed per inmate due to social distancing protocols. Check-in begins 30 minutes before the visit start time and ends 10 minutes before the visit start time.

You will be turned away if you are wearing clothing that is too revealing or has gang affiliations. You also must wear a mask.

Learn more at the Riverside County Sheriff’s website – Visitation.

5. How do I send mail?

To send mail to a Southwest Detention Center inmate, use this address:

[Inmate’s name and booking number]
Southwest Detention Center
30755-B Auld Road
Murrieta, CA 92563

Your mail must also include a return address written on the envelope (not on an adhesive label). Your mail is also subject to search, so do not send any contraband or say anything incriminating.

Mail that contains any of the following will not be delivered to the inmates at the Riverside County Southwest Detention Center:

• more than 10 photographs at a time (and they cannot be larger than 4″ x 6″ in size),
• photos that contain nudity, sexual undertones, violence or gang-related images,
• mail written in gel-type ink, crayon, lipstick, or containing glue or “white-out” correction fluid,
• odor-causing substances like cologne or perfume,
• instant photos, stickers, labels or stamps of any kind,
• pens, plastic, glitter, tape, stationary, envelopes, “post-its”, craft materials, ribbon, parchment paper, black paper, staples or paperclips,
• “care” packages, flowers, candy,
• phone cards, greeting cards or postcards, or
• cash or personal checks (although U.S. Postal Service money orders are okay),
• hardback or leather-bound books, or
• any paperback books that are not mailed directly from the publisher or from a verifiable and reputable Internet/mail order company or bookstore and that are delivered in any manner other than via the U.S. Postal Service.

Note that no more than three softcover books can be mailed at a time.

6. How do I put money in an inmate commissary account?

There are four ways to “put money on the books” for your loved one at the Southwest Detention Center:

1. Online through Access Corrections
2. Over the phone at 866-345-1884 using Visa or MasterCard
3. Kiosk is the jail lobby using credit cards or cash (nothing smaller than $5 bills)
4. Mailing a US Postal Money Order to [Inmate’s name and booking number], Southwest Detention Center, 30755-B Auld Road, Murrieta, CA 92563 (the money order must include the inmate’s name and booking number)

All of the above can be done 24/7.

Learn more at the Riverside County Sheriff website – Money for Inmates.

7. What services does the jail provide inmates?

The Riverside County Southwest Detention Center offers a number of inmate services which are typically used by convicted defendants who have been sentenced to serve their jail time at this facility (as opposed to the new arrestees awaiting bail or arraignment).

Some of these services include:

• psychological counseling services,
• work opportunities for inmates who have demonstrated good behavior (such as working in the kitchen),
• religious counseling and services run by a variety of religious chaplains,
• recreational facilities,
• a library, and
• a commissary.

Although the facility offers some drug / alcohol counseling, defendants who are in need of severe drug treatment programs are typically transferred to the Larry D. Smith “Banning” Jail.

8. How do inmates release their property to me?

When your loved one is booked into the Southwest Detention Center, they can fill out a “property release form” designating you to pick up their car keys and any other property they had on their person when they were arrested (other than cash or clothes).

You can pick up the property in the jail lobby on Monday through Friday from 7am to 4pm. You must have a valid ID.

If you wish to drop off court clothing or prescription medication or wish to have an inmate sign checks or other legal documents, contact the Riverside County Southwest Detention Center directly at (951) 696-3050 to make the appropriate arrangements.

9. Is work release an option?

If your loved one is sentenced to serve time at the Riverside County Southwest Detention Center, a skilled Riverside criminal defense attorney may be able to convince the judge to allow them to participate in a work release program instead.

Non-violent, low-risk offenders who are eligible to participate in this program work between two (2) and five (5) days a week at an assigned job site where they perform eight (8) to ten (10) hours of labor a day in lieu of one (1) day of jail time.

For more information about Riverside County work release, you can contact the department directly at (951) 922-7330.

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