| Address: | 3300 Civic Center Dr, Torrance, CA 90503 Map |
| Phone: | (310) 618-5631 |
| Website: | Torrance Police Department |
The Torrance Jail…located within the Torrance Police Department…serves as a temporary holding facility for men and women who are arrested in the city of Torrance (which is also known as the South Bay). Torrance hosts one of the largest city jails in all of Los Angeles County. Arrestees are only held at this facility until they
- are released on their own recognizance (known as an “O.R.” release),
- post bail, or
- are taken to court for their arraignment.
Male defendants who must return to jail…either because they can’t post bail or because they have been convicted of their offense…will generally be transferred to a larger Los Angeles County jail such as the Los Angeles Twin Towers Jail, the Pitchess Detention Center, or the Los Angeles Men’s Central Jail. Women will be transferred to the Century Regional Detention Facility.
In this article, our Torrance criminal defense attorneys will explain the following:
- 1. Procedures on How to Post Bail for an Inmate at the Torrance Jail
- 2. How to Get Inmate Information
- 3. How to Contact an Inmate at the Torrance Jail
- 4. Visiting Hours and Policies
- 5. Procedures for the Return of Property
- 6. The Torrance Jail “Pay to Stay” Inmate Worker Program
If, after reading this article, you would like more information, we invite you to contact us at Shouse Law Group.
1. Procedures on How to Post Bail for an Inmate at the Torrance Jail
After an inmate has been booked into the Torrance City Jail, his/her bail will be set according to the Los Angeles County Bail Schedule and based on the crime(s) for which the inmate was arrested.
“Bail” is the amount of money that is designed to assure the arresting agency and court that the defendant will make his/her court appearances after being released from jail. Anyone can pay (or “post”) bail on an inmate’s behalf.
If you choose to post bail for an inmate, the Torrance Jail accepts three forms of bail: cash bail, cashier’s checks and bail bonds, all of which are discussed in detail in our article “How to Post Bail in California”.
You may post bail directly at the Torrance Police Station (where the jail is located) 24 hours a day / 7 days a week. The Jail is located at
3300 Civic Center Drive
Torrance, CA 90503
(310) 618-5631
Free two-hour parking is available directly in front of the Jail lobby.
If you elect to post cash bail, you must post the full amount. Once you post cash bail, the inmate is released pending his/her arraignment. If the inmate attends his/her court appearances, the bail will be returned following the conclusion of the criminal case. If he/she does not, the defendant forfeits your money to the court.
Similar to cash bail, if you opt to use a cashier’s check, you must post the entire bail amount. The Torrance Jail only accepts certified California bank-drawn cashier’s checks that are payable to the Torrance Police Department. Cashier’s checks should include the inmate’s full name and booking number.
And because the funds must be verified before the jail will release an inmate, the inmate’s release may take several hours or even a few days, depending on the time of day and whether the bail is posted on a weekday or a weekend.
Posting a bail bond is the most common way to bail someone out of jail. This is because you are only required to pay a maximum 10% of the total bail amount.
The downside is that bail bondsmen keep your 10% as their fee. So if the defendant makes all of his/her court appearances, you pay nothing more, but you do not get that 10% back. If the inmate doesn’t make those appearances, you will be liable for repaying the entire bail amount to the bondsman.
Bail bondsmen advertise on the Internet and in the phone book. Make sure you verify the bondsman’s license and keep copies of all documents for your records.
∗NOTE: Once you post bail, you should immediately consult with one of our experienced Torrance criminal defense lawyers who can schedule a bail hearing to argue that the bail should be reduced or eliminated. A skilled local attorney will also review the case to develop the most comprehensive legal defense to help your loved one fight his/her case.
2. How to Get Information about an Inmate at the Torrance Jail
In order to obtain information about an inmate at the Torrance City Jail, you may
- call the Torrance Police Department Inmate Information line at (310) 618-5631,
- call the L.A. Sheriff’s Department Inmate Information line at (213) 473-6080, or
- access information via the web on the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department’s inmate information website.
Before a deputy will release information, you must provide the inmate’s correct full legal name or his/her booking number.
Typically, inmates who are being held in custody must be arraigned within two (2) days of being arrested. At that point, the judge will either continue the arraignment or will set the case for a pre-trial hearing. If you wish to look up this type of case information for an inmate being housed at the Torrance City Jail, visit the Los Angeles County case information website.
