New arrests go through the Intake and Release Center. People who stay are housed in County Jail #2 in the same 7th Street building, or at County Jail #5 in San Bruno, 1 Moreland Drive, on county land south of the city. The old jail on the upper floors of the Hall of Justice at 850 Bryant Street closed in 2021.

San Francisco County Inmate Search gives location and court information. Jail information answers 415-553-1430 during weekday office hours and 415-553-1444 at other times.

Jailed defendants appear within two court days at the Hall of Justice, 850 Bryant Street. The criminal clerk is in Room 101 (415-551-0651). Read San Francisco court steps.

Inmates go to the Hall of Justice courtrooms in person or join by video when the court sets that up, so a CourtCall slot is something each party reserves on their own. Someone who is a party in a related family, probate or civil matter can sign up on CourtCall with the judge's okay.

San Francisco relies heavily on pretrial release. Many people are released on own recognizance or with pretrial supervision after a judge's review, without paying money. Where bail is set, it can be posted with the Superior Court bond desk (415-551-0691) or the jail, or by a licensed agent. The SF case that led to the Humphrey ruling started here, so a defendant's finances are part of every bail decision. See the San Francisco bail guide.

The Public Defender, 555 Seventh Street (415-553-1671), defends San Franciscans without money for counsel and often meets clients before arraignment.

Visits are booked ahead and need photo ID; the San Bruno jail has its own schedule. See SF visiting and video visits.

Use the person's name and booking number and the address of their housing facility. Topics: SF jail mail, account money, commissary, free jail phone calls, messages, tablets. San Francisco made jail phone calls free for people in custody in 2020.

Juvenile Probation runs the Juvenile Justice Center, 375 Woodside Avenue (415-753-7800).

A real deputy won't call you to demand a wire or gift card. To check, phone jail information at 415-553-1430 during business hours or 415-553-1444 after hours, and ask about the person's status.

It usually begins when the ATF, the Postal Inspection Service and the IRS make an arrest. Federal cases from this area belong to the Northern District of California, which meets in San Francisco: 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102. For filings and dates, phone the clerk at 415-522-2000. The judge gets a background report from pretrial services. The first hearing happens fast with a magistrate judge. Federal judges, unlike state judges, won't search for a bail amount. A bail hearing under federal bail law decides release or detention.

Until the case ends, the Marshals Service usually keeps the person in local jails by contract. Check the county inmate list first; there U.S. Marshals custody might appear. You can also call the federal Marshals Service for the Northern District of California in San Francisco at 415-436-7677 (450 Golden Gate Avenue, 20th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94102). A federal prison sentence means a move into the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) in time. The federal inmate locator lists their prison.

• Booking prints get compared through federal systems that ICE uses. ICE can then place a detainer.
• Paying bond does not clear this hold.
• Through a detainer, ICE requests that San Francisco jailers keep the person on ICE's behalf up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)). San Francisco's jails apply the California Values Act (SB 54) and the city's own sanctuary ordinance, which is stricter still: release follows the local case, and ICE notice or transfer is limited to a judicial warrant or a narrow set of serious convictions.
• Immigration officers can take custody at the San Francisco jail within that window. If ICE never collects them, this means they're released.
• ICE manages detainers here from the San Francisco field office: 630 Sansome Street, Room 590, San Francisco, CA 94111; call 415-365-8800.
• The detainee locator looks up people with the alien number (A-number) and home country. If you don't have the alien number (A-number), fill in DOB, native country, and the exact name.
• The last stop is ICE's call and can change.

California's prison system, the CDCR, holds anyone sentenced to state time. Until then, they wait in the San Francisco jail until the CDCR has a bed ready. The trip ends at intake, where they are held processed. Workers there classify everyone by known gang ties, custody score, and health care needs. Their final step is a facility that fits their rating.

Try the CDCR inmate locator to see where they are. For visits and mail, open California state prisons.

Check the San Francisco jail search for the person; San Francisco may not post mugshots there.

Section 13665 sets the state rule. It covers social media posts. Nonviolent arrests are the main target. Sheriffs and police can't share them there. Photos posted there expire after 14 days. Fugitives and threats are the exceptions. Jail websites are outside this law. Most sheriffs in California skip photos anyway.

The sheriff's office, 415-554-7225, handles media requests for booking photos that aren't online. ICE photos are released only via ICE's online FOIA request, if ICE agrees. Federal booking photos are kept private. Requests from families or reporters will not unlock it; the Marshals share one only for an inmate who escaped or fugitive, when posting it helps find them or caution nearby residents, or for urgent public safety.

• San Francisco Police non-emergency: 415-553-0123
• San Francisco Sheriff's Office: 415-554-7225

BART Police, CHP and campus police also make arrests in the city.

Yes. Every city arrest, warrant or otherwise, is processed at the Intake and Release Center behind the Hall of Justice, so families often come to the same block twice. Ask the Sheriff's Office about warrants at 415-554-7225; deputies check names over the phone, statewide records too. The court's online case query shows open criminal cases. Those held usually appear at 850 Bryant by the second weekday. If you have a warrant, hire counsel to arrange surrender, or phone the criminal clerk about a new date.