Custody Facilities
This year, the Sheriff’s Office made many necessary improvements throughout both jails:
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The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office operates
two jails; the South Lake Tahoe Jail with the
capacity to house 158 inmates and the Placerville
Jail up to 303 inmates and 8 out-patient medical
beds. Housing this many people and providing
all their basic needs requires these facilities to
run like small cities.
In 2017, El Dorado County was awarded a state
grant for $25 million for a much needed
expansion of the Placerville Jail under Senate Bill
844. The process for this project has been very
lengthy and filled with many obstacles, however
the bridging documents for this project were
recently submitted to the state for review and
approval. The jail is hopeful to break ground on
the expansion in Spring of 2021. This expansion
will add additional housing, program space and
visitation rooms. Additionally, it will include an
updated medical wing to better accommodate
inmates with advanced medical issues and
mental health concerns.
The Adult Education classroom received
a much needed update. This included
painting the walls with a color conducive
to a learning environment and updating
the lighting. New tables, computer desks
and chairs were also added to allow for
more students.
After 30 years, the Placerville Jail’s roof
had reached its life expectancy and
needed to be replaced. The new roofing
material is low maintenance, watertight,
highly reflective, and resistant to
chemicals and high winds.
Both the Placerville and South Lake Tahoe
facilities received new air handler units.
These units are now energy efficient,
helping to reduce the county’s utility
costs. In addition, the Placerville Jail
received a new, energy efficient air
conditioning unit.
All celled housing units in Placerville
received new sink/counter systems
replacing the original worn wooden
cabinets with stainless steel. The new
sinks and counters provide a more
sanitary area and are much easier for
inmates and maintenance to maintain.