Men's Central Jail
| Location | Los Angeles, California |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 34°03′32″N 118°13′56″W / 34.0590°N 118.2321°W |
| Status | Operational |
| Security class | Minimum–Maximum |
| Capacity | 5,276 |
| Population | 4,300 |
| Opened | 1963 |
| Managed by | Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department |
| Website | website |
Men's Central Jail is a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department county jail for men in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, United States. Built in 1963, it is one of the oldest county jails in California. The Men's Central Jail is located at 441 Bauchet St., Los Angeles 90012. The Men's Central Jail houses men who are awaiting trial or who have been convicted of crimes.
The Men's Central Jail is considered one of the largest jails in the world. In May 2013, along with the adjacent Twin Towers Correctional Facility, Men's Central Jail was ranked as one of the ten worst prisons in the United States, based on reporting in Mother Jones magazine.
On July 7, 2020, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted 4–0 to pursue a plan to close the Men's Central Jail within 12 months. In voting to eventually close the 57-year-old facility, county supervisors said they wanted to focus on community-based programs to treat mental health challenges of those entering and exiting the jail system administered by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The vote came amid deliberate inmate reductions during outbreaks of COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement protests over police violence and the murder of George Floyd.