About South Facility

09/15/2013

The four facilities at Pitchess Detention Center include North, South, East, and the North County Correctional Facility. When opened in 1938, PDC was known as Wayside Honor Rancho. It had the distinction of becoming the first honor farm in California after dairy farmer George Dunn sold the property to the county for $147,150. These facilities comprise Los Angeles County's largest jail complex.

South Facility was originally built in 1975 as a medium security compound to house inmate workers.

An inmate worker is classified by their security level and a history of good behavior within the jail system. Once identified, they are interviewed, and if deemed suitable, given the opportunity to learn a vocational skill which can earn them good-time credit, and more importantly, provide them with the knowledge, confidence, and job experience needed to compete in the job world once they are released from custody.

Examples of vocational classes offered are woodworking, gardening, nursery operations, painting, and masonry. South Facility also houses kitchen inmate work crews. Like all of our Jail facilities, South Facility offers inmates religious services, jail stores, school programs, substance abuse meetings, medical services, inmate services, and weekend and holiday visitation.

The Facility is made up of 20 single story barracks, and has a maximum capacity of approximately 1,400 inmates.

Wayside Timeline

1938: Wayside Honor Rancho, first honor farm in California, opened to house a few select prisoners.

Dairy farmer George Dunn had sold county the property for $147,150.

1951: Prisoner population up to about 3,000. Texaco discovers oil on jail property.

1957: East Facility enlarged to accommodate more than 700 maximum-security inmates.

1963: East Facility expanded again; cogeneration plant built to provide energy for jail.

1975: South Facility opened. Rancho laundry facility built.

1983: Facility renamed Peter J. Pitchess Honor Rancho.

1987: North Facility opened.

1990: North County Correctional Facility opened.

1992: Farming operations eliminated.

1993: Elmer T. Jaffe Visitor Center built.

1995: Ranch compound closed due to budget constraints.

1995: Name of facility changed to Pitchess Detention Center.

2001: South Facility closed due to budget constraints.

2002: South Facility partially reopened and renamed North Annex.

2007: South Facility fully reopened and renamed South Facility.

2011: North Facility staff and inmate population reduced to less than 5 and Facility renamed South Annex.

2012: South Annex re-staffed and repopulated. Laundry workers moved from South Facility to South Annex.

2013: Laundry workers moved back to South. EBI program expanded to include the entire facility.



Pitchess Detention Center, South Facility

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

29330 The Old Road

Castaic, CA 91384

(661) 295-8805

Inmate Info: (213) 473-6100