Police in cities like Anaheim, Santa Ana, Huntington Beach and Irvine may book a person into their own short-term jail first. Anyone not released there is driven to the Intake Release Center, where the Sheriff does full booking. From there, people are housed in the downtown Central Men's Jail or Central Women's Jail, or sent to the Sheriff's big jail in the city of Orange on The City Drive. A newer Sheriff's facility in Irvine also holds some people.

Several police departments run their own lockups, including Anaheim, Santa Ana, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Irvine, Newport Beach, Fullerton, Garden Grove and Westminster. A person cited and released at one of these never reaches the county jail.

Orange County Inmate Search lists people in Sheriff's custody, the facility, bail and the next court date. A city jail hold usually won't appear there, so call the arresting department. County directory help is at 855-886-5400.

In-custody cases must be arraigned within 48 hours, minus Sundays and holidays. Most are heard in the jail courtroom, Department CJ1, inside the Intake Release Center campus (657-622-6878), or at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana. See Orange County court steps.

The Superior Court's countywide bail schedule sets the first amount. Cash goes to the Intake Release Center cashier (714-647-6085), or at the cashier in the city of Orange jail (714-935-6905), or posted by a licensed bail agent. A judge reviews detention at arraignment. California courts must consider what a person can pay, and since 2026 the state Supreme Court has held that money bail generally must be within the person's reach unless the law allows holding them without bail. See the Orange County bail guide.

The Orange County Public Defender, 801 Civic Center Drive West, Suite 400, Santa Ana (657-251-6090), is appointed at arraignment for people who can't afford a lawyer.

Visits are booked ahead for the facility where the person is housed, and each adult needs photo ID. Check housing on the roster before you go. See Orange County visiting and video visits.

Mail must show the person's name and booking number and go to the facility address listed by the Sheriff. Orange County help: mail, deposits, commissary, phones, messaging, tablets.

Records staff for the city of Orange facility answer 714-935-6940. Ask them about property release, housing or release time.

Probation runs juvenile hall at 331 The City Drive in Orange (714-935-6660). Some youths later go to the county's youth leadership academy or guidance center.

Orange County deputies and cashiers never phone relatives asking for payment apps, crypto, wires or store cards. Those callers are thieves. Before paying anybody, ring the Santa Ana cashier window, 714-647-6085, and ask what is really owed.

Agents from groups such as Homeland Security Investigations and the DEA make federal arrests, often with deputies. A federal case moves to the Central District of California's Southern Division in the federal building: 411 West 4th Street, Santa Ana, CA 92701. The clerk's office there answers at 714-338-4750. Expect a first hearing before a magistrate judge by the next court day. Before the hearing, a pretrial services officer looks into ties to the public and prior record. Bail isn't a set price in the federal courts. Applying the Bail Reform Act, a judge holds a detention hearing to decide the release terms.

Check the county inmate list first, where the hold can be listed. Until sentencing, the Marshals may keep them in a county jail through a contract. Or call the Marshals Service for the Central District of California in Santa Ana at 714-338-4610 (411 West 4th Street, Suite 2-150, Santa Ana, CA 92701). With a prison term, the BOP chooses where they serve. Search with the Bureau of Prisons locator.

• ICE hears about the arrest by way of fingerprints staff take. Then ICE might place a detainer.
• Paying bail won't remove the ICE hold.
• With the I-247A, ICE asks the Orange County jail to delay release for at most 48 hours. Saturday doesn't pause the 48 hours.
• ICE agents can come for them at the Orange County jail in that time. If ICE misses the deadline, staff should let them go.
• A free online tool, the online locator, finds where they are held; it needs the alien number (A-number) and birth country. If the alien number (A-number) is unknown, fill in birth date, birth country and their booking name.
• ICE itself picks the detention center.
• Have a question for ICE? Its Los Angeles field office is at 300 North Los Angeles Street, Room 7631, Los Angeles, CA 90012, and the phone is 213-830-7911.

A prison sentence is served under California's corrections department (CDCR). They wait in the Orange County jail for a state transfer. The first CDCR stop is an intake center. At intake, officers look at custody score, their medical and mental health and gang affiliation. The next stop is the prison that suits them.

The CDCR online lookup lists where they're housed when the move is done. The California state prison page covers each unit.

Try the Orange jail search first; the Orange record may not include mugshots.

See PC 13665 for the law. It is about social media only. Most nonviolent arrests fall under it. Agencies may not post those photos there. Posts must come down within 14 days. A judge can also allow a post. The sheriff's own website isn't covered. Most sheriffs in California skip photos anyway.

Newsrooms seeking a jail photo should start with sheriff's staff on 714-647-7000. U.S. mugshots stay private, even for reporters. The U.S. Marshals Service, which handles federal mugshots, shares one only for a few reasons: for an escaped prisoner, when the public needs to be kept safe now, or to assist an arrest or to warn the community. Immigration officials release booking photos only through a records request to ICE, if approved.

• Anaheim Police non-emergency: 714-765-1900
• Santa Ana Police non-emergency: 714-245-8049
• Irvine Police non-emergency: 949-724-7200
• Huntington Beach Police non-emergency: 714-960-8825
• Orange County Sheriff's Department, north county dispatch: 714-647-7000
• Orange County Sheriff's Department, south county dispatch: 949-770-6011

Many south county cities, such as Mission Viejo, Lake Forest and San Clemente, contract with the Sheriff for police service.