Corrections/Jail - Imperial County Sheriff's Office

About the Corrections Division

The Imperial County Sheriff’s Office, Corrections Division operates three jail facilities with a combined capacity of 876 beds. Our facilities house male and female, sentenced and non-sentenced county and federal incarcerated persons within Imperial County.

Our Three Facilities

Herbert Hughes Correctional Center (HHCC)

The Herbert Hughes Correctional Center was built in the early 1960s and named after Sheriff Herbert Hughes, who served from 1955 to 1966. HHCC consists of six dormitory-style housing areas with a total of 314 beds.

HHCC includes a working kitchen where prescreened incarcerated workers receive valuable vocational training and work experience — preparing three meals a day and running a hot food service line that provides meals to all three jail facilities. The facility also boasts a large multipurpose room, centrally located within the housing units, used as educational programming space where many incarcerated persons have earned their GED or High School Diploma.

Each dorm is issued tablets that incarcerated persons use to submit requests, medical requests, grievances, and to stay in contact with family. Sentenced incarcerated persons who are working and actively programming can earn in-person visitation on the front lawn outside the facility, helping re-establish bonds with children and family members through family reunification service programs.

Oren R. Fox Detention Facility (OFDF)

The Oren R. Fox Medium Security Detention Facility began with a $33 million state grant in 2011, broke ground in August 2016, and opened to incarcerated persons in September 2018. OFDF features six two-tiered housing units (45 incarcerated persons per unit) plus a state-of-the-art Medical Center with four additional beds, for a total of 274 beds.

OFDF was named after Sheriff Oren R. Fox, who served Imperial County from July 1973 to December 1974 and from January 1979 to January 1999. The design intentionally features ample programming space, expanding educational opportunities beyond what was previously available at HHCC and RADF.

Rooms inside OFDF honor past and present employees and community volunteers, including:

Kitchen Supervisor Luis Avalos Teaching Kitchen
Correctional Sergeant Ted Christianson Briefing and Training Room
Gaylla Finnell Programming Classroom
Sheriff Raymond Loera Conference Room
Undersheriff Federico Miramontes Staff Break Room
Correctional Officer Hector Ramirez Briefing and Training Room
Lance Reeves Programming Classroom

Regional Adult Detention Facility (RADF)

The Regional Adult Detention Facility was built in the late 1970s and began housing incarcerated persons in August 1981. RADF is a podular-style facility with twelve two-tier housing modules; each cell houses up to two incarcerated persons, with a total of 288 beds.

RADF houses the jail’s main medical center, including one male and one female medical housing unit (five beds each), with respiratory isolation rooms and direct medical supervision. All incarcerated persons are first housed at RADF while awaiting medical screening and a classification interview. After classification, they may remain at RADF or be transferred to OFDF or HHCC.

In 2017, RADF received its first educational and vocational programming space — the Second Chance Classroom — through grant funding. Construction of the classroom was completed by incarcerated persons housed at HHCC participating in an IVROP-instructed vocational training program.

Visiting an Incarcerated Person

For visitation information, please call (442) 265-2266.

Visiting Hours & Reservations

Visitation slots fill quickly. We recommend calling ahead to reserve a time. Note: The 2:30 PM – 3:00 PM visitation slot is only used when the 1:30 PM – 2:00 PM slot has reached maximum visitors.

View Jail Visiting Hours Schedule (PDF) →

Useful Links

Set up a Legal Visit (email icjlegalinterviews@icso.org)
Visitation Rules and Regulations (PDF)
Custody Manual Policy (PDF)

Sending Mail & Money

Money Deposits

Deposit money for an incarcerated person through Gettingout.com.

Personal Mail Address

Imperial County Jail, CA
Incarcerated Person’s Name, SPN#
P.O. Box 247
Phoenix, MD 21131

Legal Mail Address

Imperial County Jail
Incarcerated Person’s Name, SPN#
1328 Sperber Road
El Centro, CA 92243

Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA)

It is the policy of the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office (ICSO) to comply with the provisions set forth in the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA). ICSO has established a Zero Tolerance policy for sexual misconduct involving incarcerated person-on-incarcerated person sexual violence and staff misconduct or harassment toward incarcerated persons — regardless of whether it is consensual.

How to Report

To report an instance of sexual abuse in the Jail facilities, please call:

Primary line: (442) 265-2323
After hours: (442) 265-2307
Third-party reporting (Imperial County Juvenile Hall, forwarded to the facility’s PREA Coordinator without delay): (442) 265-2425

PREA Resources

Mental Health Resources

If your family member has been arrested and has a history of mental illness, we have resources to help you navigate what to expect.

Corrections Specialized Units

The Corrections Division maintains several specialized teams — C-SORT, the K-9 Unit, and the Transportation Unit — that support custody operations and respond to situations that require additional training, equipment, or coordination.

Learn more about the Corrections Specialized Units →

Incarcerated Persons Programs

Individuals housed at the Imperial County Jail are allowed to participate in work programs in a safe working environment with educational opportunities. All individuals are screened based on their charges for proper work and class assignments.

In collaboration with Imperial Valley College’s restorative justice program, several college courses are offered to qualifying incarcerated persons — including the Inside/Out program, where students from the community and incarcerated persons are taught in the same class to reinforce growth and reduce the likelihood of recidivism.

The Sheriff’s Office is also implementing a Barista Training program, providing classroom and hands-on training in coffee shop operations. Graduates can apply at local and nationwide cafes as a barista.

Educational Programs

English as a Second Language (ESL)
GED preparation course
College general education classes
Inside/Out program (with Imperial Valley College)

Vocational Opportunities

General landscaping
Roadside cleanup
Food service
Janitorial
Laundry services
Barista training (new)

How to Qualify for the Worker Program

To be part of the worker program, an incarcerated person must:

Complete medical screening and clearance
Pass a Classification Unit review of institutional behavior, criminal history, and risk factors
To work outside the secure compound: be sentenced, free of facility disciplinary sanctions, and have no history or current charges of violent or sexually-based offenses

Incarcerated workers are paid weekly and must work more than 30 days to earn 6 days of work credit. Workers sentenced under AB 109 (serving state prison in a county facility) are granted no more than six weeks of work credit per year under AB 624. Incarcerated workers must be concurrently enrolled in educational programming to earn credits.

Workers who complete and graduate from educational courses take part in graduation ceremonies accompanied by family members — creating motivation and connection back to the community.

Watch: Inside/Out College Program

Hear from incarcerated learners and Imperial Valley College instructors about the impact of bringing community students and incarcerated students into the same classroom.