East County Jail reopens in Thousand Oaks

Local sheriff’s deputies, policemen and California Highway Patrol officers won’t have to travel to Ventura to book most of those arrested during peak hours anymore because the East County Jail, which closed in July 2003, reopened on a parttime basis last Sunday.

The temporary holding facility will be open from 7 p.m. to 4 a.m. every day, but it will offer limited services. Female arrestees won’t be accepted because staffing shortages preclude the assignment of a female staff member to the Thousand Oaks facility, authorities said.

The temporary holding facility also won’t accept those with medical problems that need immediate attention or arrestees who are overly intoxicated.

The East County Jail can hold about 100 people, and arrestees are held there for only a short period. Once a person is booked, he or she is either transferred to Ventura or released. But even with its part-time availability, the jail will result in significant cost savings for East County cities because local deputies won’t have to bring people to the Ventura facility during the busiest time of their day. Law enforcement personnel will have more time to patrol local beats.

Bail may be posted at the East County Jail for arrestees booked there, and money may also be placed on inmate accounts when the jail is open. The jail is located at the East County Station, 2101 E. Olsen Road, Thousand Oaks. The public telephone number is (805) 494-8242.

When it was open full-time, the East County Jail handled about 3,500 bookings a year. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department doesn’t have any plans to reopen the jail on a fulltime basis, officials said.

––Sylvie Belmond