3. How to Contact an Inmate at the Torrance City Jail
Inmates at the Torrance Jail are allowed to make three (3) free local telephone calls when they arrive at the facility to arrange for bail, inform family members as to their whereabouts and contact an attorney.
Thereafter, all calls must be placed on a collect basis. If you know that a friend/family member is being held in the Torrance Jail, you may want to contact your local telephone carrier to make sure that collect calls are not blocked on your telephone plan.
Unfortunately, inmates are not allowed to receive incoming calls. And because inmates are only temporarily housed at the Torrance Jail, they are not there long enough to receive mail.
If, however, you are an immediate family member of an inmate, you may visit your loved one, provided that you comply with the facility’s visiting hours and policies described below.
4. Visiting Hours and Policies
Inmates may receive visitors once daily between the hours of 7:00pm and 9:00pm. The length of visits may vary, depending on the staff’s availability, but typically last between 15 and 30 minutes.
Only one immediate family member may visit at a time. Appointments are not required, and visits are granted on a first-come, first-served basis.
Attorneys are not bound by these restrictions and may visit an inmate 24 hours a day / 7 days per week.
All visitors must bring valid picture identification, such as
- a California driver’s license or identification card,
- a U.S. Passport,
- an alien registration card, or
- a U.S. military card.
In addition, all visitors are subject to a search of their person and property. Visitors may not bring anything illegal to the facility nor may they bring anything to the inmates.
∗∗∗A word of caution – anyone who has an outstanding warrant or is on probation or parole will not be allowed to visit an inmate and may be arrested on site.
And the bottom line is that the Torrance Police Department reserves the right to deny entry to anyone who poses a threat…either real or perceived…to the safety or security of the Jail staff or inmates.
5. Procedures for the Return of Property
The Torrance Police Department Jail will return confiscated property to an inmate once he/she either
- is transferred to a different jail/prison facility, or
- completes his/her sentence and is released from the Jail.
If the inmate desires…and was only arrested for a misdemeanor charge…he/she may choose to release his/her property to a friend or family member prior to release.
If an inmate has chosen you to pick up his/her property, you must bring a government issued I.D. (listed above under Section 4. Visiting Hours and Policies) and visit the Torrance Police Department front desk 24 hours a day / 7 days a week.
6. The Torrance Jail “Pay to Stay” Inmate Worker Program
In addition to providing temporary housing to inmates awaiting their arraignment, the Torrance City Jail offers a program called the “pay-to-stay inmate worker program”.
This type of “private jail” program allows eligible male and female defendants who have been convicted of non-violent misdemeanor offenses to serve their time at the modern, safe, clean and secure environment of the Torrance Jail instead of among the general population at one of the L.A. County jails. The inmate worker program is available for $99 per day.
Participants in the worker program are housed separately from the other inmates. However, there is some limited exposure, during meal times, for example.
And California law requires that all inmates housed at the Torrance Police Department Jail to work outside of their jail cells for a minimum of four (4) hours each day, assisting with minor chores such as
- food preparation,
- light cleaning,
- laundry,
- vehicle cleaning, and
- trash removal.
Worker inmates who are unwilling or unable to complete these tasks will be released from the program.
“Time served” is calculated on a 24-hour basis (24 hours of jail time is equivalent to 1 day served). Workers may serve their time consecutively or…with prior approval from the judge…may serve their time exclusively at night or on weekends so that they may maintain their work or school schedules.
Some additional advantages of the pay-to-stay program are that inmate workers
- are allowed to receive visitors seven (7) days a week from 5:00pm to 7:00pm,
- may bring up to $5 a day to purchase snack items, and
- are allowed to bring their toiletries and one paperback book from home.
This is just one reason why it is critical to seek legal representation from an experienced local attorney. Only a savvy lawyer who is familiar with the local sentencing customs and judges would know
- to ask for a city jail sentence in lieu of a county jail sentence, and
- the most persuasive arguments to convince the sentencing judge to allow his/her clients to receive such a sentence.
For more information about the Torrance inmate worker program, you can contact the Jail Supervisor directly at (310) 618-5638 or visit the inmate worker program’s website.