History Of Mens Central Jail

Originally constructed in 1963 at a cost of $16.3 million, MCJ was designed to house 3,323 inmates and contain 585,150 square feet of floor space. In 1976, an addition was completed at a cost of $35 million, adding 350,000 square feet of floor space and raising the inmate rated capacity to 5,276. Currently, the inmate capacity of MCJ is approximately 6,750. Because Men’s Central Jail is the largest jail in the World, the fiscal aspects of its operation are tremendous. MCJ’s budget is $49,944,651 per year. As of August 2004, the average cost to house an inmate at MCJ is approximately $61.21 per day.
MCJ also has a specialized medical housing capable of handling 781 inmates and is staffed by Sheriff’s Department Medical Personnel. They provide services for inmate with communicable diseases, long term medical conditions, and/or who are recovering from wounds or surgery. There are also provisions for mentally ill inmates.
Originally referred to as the “Central Jail Expansion,” Twin Towers Correctional Facility opened in 1997. It occupies a 10 acre site to the east of MCJ and is connected to MCJ by a transfer bridge. TTCF consists of two high rise inmate housing towers, an Inmate Reception Center and a five story Medical Services Building. It also includes a Central Energy Plant and Custody Division Administration offices. The facility provides housing for over 2000 inmates, of which 200 are of medical and mental health care classification, and totals just under 1.5 million square feet. (http://www.lasdhq.org/divisions/custody/mcj/about.html)

Inmates - Trash bags outside of incarceration

Mens Central Jail est 1963