Check Marsh Creek Detention Facility Custody

Marsh Creek Detention Overview

The Marsh Creek Detention Facility is one of the Contra Costa Sheriff's primary jail facilities. It is located at 12000 Marsh Creek Road in Clayton, at the base of Mount Diablo. The sheriff says it is generally considered minimum security by comparison with other Contra Costa detention facilities. It houses incarcerated people who have already been sentenced and convicted of lesser crime classifications.

Marsh Creek is often called "the farm" because of its rural location. The facility occupies about 32 acres of a 162-acre parcel. Its setting supports programs that are more concrete and vocational than a typical courthouse-area intake jail. The sheriff lists school, GED, and special courses for new job skills, including viticulture, wood shop, agriculture, cement work, and general construction. It is still a county jail facility, so the county locator is the first search tool.

Marsh Creek Detention Population

The current sheriff page says Marsh Creek has a maximum housing capacity of 154 and an average incarcerated population of 70. Sheriff oversight reports list annual average daily population of 41 in 2024 and 37 in 2025. Those oversight averages are lower than the facility page's general average statement and may reflect the reporting period or population-management shifts. The current sheriff facility page is the best source for the maximum housing figure.

Because Marsh Creek holds a sentenced lower-security population, a person usually does not start there immediately after arrest. A new arrest is generally booked through Martinez. After sentencing, classification, and program review, a person may be housed at Marsh Creek if the jail determines that security level, sentence status, health, and program eligibility fit that facility.

Marsh Creek Inmate Search

Search the Contra Costa In-Custody Locator for current custody at Marsh Creek. The locator is countywide, so it may show someone at Martinez, West County, WRTH, or Marsh Creek depending on current assignment. Search by first and last name or booking number. If a person was sentenced to state prison instead of a local jail term, the search moves to CDCR CIRIS.

1. Open the Contra Costa In-Custody Locator.
2. Use first and last name or the booking number.
3. Open the detail page and confirm Marsh Creek Detention Facility in the facility field.
4. Use court records to confirm formal sentence or disposition, because the jail roster is not the final court record.
5. Check CDCR CIRIS if the person has been committed to state prison.

Marsh Creek Detention Contact

The facility page lists (925) 646-5700, while the sheriff directory also lists (925) 646-5706. Use the facility page number first for public page consistency, and verify custody before traveling because Marsh Creek visits are limited to weekend time blocks. Records questions for older bookings should route to Records & ID, while court dates and dispositions route to Contra Costa Superior Court.

Marsh Creek Detention Visiting

Marsh Creek visiting is narrower than Martinez or West County. The sheriff page gives Saturday and Sunday visits at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. General Contra Costa visiting rules still apply. Visitors need valid photo identification, must follow screening rules, and may be denied for warrants, recent confinement in a Contra Costa facility, certain contraband or escape convictions, co-offender status, false visitor information, or supervised parole or probation without permission.

Marsh Creek Mail and Money

Non-privileged mail for Marsh Creek uses Pigeonly Corrections and facility code 1119. Mail must include the inmate name, booking number, facility name, and Pigeonly processing address. The process is the same scan-and-print system used by other Contra Costa jails. Legal mail uses the attorney verification and secure-label process. Deposits follow sheriff rules: money orders, cashier's checks, and traveler's checks made payable to the Office of the Sheriff with inmate name and booking number, plus documented Smart Deposit options.

Marsh Creek Programs

Marsh Creek's program profile is one of the most local parts of the Contra Costa jail system. The sheriff describes school, GED work, and vocational skills tied to viticulture, wood shop, agriculture, cement work, and general construction. The rural setting and lower-security population make Marsh Creek different from Martinez intake and West County's large direct-supervision campus. The program role also explains why a person may be moved there only after the jail has enough sentence, classification, and custody information to support that placement.

The facility's work and school focus should be read together with the county classification process. The Classification Unit uses objective screening, inmate interviews, and historical records, and it operates under California Title 15 section 1050 minimum jail standards. That process is meant to place people in safe housing while allowing as much program participation as possible. A person with a new warrant arrest, serious medical need, or higher-security classification will not be routed to Marsh Creek just because a public searcher expects a lower-security facility.

Marsh Creek also affects how mail, deposits, and visits should be planned. It uses the same Contra Costa jail mail policy as the larger facilities, but its visiting windows are much narrower. A family member who sees Marsh Creek in the facility field should not rely on Martinez or West County visit times. The correct next step is to verify current housing, read the weekend schedule, and confirm that the person has not moved for court, medical care, discipline, release, or transport to another agency.

Transportation can also affect Marsh Creek records. The sheriff Transportation Unit moves inmates between courts, the three detention facilities, state prisons, medical appointments, and mental-health facilities. A Marsh Creek inmate may be away from the facility for court or treatment even when the facility remains the listed custody assignment.