Search San Diego County 24 Hour Booking

San Diego County 24 hour booking records give you a way to look up recent arrests and jail bookings in the second most populated county in California. The San Diego County Sheriff runs a public tool called "Who's In Jail" that shows current inmates and new bookings. You can search by name at no cost. This booking data covers all arrests processed through the San Diego County jail system, including people held at the central jail downtown and at the Vista and South Bay detention centers. San Diego County booking entries show names, charges, bail amounts, and more for each person in custody.

San Diego County Booking Search Tool

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department runs a public inmate lookup called "Who's In Jail" at apps.sdsheriff.net/wij. This is the main way to check 24 hour booking records in San Diego County. The site shows all people held in county jail right now. It also lists recent bookings from the past day. You type a name and the tool pulls up every match in the San Diego County jail system. Results come back fast. No login is needed.

Each San Diego County booking result shows the full name of the person, their date of birth, the date and time they were booked, all charges at the time of booking, and the bail set for each charge. You can also see which facility holds them. San Diego County runs several detention sites, so the booking record tells you if the person is at the San Diego Central Jail, Vista Detention Facility, South Bay Detention Facility, George Bailey Detention Facility, or the Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility. That detail helps if you plan to visit or post bail. The search tool is up at all hours and gets updated as new bookings come in throughout the day and night. It reflects data that the San Diego County Sheriff's Department makes available under state public records law.

You can also reach the San Diego County Sheriff's Records and ID unit at (858) 974-2110 for questions about booking data. The main non-emergency line is (858) 974-2222.

San Diego County Inmate Search Portal

The San Diego County Sheriff provides a web portal where the public can search for inmates currently held in any county jail facility. The Who's In Jail tool is the primary access point for 24 hour booking records in San Diego County. Below is a view of the search page.

The portal above lets you search by name to find anyone recently booked into San Diego County jails. This tool is free to use and available around the clock.

How Booking Works in San Diego County

When law enforcement makes an arrest in San Diego County, the person goes through a booking process at one of the county's detention facilities. The San Diego County Sheriff handles all county jail bookings. City police departments like the San Diego Police Department, Chula Vista PD, Oceanside PD, and Escondido PD make arrests in their own areas. But the county sheriff processes the jail booking in most cases. During booking, staff record the person's name, date of birth, physical details, charges, and arresting agency. This creates the booking record that appears in the 24 hour log.

San Diego County has multiple jails spread across the region. The San Diego Central Jail downtown handles a large share of new bookings. The Vista Detention Facility serves the north county area. South Bay Detention Facility covers the southern part near the border. This setup means booking records from all parts of San Diego County feed into one central search system. It does not matter where in the county the arrest took place. You search in one spot.

New bookings typically show up in the system within a few hours. Busy times like weekends or holidays can slow things down. If you don't see a recent arrest right away, check back later.

San Diego County Booking Records Access

Booking records in San Diego County are public. California law makes this clear. Under Government Code Section 7923.610, law enforcement must share arrest and booking details with the public. This includes the full name of the person, their physical description, the time and date of the arrest, the location, charges, bail amount, and current holding status. The San Diego County Sheriff follows this law by running the Who's In Jail search tool online.

If you need booking records that are no longer on the website, you can submit a public records request. The California Public Records Act gives agencies 10 days to respond. San Diego County may charge a small copy fee for printed records. For city-level police reports, the San Diego Police Department handles requests through their records unit at sandiego.gov. Arrest reports from SDPD cost 50 cents for the first page. Standard police reports run $12 each. These are separate from the county booking records but can add more detail about what happened during the arrest.

Note: San Diego County booking records stay in the public search for a limited time before rotating out of the system.

Sealed Records in San Diego County

Not every arrest leads to a conviction. When charges get dropped or a case ends without a guilty finding, the person can ask to have the booking record sealed. Under Penal Code Section 851.91, someone who was arrested but not convicted may petition the court to seal the arrest records. If the court grants the petition, that booking entry will no longer appear in the San Diego County inmate search or any other public database.

The sealing process goes through the San Diego County Superior Court. The person must file the right paperwork and show that the case ended in their favor. This can take time. Until a court order comes through, the booking record remains public. So you may still see entries for people whose cases are pending or recently resolved. The Government Code Section 7923.600 also allows law enforcement to hold back certain investigative records, but standard booking data like names, charges, and bail amounts must still be released.

San Diego County City Police Records

San Diego County has several large cities with their own police forces. These city departments handle arrests within their limits. But jail booking still goes through the county sheriff in most cases. If you want an arrest report from a city police agency instead of the county booking log, you need to contact that department directly.

The San Diego Police Department is the largest city force in the county. You can request arrest reports through the SDPD NextRequest portal. Chula Vista Police handles report requests at chulavistaca.gov. Oceanside Police has a records page at oceansidepolice.com. Escondido Police records can be reached at (760) 839-4722 or through their website at escondido.gov. These city-level records provide details from the police side of the arrest, while the San Diego County jail booking log shows what happens after the person arrives at a detention facility.

Both sources are public. Use them together to get a full picture of any recent arrest in San Diego County.

Cities in San Diego County

San Diego County includes several major cities where arrests feed into the county booking system. Use the county inmate search to find bookings from any city in San Diego County.

Nearby California Counties

These counties border San Diego County. Each has its own jail booking search system.