Las Colinas to Become County Women's Detention and Re-entry Facility

It's not going to be called Las Colinas anymore. Are you ready for a new name for San Diego County's women's jail in Santee?

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the name change.

The Las Colinas Women's Detention Facility, which is undergoing renovations, will be renamed the San Diego County Women's Detention and Re-entry Facility. 

According to a letter to the supervisors from Sheriff Bill Gore, the revised facility names reflect “the programs and services offered to inmates and reaffirm the county's commitment to reentry and rehabilitation services to help reduce recidivism.”

Another jail set to rechristened is in South Bay. The East Mesa Detention Facility will become the East Mesa Reentry Facility.

The supervisors also directed the county to enter into negotiations with the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to provide jail inmates for state fire camps. 

County officials said the state prison realignment plan that redirects many offenders to county jails has lowered the number of prisoners who can assist Cal Fire with firefighting efforts.

“Keeping the camps open is critical to public safety because they provide much-needed boots on the ground when wildfire hits,” Supervisor Dianne Jacob said. “Inmate crews put added muscle into our efforts to manage overgrown brush and to fight major blazes.”

Both items were passed unanimously without discussion.

– City News Service contributed to this report.