El Cajon Inmate Lookup

El Cajon inmate population records are handled by the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. The city does not operate its own jail facility. When El Cajon police arrest someone, the person processes through local booking and then transfers to the county jail system. San Diego County runs several detention facilities that serve El Cajon and all other cities in the county. The sheriff offers a free online search tool called Who's In Jail that lets you look up any person currently in county custody. For people sent to state prison from El Cajon courts, CDCR's CIRIS system tracks their location. This page covers all the ways to find El Cajon inmate population data.

San Diego County Detention

El Cajon falls under the San Diego County Sheriff for jail services. The county runs seven detention facilities across the region. The main ones are the San Diego Central Jail downtown, the Vista Detention Facility in north county, the George Bailey Detention Facility in Otay Mesa, and the East Mesa Reentry Facility. El Cajon sits in the eastern part of San Diego County, so inmates from this area often end up at one of the facilities closest to the El Cajon courthouse. The total county jail capacity is over 5,500 beds.

The El Cajon Police Department makes the arrest and handles the first booking steps. After that, the person moves to a county facility. This transfer can take anywhere from a few hours to about a day. During that time, the inmate may not show up in any online search yet. Once the county has the person fully booked in, their record goes live in the sheriff's database. El Cajon does not keep long-term custody records since all inmates move to the county. If you need info on someone arrested in El Cajon, the county sheriff is where you look.

El Cajon Inmate Search Online

The San Diego County Sheriff runs Who's In Jail on its website. This is the best tool for finding El Cajon inmates in county custody. Go to apps.sdsheriff.net/wij and type in a name. The tool returns results with the person's booking number, charges, bail amount, and facility location. It is free to use. No account needed. The data updates as new bookings process through the system.

Search by last name for the broadest results. Add a first name to narrow things down. Common names in the El Cajon area can pull up many records, so the more details you have, the better. Only people in current custody show up. Once released, the record drops off. If you need past booking data for an El Cajon inmate, call the sheriff's records unit at (619) 615-2700. Staff can search older records that are not in the online tool anymore.

Note: The Who's In Jail tool covers all San Diego County facilities, not just those near El Cajon. You may see results from people booked across the whole county.

State Prison and VINE Search

Some El Cajon inmates end up in state prison. For those cases, use CIRIS. The CIRIS inmate locator covers every state prison in California. Search by name or CDCR number. You get the person's current prison, admission date, county of commitment, and parole information. CIRIS is free. It does not show county jail inmates, so use it only when you think the person has already been sentenced and moved to state custody from El Cajon.

VINELink covers all 58 counties in California. You can search for a person by name and get custody status from any county jail in the state. VINE also lets you set up alerts. Register for notifications on a specific El Cajon inmate and VINE sends you a call, text, or email when their status changes. The hotline number is 1-877-411-5588. It runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is useful when you want to know the moment an El Cajon inmate gets released or transferred.

El Cajon Inmate Records Access

Booking data is public in California. Government Code 6254(f) requires law enforcement agencies to release arrest and booking information. That includes the person's name, charges, bail, and booking date. The San Diego County Sheriff publishes this data through its online tool. The El Cajon Police also releases arrest information under this same law. Anyone can request it without giving a reason.

Criminal history records are restricted. Penal Code 11105 controls who gets to see full criminal records in California. The DOJ maintains these files. You cannot get another person's full record through a public request. To view your own criminal history, visit a Live Scan fingerprinting location in El Cajon. The DOJ charges $25 for processing. Results come back in a few business days.

Current jail rosters are public. Full criminal backgrounds are not. Keep this distinction in mind when searching for El Cajon inmate population records.

Nearby Cities

These cities near El Cajon have inmate population pages with search tools specific to their area.

San Diego County

El Cajon is in San Diego County. The county page covers the full jail system, all seven detention facilities, and search tool details.