Valley arrests go to the Lerdo complex, which includes the Lerdo Pre-Trial Facility (661-391-7900), the Lerdo Max-Med Facility and the Lerdo Minimum Facility. Desert arrests may be held first at the Mojave Jail (661-824-7141) or the Ridgecrest Jail before moving to Lerdo.

Kern County Inmate Search gives the facility, charges and next court date. If the booking is fresh, call the reception center at 661-391-3100.

Arraignment comes within 48 hours, Sundays and holidays excluded. Bakersfield cases go to the Metropolitan Division, 1415 Truxtun Avenue (661-610-6000). Outlying courts sit in Delano, Lamont, Mojave, Ridgecrest and Shafter. Read Kern court steps.

Kern's bail schedule sets amounts that can be paid in cash or by bond at the jail. A judge may set a different amount, or release without bail, after weighing safety and what the person can afford. If cash bail is later returned, the County Auditor (661-868-3599) processes the refund. See the Kern bail guide.

The Kern County Public Defender (661-868-4285) takes most cases. When it has a conflict, the Indigent Defense Program (661-334-4709) assigns a private lawyer.

Visits are by appointment, and the facility decides days by housing. Bring ID. See Kern visiting and video visiting.

Mail carries the name and booking number and goes to the Lerdo facility address the jail gives. We cover Kern mail, deposits, commissary, jail calls, messages and tablets.

Minors are held at the county youth detention center on Ridge Road in Bakersfield (661-868-4300). Kern Probation can be reached at 661-868-4100.

Kern deputies won't demand payment over the phone. If someone does, especially with gift cards or a wire, treat it as fraud. End the call and phone 661-391-3100, the reception center, to learn the facts.

Officers from the Marshals Service or the ATF make federal arrests. Magistrate judges also hold regular sessions in Bakersfield, at 510 19th Street, Bakersfield, CA 93301 (661-326-6620); either number works for questions. Cases out of here land in the Fresno Division of the Eastern District of California, sitting in Fresno: 2500 Tulare Street, Fresno, CA 93721. Clerk staff in Fresno take calls at 559-499-5600. Soon after booking, a magistrate judge holds the first hearing. The court also uses a report from a pretrial services officer. Bail is not a set amount in the federal courts. Using the Bail Reform Act, the judge runs a detention hearing to decide whether they go home.

Meanwhile, Marshals staff Service may hold the person in a nearby jail under contract. Search for them on the sheriff's roster. Or call Marshals staff for the Eastern District of California in Bakersfield at 661-324-4004 (510 19th Street, Suite 100, Bakersfield, CA 93301). After sentencing to prison, a prisoner transfers into a federal prison. Track them with the BOP inmate locator.

• Jail fingerprints get compared against national databases that ICE reviews. ICE may then file a hold request with the jailers.
• Under the request, jail staff may hold them up to two days beyond the usual release time. Saturday won't stop the clock.
• Posting bail doesn't lift it.
• ICE agents can come for them within those 48 hours. With no ICE officer arriving, this means your loved one goes free.
• Check the online detainee locator with their A-number and home country. People without the A-number can enter native country, date of birth and the person's legal name.
• If deputies don't know, call ICE's San Francisco office on 415-365-8800; it is located at 630 Sansome Street, Room 590, San Francisco, CA 94111.
• The agency decides the detention center.

If the judge orders a state sentence, the person becomes a CDCR inmate under the state corrections department. First, most people wait in the Bakersfield jail while the state has room, which may take weeks. Next, they move to an intake or reception center for check-in. CDCR staff review new arrivals after checking medical and mental care, their risk level and known gang ties. Last comes a facility that suits those findings.

Families can look up a CDCR inmate by full name on the CDCR locator. The California prison guide explains every state unit.

Look the person up in the Kern jail roster. Kern records list inmates without mugshots.

Section 13665 is the key law. It covers social media posts. Nonviolent arrests are the main target. Agencies may not post those photos there. Photos posted there expire after 14 days. A judge can also allow a post. The rule skips the sheriff's own site. Still, most California rosters show no photos.

Unposted booking photos go to sheriff's staff; reporters may phone 661-861-3110. U.S. booking photos are kept private. Exceptions are limited. The Marshals Service can share a jail photo to find a wanted person, for immediate community safety or if release helps track them down or warn people. Immigration pictures become available just via ICE's online public records request, with no promise of release.

• Bakersfield Police non-emergency: 661-327-7111
• Delano Police: 661-721-3377
• Ridgecrest Police: 760-499-5100
• Kern County Sheriff's Office non-emergency: 661-861-3110

Tehachapi, Arvin, Shafter, Wasco and other cities also have police departments.