After more than two years behind closed doors, the Glen Helen Rehabilitation Center is once again receiving inmates — but San Bernardino County officials say the reopening represents more than simply putting jail beds back into service.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department has completed the first phase of a major remodeling project at the Devore correctional facility, which closed in August 2024. The first renovated portion reopened Sept. 19, with male inmates being transferred to Glen Helen from correctional facilities throughout San Bernardino County.
For communities including San Bernardino, Colton, Grand Terrace, Loma Linda and Redlands, the project is part of a larger countywide effort to rethink how correctional facilities prepare people for life after incarceration.
One of the most significant elements of the Glen Helen project is its increased emphasis on rehabilitation and reentry.
County officials say future services are intended to help connect individuals with resources such as housing, mental health care and other supportive programs before they leave custody.
That transition can have consequences well beyond the walls of a correctional facility. Individuals released from county custody return to neighborhoods throughout the Inland Empire, where finding stable housing, employment and appropriate services can play an important role in their transition back into the community.
“Reopening GHRC is an important step in improving our correctional facilities and expanding rehabilitation and reentry services,” Sheriff Shannon Dicus said. “I’m grateful for the support of the Board of Supervisors and the work of our dedicated staff and community partners who continue to make these efforts possible.”
Glen Helen has been part of San Bernardino County’s correctional system for generations. The male facility originally opened in 1960 as a work camp with capacity for 100 inmates.
Over the decades, the complex expanded considerably. The Sheriff’s Department describes Glen Helen as a nine-acre facility consisting of three inmate-housing facilities, with a maximum capacity of 1,446 inmates.
The center has also long been associated with alternatives and programs designed to help eligible individuals transition back into the community, including work release and electronic confinement programs.
The latest renovation is intended to modernize portions of that aging infrastructure while positioning Glen Helen for a larger rehabilitation role in the county correctional system.
The Sept. 19 reopening also affects another San Bernardino County correctional facility.
With some male inmates now being transferred back to Glen Helen, the Sheriff’s Department says it can begin renovating outdoor inmate recreational areas at the High Desert Detention Center in Adelanto.
That makes Glen Helen one piece of a broader effort to upgrade correctional facilities across the geographically vast county.
The Sheriff’s Department has said its correctional strategy includes not only maintaining secure facilities but also expanding educational, vocational and life-skills opportunities intended to better prepare individuals for release.
The September reopening marks only the completion of phase one.
Construction and remodeling at Glen Helen will continue, and another phase is expected to open later this year.
As additional areas become operational, county officials hope to expand the facility’s reentry services further, including connections to housing, mental health resources and other assistance before individuals return to their communities.
For Inland Empire residents, the changes at Glen Helen may ultimately be measured by more than new walls, upgraded housing units or additional jail capacity. The larger question will be whether investments in rehabilitation and preparation before release help individuals successfully return to their families, workplaces and neighborhoods.
After two years of renovations, Glen Helen is beginning that next chapter — one section of the facility, and one returning group of inmates, at a time.