Arrested in San Bernardino County?

Search the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s inmate locator. Once you find the person, their record has a link to book a jail visit online, and that link is open Tuesday through Saturday. A new booking can take a few hours to appear, and someone arrested by a city police department may be held briefly at the station before being moved to a county jail. If you can’t find the person, call us and we will help find out where they are held and when their first court date is.

Most people are booked into one of three jails, depending on where they were arrested: the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, one of the largest county jails in California; the Central Detention Center in San Bernardino, the main booking jail for the East Valley; or the High Desert Detention Center in Adelanto. People can be moved between jails after booking, including to the Glen Helen Rehabilitation Center in Devore, which began taking inmates again in September 2026 after a remodel, so check the locator again before a visit.

If they stay in custody, they must be brought to court for arraignment, usually within 48 hours, not counting Sundays and holidays (PC 825); an arrest on a Wednesday evening generally means court by Friday. The first court date is usually at the courthouse for the area of the arrest: Rancho Cucamonga for the West Valley, including Ontario, Chino, Fontana and Rialto; the San Bernardino Justice Center for the city of San Bernardino, the East Valley and mountain communities such as Lake Arrowhead; Victorville for the High Desert; or Joshua Tree for the Morongo Basin. If no charges have been filed by then, the person is usually released, though the District Attorney can still file later.

The county’s judges set a new bail schedule every year (PC 1269b). For most misdemeanors the current schedule requires no bail, but some, including domestic violence, DUI, violating a court order and probation violations, carry set amounts. Felony bail starts at $30,000 and rises with the maximum possible sentence, with higher amounts for serious and violent felonies. Scheduled bail can usually be posted at the jail before the first court date.

Before arraignment, when someone is arrested without a warrant for a felony or for violating a domestic violence restraining order, the arresting officer can also ask a judge to set bail above the schedule (PC 1269c). Bail paid in full is generally returned after the case if every court date is kept. A licensed bail bond company usually charges a fee of about 10 percent that is not refunded.

Yes, in many cases. OR release means coming home on a signed promise to return to court and follow the judge’s conditions, without paying bail (PC 1318). For misdemeanors, OR is the rule unless the judge finds on the record that release would endanger public safety or would not ensure a return to court (PC 1270). Before anyone charged with a serious or violent felony, or with certain domestic violence, threat or stalking offenses, can be released on OR or on bail different from the schedule, the court must hold a hearing in open court (PC 1270.1). Under In re Humphrey (2021) and In re Kowalczyk (2026), a judge may require money bail only after looking at the person’s finances and finding that release conditions without money would not be enough, and bail must generally be set at an amount the person can realistically raise. The county’s bail schedule itself notes that some arrestees, including people charged with low-level offenses, can be released without posting bail.

At the arraignment, the judge reads the charges, appoints a lawyer if needed, takes a plea, usually not guilty, and rules on bail or OR release. The prosecutor may ask for higher bail or a criminal protective order, and an alleged victim has the right to be heard on release. In a felony case where the person stays in custody, the preliminary hearing must generally be held within 10 court days unless the defendant agrees to a later date or the court finds good cause (PC 859b).

If the person cannot afford a lawyer, the court appoints the San Bernardino County Public Defender at the arraignment (PC 987). The office’s own FAQ says it can provide counsel only after it has been appointed, and you cannot choose your public defender. If the office has a conflict, the court appoints a private firm under contract with the county instead. Public defenders are full-time criminal defense lawyers, and our attorney Yvonne Todd began her career as a Public Defender in San Bernardino.

Before the arraignment if you can. A private lawyer can visit the jail at a family member’s request (PC 825), learn the charges and bail, prepare the argument for release and appear at the first court date in Rancho Cucamonga, San Bernardino, Victorville or Joshua Tree. Hiring early also lets the lawyer start gathering evidence, such as video and witness names, while it is still available. If a public defender has already been appointed, you can usually still switch to a private lawyer later.

Anything about the case. Calls from San Bernardino County jails and video visits are usually recorded, and only a call to a lawyer is protected from monitoring (PC 851.5). After booking, the person can make at least three free local calls, to a lawyer, a bail bond company, or a relative or other person, plus two more for a parent arranging child care. Ask your loved one to tell officers they want a lawyer, and not to discuss the arrest with officers, other inmates or family, or post about it online.

A warrant usually states its own bail, which replaces the schedule (PC 1269b), and some warrants, especially for probation violations, carry no bail, so the person waits to see a judge. If the warrant came from Riverside or another county, the person may be held until that county picks them up, but for a case involving only misdemeanors, the judge must release on OR unless safety or a return to court is a concern (PC 1270). Our warrants page explains how a lawyer can often clear a warrant before an arrest.