Seal Beach sits at the far western edge of Orange County, against the Los Angeles County line and Long Beach. It is a small coastal city of roughly 25,000 people, with two features that shape it: the Leisure World retirement community and the Naval Weapons Station.

Seal Beach runs its own detention centre — and one unusual programme

• Seal Beach Police Department — 911 Seal Beach Boulevard, Seal Beach, CA 90740
• Main line: (562) 799-4100
• Non-emergency dispatch: (562) 594-7232 — the West-Comm centre, shared with Los Alamitos and Cypress
• Business hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
• Detention Center office: (562) 799-4100 extension 1116 or 1141
• Emergencies: 911

Seal Beach is one of the few Orange County cities to publish a police detention centre at all. One caveat worth stating plainly: the City website carries the Detention Center pages, but the police department’s own current website does not list a detention or custody division among its bureaus. We have not been able to reconcile that from published sources, so confirm the position on (562) 799-4100 before relying on it.

The city publishes a Pay to Stay / Work Furlough programme at that facility. It is worth being precise about what that is, because it causes real confusion: it applies to people already sentenced by a court who are permitted to serve their time in a city jail. It is not bail, it is not a route out of a pre-trial arrest, and it is not something a bail agency arranges. If someone has just been arrested, the pay-to-stay programme is not the relevant path — posting bail is.

We mention it only because people find it online, assume it is an alternative to bail, and lose time. If you have questions about that programme specifically, they go to the police department, not to us.

Where someone is held after a Seal Beach arrest

Seal Beach publishes no booking procedure and no bail procedure — the detention pages cover the sentenced pay-to-stay programme, not pre-trial custody. So we will not tell you how long anyone stays on Seal Beach Boulevard, or present a transfer as automatic. Ask on (562) 799-4100, or the 24-hour dispatch line (562) 594-7232 outside business hours.

Where custody moves to the county, that runs through the Orange County Intake Release Center in Santa Ana. If release does not happen first, county housing may be at Theo Lacy in Orange or Musick in Irvine. The Sheriff publishes no fixed sequence and no timings, so confirm the current location rather than assuming it.

Under Penal Code section 1269b, the superior court judges of each county must adopt and annually revise a uniform countywide bail schedule, and the officer in charge of the jail where a person is held is among those authorised to approve and accept bail. Seal Beach also borders Los Angeles County — and each county maintains its own separate schedule, so which side of the line the arrest happened on can change the amount.

Where a bond can actually be posted for a Seal Beach arrest

Despite having a detention centre, Seal Beach publishes no bail-posting procedure — no payment methods, no bail counter hours, no forms. The detention pages describe the sentenced pay-to-stay programme instead. We are not going to tell you bail is accepted at Seal Beach Boulevard when the City does not document it. Ask on (562) 799-4100. Under Penal Code section 1269b the authority to accept bail on the countywide schedule sits with the officer in charge of the facility actually holding the person.

On the county side the position is published. The Intake Release Center, 550 N. Flower Street, Santa Ana, accepts bonds 24 hours a day on (714) 647-6085. Theo Lacy, 501 The City Drive South, Orange, accepts them daily between 8:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. on (714) 935-6905. Accepted forms are cash, bank cashier’s cheques, personal cheques (two forms of identification), money orders and traveller’s cheques — and bail for any court outside Orange County must be paid in cash.

How to find someone after a Seal Beach arrest

Start with Seal Beach Police on (562) 799-4100, or the 24-hour dispatch line on (562) 594-7232. For anyone in county custody, use the Sheriff’s locator — see find an inmate for the search path, or Orange County jails for the facilities themselves. Have the full legal name and date of birth ready, and note that a very recent booking may not appear straight away. If the arrest was on the Los Angeles County side of the line, it is a different sheriff and a different locator — see our Los Angeles County guide.

Which courthouse handles the case

• Stephen K. Tamura — West Justice Center — 8141 13th Street, Westminster, CA 92683
• Phone: (657) 622-5900
• Handles traffic, minor offences and criminal matters

The nine cities it serves are Costa Mesa, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, Stanton and Westminster. Full security facility — weapons screening and x-ray on entry.

Our nearest office to Seal Beach

American Freedom Bail Bonds has no office in Seal Beach. Our three physical offices are Anaheim, Brea and La Habra. Seal Beach is a service area covered from them — usually La Habra or Anaheim.

Because we work both sides of the Orange–Los Angeles county line, you should not need to start again with a second agency partway through. Paperwork can be completed electronically and an agent can meet you at the jail or the court.

Charges we see most often in Seal Beach

• DUI — Vehicle Code section 23152 sets 0.08% for most drivers and 0.04% for commercial drivers and those carrying passengers for hire.
• Misdemeanours — public intoxication and similar offences.
• Domestic violence — Penal Code section 1270.1 requires a hearing in open court, on two court days’ written notice, before release on own recognisance or at a non-schedule amount for certain of these charges.
• Felony charges, drug charges and warrants.
• All bail services and payment plans.

Nearby cities we also serve

• Los Alamitos — to the north-east, same courthouse
• Huntington Beach — down the coast, same courthouse
• Westminster — inland, where the courthouse sits
• Cypress — to the north-east, same courthouse

See also Orange County bail bonds and our service areas.

Common questions

Can we use the pay-to-stay programme instead of posting bail?

No. That programme is for people already sentenced by a court who are permitted to serve their time in a city jail. It has nothing to do with pre-trial release, and a bail agency does not arrange it. For a fresh arrest, bail is the relevant route.

Is this an Orange County or Los Angeles County case?

Whichever agency made the arrest decides it. Seal Beach Police means Orange County. Long Beach police or the LA County Sheriff means Los Angeles County — a different courthouse and a separate bail schedule. We handle both.

Which courthouse?

The West Justice Center at 8141 13th Street in Westminster. Seal Beach is one of the nine cities it serves.

How quickly can this be sorted out?

We cannot promise a release time — that depends on how quickly the facility completes booking and processes the posting. We can start immediately, and that is usually what matters most.

Official sources

• Seal Beach Police — information — address, main line, dispatch and business hours
• Seal Beach Police — Support Bureau — the department’s published divisions, including West-Comm
• City of Seal Beach — Detention Center, Pay to Stay / Work Furlough — the sentenced programme, not bail
• OC Sheriff — cashier and bail information — county posting hours and payment forms
• OC Sheriff — inmate information system — the county locator
• Orange County Superior Court — West Justice Center — the cities it serves

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Please note: American Freedom Bail Bonds is a licensed bail bond agency, not a law firm. Nothing on this page is legal advice, and we cannot guarantee a bail amount, a release time, eligibility for release, or the outcome of any case. Court and jail information can change — always confirm details directly with the facility or the court. California bail licence 1841014.