Jail Information
| Address: | 207 Garfield Ave, Pasadena, CA 91101 Map |
| Phone: | (626) 744-4616 |
| Website: | Pasadena PD Jail Information Page |
- are released on their own recognizance (known as an “O.R.” release),
- post bail, or
- are taken to court for their arraignment.
Male defendants who must return to jail…either because they can’t post bail or because they have been convicted of their offense…will generally be transferred to a larger Los Angeles County jail such as the Los Angeles Twin Towers Jail, the Pitchess Detention Center, or the Los Angeles Men’s Central Jail. Women will be transferred to the Century Regional Detention Facility.
In this article, our Pasadena criminal defense attorneys1 will explain the following:
- 1. Procedures on How to Post Bail for an Inmate at the Pasadena City Jail
- 1.1. Cash bail
- 1.2. Bail bonds
- 2. How to Get Inmate Information
- 3. How to Contact an Inmate at the Pasadena City Jail
- 4. Visiting Hours and Policies
- 5. The Pasadena “Pay to Stay” Inmate Worker Program
1. Procedures on How to Post Bail for an Inmate at the Pasadena City Jail
After an inmate has been booked into the Pasadena Jail, his/her bail will be set according to the Los Angeles County Bail Schedule and based on the crime(s) for which the inmate was arrested.
“Bail” is the amount of money that is designed to assure the arresting agency and court that the defendant will make his/her court appearances after being released from jail. Anyone can pay (or “post”) bail on an inmate’s behalf.
If you choose to post bail for an inmate, the Pasadena City Jail accepts two forms of bail: cash bail and bail bonds, both of which are discussed in detail in our article “How to Post Bail in California”. You may post bail directly at the Pasadena Police Station (where the jail is located) 24 hours a day/7 days a week.
Paid parking is available in the structure directly behind the police station on Thurgood Marshall Street.
1.1. Cash bail
If you elect to post cash bail, you must post the full amount. Once you post cash bail, the inmate is released pending his/her arraignment. If the inmate attends his/her court appearances, the bail will be returned following the conclusion of the criminal case. If he/she does not, the defendant forfeits your money to the court.
1.2. Bail bonds
Posting a bail bond is the most common way to bail someone out of jail. This is because you are only required to pay a maximum 10% of the total bail amount.
This means that if, for example, the inmate’s bail is set at $50,000, a cash bail payment would have to be for the full $50,000. However, if you elect to use a bail bond, you would only pay a maximum of $5,000 to a bail bondsman, and he would pay the rest.
The downside is that bail bondsmen keep your 10% as their fee. So if the defendant makes all of his/her court appearances, you pay nothing more, but you do not get that 10% back. If the inmate doesn’t make those appearances, you will be liable for repaying the entire bail amount to the bondsman.
Bail bondsmen advertise on the Internet and in the phone book. Make sure you verify the bondsman’s license and keep copies of all documents for your records.
∗NOTE: Once you post bail, you should immediately consult with one of our experienced Pasadena criminal defense lawyers who can schedule a bail hearing to argue that the bail should be reduced or eliminated. A skilled local attorney will also review the case to help develop the most comprehensive legal defense to help your loved one fight his/her case.
2. How to Get Information about an Inmate at the Pasadena City Jail
In order to obtain information about an inmate at the Pasadena City Jail, you may
- call the Pasadena Police Department Inmate Information line at (626) 744-4616,
- call the L.A. Sheriff’s Department Inmate Information line at (213) 473-6080, or
- access information via the web on the Los Angeles Sheriff Department’s inmate information website.
Before a deputy will release information, you must provide the inmate’s correct full legal name or his/her booking number.
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 will set the case for a pre-trial hearing. If you wish to look up the case information for an inmate being housed at the Pasadena City Jail, visit the Los Angeles County case information website.
3. How to Contact an Inmate at the Pasadena City Jail
Inmates at the Pasadena Jail are allowed to make three (3) free local telephone calls when they arrive at the facility. Beyond that, any outgoing calls must be collect. If you know you have a loved one in jail, you may want to contact your local telephone carrier to make sure that collect calls are not blocked on your plan.
Unfortunately, inmates are not allowed to receive incoming calls. And because inmates are only temporarily housed at the Pasadena Jail, they are not there long enough to receive mail.
You may, however, visit an inmate at the Pasadena City Jail, provided that you comply with the facility’s visiting hours and policies described below.
4. Visiting Hours and Policies
You may visit a Pasadena City Jail inmate who has been incarcerated for at least 24 hours from 1:00pm to 3:00pm seven (7) days a week. Visits are limited to 15 minutes in length. Inmates may see up to (2) visitors at a time.
Visits are allowed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Attorneys are not bound by these restrictions and may visit an inmate 24 hours a day / 7 days per week.
All visitors must bring valid picture identification, including
- a California driver’s license or identification card,
- a U.S. Passport,
- an alien registration card, or
- a U.S. military card.
In addition, all visitors are subject to a search of their person and property. Visitors may not bring anything illegal to the facility nor may they bring anything to the inmates.
∗∗∗A word of caution – anyone who has an outstanding warrant or is on probation or parole will not be allowed to visit an inmate and may be arrested on site. The bottom line is that the Pasadena Police Department reserves the right to deny entry to anyone who poses a threat…or even a perceived threat…to the safety or security of the Jail staff or inmates.
And visitors may not take home an inmate’s property that has been collected and stored at the Jail. Although some detention facilities do allow inmates to release their property to another person, the Pasadena Jail does not. An inmate’s property will either be returned to him/her upon his/her release or will be transferred with the inmate to a more permanent detention facility.
5. The Pasadena City Jail “Pay to Stay” Inmate Worker Program
In addition to providing temporary housing to inmates awaiting their arraignment, the Pasadena City Jail offers a program called the “fee paying inmate worker program”. This type of “private jail” program allows eligible male and female defendants who have been convicted of non-violent misdemeanor offenses to serve their time at the modern, safe, clean and secure environment of the Pasadena Jail instead of among the general population at one of the L.A. County jails.
And even within the facility, inmates in the worker program are housed separately from the other inmates. There is some limited exposure, during meal times, for example. And all inmates housed at the Pasadena Jail are required by law to work outside of their jail cells for a minimum of four (4) hours each day, assisting with minor chores such as
- food preparation,
- light cleaning,
- laundry, and
- trash removal.
Worker inmates who are unwilling or unable to complete these tasks will be released from the program.
There are two ways for an inmate to serve his/her time in this program: through work furlough or by serving “straight” time.
Work furlough allows inmates to maintain their work schedules by serving their time exclusively on weeknights. Inmates who stay for two nights (12 hours each night) will receive credit for a one-day sentence (24 hours).
Straight time is just what it sounds like. Inmates in the “straight” time program serve their sentence on consecutive days, which may include weekends. Time is calculated hour for hour.
The inmate worker program is available for $135 per day. There is also a one-time administrative fee of $61. Inmate workers are allowed to have visitors seven (7) days a week from 3:00pm to 7:00pm.
For more information about the Pasadena inmate worker program, you can contact the Jail Supervisor directly at (626) 744-4617 or visit the inmate worker program’s website.
1Our Pasadena criminal defense attorneys’ offices are located at 1055 East Colorado Blvd., 5th Flr. Pasadena, CA 91106. In addition, our Los Angeles criminal defense lawyers have local law offices in Beverly Hills, Burbank, Glendale, Lancaster, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Pomona, Torrance, Van Nuys, West Covina, and Whittier.