The Riverside County Sheriff runs five jails. Its online Inmate Locator shows who is in custody tonight: search by last name for the booking number, current facility and next court date. Release then follows the bail schedule, a judge's decision at arraignment, or a signed promise to appear.
How do I find out if someone is in a Riverside County jail?
Search the Sheriff's Inmate Locator by last name; the result lists the booking number, the current facility and the next scheduled court date and court.
- Open the Inmate Locator, linked from the Sheriff's Corrections Operations page.
- Enter the last name, which the form marks mandatory. Adding a first name, a date of birth (for example 10/25/1980) and a sex narrows a common surname to the right record.
- In the results list, each row shows a booking number, name, date of birth, sex and whether the person is currently in custody.
- Select the booking number to open the detail page, which lists the booked date and time, the current facility and the next court date and court name.
- Write down the booking number for the mail and money steps below.
- If the person is not listed yet, try again later.
The locator warns that "the data contained in this website should not be relied upon for any type of legal action." Confirm anything that matters, such as a release date, directly with the facility.
Which Riverside County jail is the person being held in?
The Sheriff operates five correctional facilities across the county; the Inmate Locator's detail page names the one holding a specific person.
Correctional facilities the Riverside County Sheriff's Office operates, from its own Corrections Operations page.
| Facility | Address | Main phone |
|---|---|---|
| Robert Presley Detention Center | 4000 Orange Street, Riverside | (951) 955-4500 |
| Cois M. Byrd Detention Center | 30755-B Auld Road, Murrieta | (951) 696-3050 |
| John J. Benoit Detention Center | 82675 St. Hwy. 111, Indio | (760) 863-8252 |
| Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility | 1627 S. Hargrave Street, Banning | (951) 922-7300 |
| Blythe Jail | 260 N. Spring Street, Blythe | (760) 921-5780 |
Visiting, mail, money and property follow the countywide rules below at every facility. For the John J. Benoit Detention Center, our page on the Indio jail walks through that building step by step, including attorney and special visits.
How does someone get released from a Riverside County jail?
Release comes through a signed promise to appear, posted bail, or a judge's order; which one applies depends on the charge and any prior failure to appear.
Routes out of custody before and at arraignment.
| Route | When it applies | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Signed promise to appear | The charge is Cite and Release or Book and Release on the bail schedule, with no prior failure to appear or other hold | Penal Code 1318 |
| Posting bail | A bailable charge with a scheduled or court-set amount | Penal Code 1269b |
| Lower bail or own recognizance before arraignment | Request to a magistrate by the arrested person, a lawyer, friend or family member, except for an offense listed in Penal Code 1270.1 | Penal Code 1269c |
| Judge's decision at arraignment | The court reviews bail and custody for every case | Penal Code 1270 and 1275 |
| No charges sought | An officer finds insufficient grounds for a complaint; the arrest is then a detention only | Penal Code 849 |
A request for lower bail or own recognizance release that gets no ruling within eight hours of booking entitles the person to release on the scheduled amount instead, under Penal Code 1269c. Our page on Riverside County's cite and release rules explains which charges qualify for that first route.
How much is bail, and how is it posted?
The court's bail schedule sorts every charge into one of four categories; jail staff or the court clerk can accept that amount in cash or a surety bond.
Riverside Superior Court's current felony and misdemeanor bail schedule is dated effective January 1, 2026 on its cover page. It sorts offenses into Cite and Release, Book and Release, Pre-Arraignment Review and Arraignment Review, and lists a dollar amount beside nearly every offense. A few examples:
Sample entries from the current Riverside County bail schedule; a judge can set a different amount at arraignment.
| Charge | Category | Scheduled bail |
|---|---|---|
| Petty theft, Penal Code 484 | Cite and Release | $2,500 |
| Misdemeanor DUI, Vehicle Code 23152 | Cite and Release | $2,500 |
| Spousal battery, Penal Code 243(e)(1) | Arraignment Review | $5,000 |
| Felony grand theft, Penal Code 487(a) to (d)(1) | Book and Release | $20,000 |
| Felony criminal threats, Penal Code 422 | Arraignment Review | $20,000 |
| Felony corporal injury on a spouse, Penal Code 273.5(a) | Arraignment Review | $30,000 |
An unlisted misdemeanor is Cite and Release, with presumptive bail of $2,500 for a sentencing range of 180 days or less and $5,000 above that; an unlisted felony is Pre-Arraignment Review, presumptive bail set at the middle term times $10,000, plus added amounts for strike priors. Under Penal Code 1269b(a), jail staff, a Sheriff's employee assigned to collect bail, or the court clerk can accept the scheduled amount in cash or a bond from a certified, admitted surety insurer and release the person without waiting for a judge. After a court order releases cash bail, the court mails the refund check, without a request, to the depositor named on the receipt in about six to eight weeks. Our comparison of a jail surety bond and cash bail covers the cost difference.
When does someone held in a Riverside County jail see a judge?
Anyone held in a Riverside County jail after an arrest must see a judge within 48 hours, Sundays and holidays excluded, and bail and custody are reviewed then.
Penal Code 825(a)(1) requires that "the defendant shall in all cases be taken before the magistrate without unnecessary delay, and, in any event, within 48 hours after his or her arrest, excluding Sundays and holidays." Saturdays count toward the 48 hours. When that deadline would fall while court is closed, subdivision (a)(2) extends it "to include the duration of the next court session on the judicial day immediately following," but for an arrest on a Wednesday after that day's session ends, so long as the Wednesday is not a court holiday, the outer limit is no later "than the following Friday, if the Friday is not a court holiday." This is the deadline for a first appearance before a judge, not a promise of release and not a charging deadline.
