Pico Rivera Sheriff’s Station

If someone was arrested in Pico Rivera or the Whittier area tonight, this is very likely where they are right now. Pico Rivera contracts its policing to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, so there is no Pico Rivera Police Department to call — and families lose time looking for one that does not exist.

Station details

Details above are published by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Arrangements change; call us and we will confirm where the person actually is before you drive anywhere.

Communities this station covers

The Sheriff lists this station as serving:

• Pico Rivera.
• El Rancho.
• Los Nietos.
• West Whittier and unincorporated West Whittier — see Whittier bail bonds.

What happens after booking

1. Transport and intake. The person is brought in, searched, and property is inventoried.
2. Booking. Identity, charges, fingerprints, photographs. Until booking finishes, records commonly show nothing — families calling in the first hour are told there is no record. It is normal.
3. The charge is set. This determines the scheduled bail figure, and it is not always the charge described at the scene.
4. Release, or transfer. If a bond is posted while the person is still here, release can happen from the station. Otherwise they move into the county system.

Transfers, and why timing matters

If no bond is posted at the station, men are generally transferred into county custody through the Inmate Reception Center in downtown Los Angeles, and women through the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood.

Once that transfer starts, the release process restarts inside a much larger operation. We will not promise a release time — after a bond is posted the remaining wait is the facility’s own processing queue, and a quiet weekday morning is nothing like a Saturday night. What we can say is that the window while someone is still at the station is usually the fastest point to act.

Do not assume a bond is needed

Since 1 October 2023, the Superior Court’s Pre-Arraignment Release Protocols mean many people arrested in Los Angeles County for non-violent, non-serious offenses are released without money bail. That applies here. It does not apply to everything — domestic violence is a significant exception — but the honest first step is establishing the booking charge rather than assuming you need to raise money. If a bond is not required, we will tell you.

Domestic violence arrests handled here

Under Penal Code § 1270.1, domestic violence offenses require a hearing in open court before release on own recognizance or at any amount other than the published scheduled figure. Posting the scheduled amount does not need a judge and can happen at any hour; asking for a reduction waits for a court day, so a Friday arrest can stall into the weekend.

Our domestic violence bail page sets out scheduled amounts by charge and the protective order that begins at release, with detail on PC 273.5, PC 243(e)(1) and PC 273.6.

Warrants, felonies and misdemeanors

• Warrants and failures to appear. Arranging the bond before surrendering is almost always the better order.
• Felony bail, including PC 1275.1 source-of-funds reviews.
• Misdemeanor bail, DUI and drug charges.

What a Sheriff’s station jail actually does

A station jail is not where a case ends. The Pico Rivera Station books people arrested in its patrol area, holds them for a short period, and then one of three things happens: they are cited and released, they are released on the county’s pre-arraignment protocol, or they are transferred into county custody at the Inmate Reception Center at 450 Bauchet Street. Releases for anyone transferred happen downtown, not here.

Is a bond needed at all?

In Los Angeles County this is the first question, not the second. Since 1 October 2023 the Superior Court’s pre-arraignment release protocols designate most non-violent, non-serious offences CR (cite and release), BR (book and release) or MR (magistrate review) — all at $0 bail unless an exception applies. Money bail remains for domestic violence, nearly all serious or violent felonies, and constitutionally excluded offences.

Read the protocol column before anyone pays anything: LA County bail amount lookup. If a figure does apply, the current schedules are published at lacourt.ca.gov — and the guideline amounts a judge uses for protocol offences are $25,000 (CR), $50,000 (BR) and $75,000 (MR) on the felony schedule.

Finding the person

Use the Sheriff’s Inmate Information Center, remembering the published rule: records are not available for bookings made in the last two hours. In that window the phone is faster — custody questions and inmate location on (213) 473-6100, or 24-hour inmate information and intake on (213) 473-6080. We will check for you at no cost.

Where the case is heard

Criminal cases from this station’s area are associated with the Whittier Courthouse. That is what the courthouse handles, not a case assignment — the release paperwork and case record control where a case is actually heard. Arraignment must happen within 48 hours of arrest, excluding Sundays and holidays, under Penal Code § 825 — see arraignment. There is a Court Holding facility inside the courthouse, but nobody is housed there; it is used only around a hearing, for no more than 12 hours.

Before you drive anywhere

• Booking has to finish first — the booking process.
• Check for a second case. Penal Code § 1269b(g) means posting bail clears only the offence it was posted on — how to check for a warrant.
• A probation or parole hold outranks the bail entirely — see parole violation holds.
• Expect hours once a transfer happens — how long release takes.

Communities served

This station serves Pico Rivera and neighbouring communities. Montebello and Whittier next door run their own police departments with their own Type I jails, so the agency question matters here more than in most areas.

What we need from you to start

• The full name of the person arrested, and date of birth if you have it.
• Roughly where the arrest happened — a street or cross streets is enough to confirm the station.
• The booking charge if you were told it. If not, we will find it.
• Details for whoever will sign as indemnitor.

Nights, weekends and holidays

Arrests cluster in the evenings and at weekends, exactly when courts are closed. Our offices are open 24 hours a day, every day of the year, and a licensed agent answers at 3am on a holiday.

State classification: Type I (juvenile approved)

The California Board of State and Community Corrections classifies this facility as Type I (juvenile approved). Under California Code of Regulations, Title 15, § 1006, that means not more than 96 hours, excluding holidays, after booking.

The classification is the regulatory limit for the building, not a prediction for any individual — but it tells you how much time the situation realistically allows. What kind of jail is holding them? sets out every classification and the class of every facility we cover in both counties.

Common questions

Does Pico Rivera have its own police department?

No. Pico Rivera contracts with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and policing is provided from this station.

Which Whittier areas does this station cover?

West Whittier and unincorporated West Whittier. Other unincorporated Whittier areas fall under the Norwalk Sheriff’s Station, and parts of Whittier are policed by the Whittier Police Department.

Can bail be posted at the station?

Often yes while the person is still held there, which is usually the fastest outcome. Once a transfer into county custody has begun, the process moves to the receiving facility.

There is no record of the person. What does that mean?

Usually booking has not finished. Records typically appear only once booking is complete, which can take a few hours.

Where we work from

Our nearest office is La Habra, open 24 hours, with Brea and Anaheim behind it. We serve Pico Rivera, Whittier, La Mirada, Norwalk and Santa Fe Springs, and post bail across Los Angeles County and Orange County.