Riverside, Indio and Murrieta hold misdemeanor, felony drug and felony non-drug in-custody hearings at 1:30 p.m. on weekdays, per the court's Criminal Division page; Banning combines misdemeanor and felony cases into one 1:30 p.m. weekday calendar, and Blythe holds arraignments and misdemeanors at 8:30 a.m. Tuesdays, felonies at 8:30 a.m. Thursdays. Which of those courthouses hears a case depends on where the offense allegedly happened; our Riverside County criminal court guide explains that rule and what follows arraignment. A person held on a misdemeanor is entitled to own recognizance release at that hearing "unless the court makes a finding on the record, in accordance with Section 1275, that an own recognizance release will compromise public safety or will not reasonably assure the appearance of the defendant as required" (Penal Code 1270(a)). For a felony, bail follows In re Humphrey and, since April 30, 2026, In re Kowalczyk: outside capital cases, a judge "has the authority to deny bail only as to offenses specified in section 12, subdivisions (b) and (c)" of the state Constitution, and where money bail is set, it "must generally be set in an amount that is reasonably attainable" after weighing the person's ability to pay and whether conditions short of bail could "reasonably protect the public and the victim or reasonably assure the arrestee's presence at trial." Someone still held for lack of bail is entitled to an automatic review, held no later than five days after bail was first set unless waived, under Penal Code 1270.2. Our bail amount explainer covers that standard in more depth.
How do I visit, send money or drop off property?
Visiting and money go through the Sheriff's own systems at every facility; personal letters for all five jails now go to an out-of-state processor, not the jail's street address.
The Sheriff's general visiting rules apply at all five facilities: call the visiting number on the specific facility's page between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. to schedule a visit one day ahead, and bring valid picture identification, since visitors may be searched and are subject to warrant checks. Each visit runs about 45 minutes, up to two a week per inmate, and anyone under 18 must be with a parent or guardian.
- Mail: ordinary personal letters no longer go to the jail itself. The Sheriff's own Mail page gives one processing address for every facility, Jailhouse Mail ATTN Riverside County, 370 S 500 E #201, Clearfield, UT 84015, and says to keep sending books, periodicals, money orders, legal mail and special correspondence straight to the jail, at the jail's own mailing address with the inmate's full name and booking number. Books and magazines must be prepaid and sent by the United States Postal Service.
- Money: the Sheriff's Money page lists an online or phone deposit through Access Corrections (1-866-345-1884), a cash or credit card kiosk in each jail lobby, or a U.S. Postal money order by mail with the inmate's name and booking number on the front.
- Property: someone picking up an inmate's property, other than clothing and money, needs identification and a withdrawal slip the inmate has signed. For court clothing, medication or legal paperwork, the Sheriff's Inmate Property page lists a phone number per facility; hours differ by location, so call ahead.
What should I do right now?
Confirm where the person is held and their next court date before anything else, then get ready for that hearing.
- Search the Inmate Locator for the booking number, current facility and next court date.
- Call that facility's visiting line to ask about a visit, and check the Mail, Money and Inmate Property pages above before sending anything.
- Check the bail schedule for the charge, or call a bail agent, if posting bail is the plan.
- Write down the charge, the booking number and the court date, and gather any paperwork from the arrest, before the first court appearance.
- If a lawyer is wanted and cannot be afforded, our Riverside County public defender guide covers how to ask the court to appoint one.
A consultation with a Riverside criminal defense lawyer before that first hearing can cover bail strategy and what to expect, even if the case stays in another part of the county. Every court and jail guide on this site, including this one, is listed on our California courthouses and jails hub.
Frequently asked questions
Can a lawyer visit right after the arrest?
Yes. Penal Code 825(b) lets any California attorney visit the person in custody at the request of the person or a relative; the Sheriff's facility pages ask callers to contact the specific jail to schedule that visit.
What does signing an own recognizance release agreement require?
Under Penal Code 1318, the person agrees to appear as ordered, follow reasonable conditions, not leave California without the court's permission, and waive extradition if they fail to appear and are later found outside the state.
Does Riverside County have a jail in Temecula, Wildomar or Lake Elsinore?
No. The Sheriff's list of correctional facilities has none in those cities. The closest is the Cois M. Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta.
Does the 48 hour deadline skip the whole weekend?
No. A Saturday counts: for a person held in custody, Penal Code 825 skips only Sundays and holidays. Under section 825(a)(2), time ending while court is closed runs through the end of the next court session on the following court day, and a Wednesday arrest after court must reach a judge by Friday unless either day is a court holiday.
Can I put money on an inmate's account at a different jail?
Yes. The Sheriff's Money page says a lobby kiosk at any of its jails takes deposits for anyone in its custody. The kiosk accepts cash or a credit card, cannot make change, takes no bill smaller than $5 and charges a fee that depends on the amount; kiosk hours differ by jail.
Talk to a lawyer about a Riverside County arrest
The Law Offices of David S. Chesley offer a free consultation and are available 24/7, with payment plans and Spanish spoken. Call (800) 755-5174 or use the consultation form to talk through bail, release and what the first court date will involve.