The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is responsible for the operation of the California state corrections, rehabilitation, and parole systems. It was created in 2005 by reorganization of the former Youth and Adult Correctional Agency.
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Creation and current organization
- See also: California Division of Juvenile Justice
In 2004, a Corrections Independent Review Panel appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and led by former Governor George Deukmejian noted "California’s $6 billion correctional system suffers from a multitude of problems — out-of-control costs; a recidivism rate far exceeding that of any other state; reported abuse of inmates by correctional officers; an employee disciplinary system that fails to punish wrongdoers; and the failure of correctional institutions to provide youth wards and inmates with mandated health care and other services."[1] Among other recommendations to address these problems, the Panel suggested "Reorganizing the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency."[1] The Agency had consisted of "the Department of Corrections, the Department of the Youth Authority, the Board of Prison Terms, the Board of Corrections, the Commission on Correctional Peace Officer Standards and Training, the Narcotic Addict Evaluation Board and the Youth Authority Board."[2] Schwarzenegger made a reorganization plan public in January 2005 implementing many of the recommendations of the panel but without "a citizens commission overseeing the state's entire correctional operation."[3] The reorganization became effective on July 1, 2005.[2] The CDCR's current Divisions and Boards include (among others)[4][5]:
- Division of Juvenile Justice, formerly known as the California Youth Authority (Department of the Youth Authority). This has a 2006/07 budget of $530 million and 3,776 employees, of which 1,970 are custody staff.[6]
- Division of Adult Institutions, responsible for the adult prisons, and Division of Adult Parole Operations. These have a 2006/07 budget of $8.75 billion and 57,641 employees, of which 32,772 are sworn peace officers.[7]
- Board of Parole Hearings, which combines the old Board of Prison Terms, the Narcotic Addict Evaluation Authority, and the Youth Authority Board.
- Corrections Standards Authority, whose functions parallel those of the former Board of Corrections and the former Commission on Correctional Peace Officer Standards and Training.
Correctional and rehabilitation facilities
- See also: List of California state prisons
According to the Department’s official Web site, "Currently there are 33 adult prisons, 13 adult community correctional facilities, and eight juvenile facilities in California that house more than 165,000 adult offenders and nearly 3,200 juvenile offenders."[8] This inmate population makes the CDCR the largest state-run prison system in the United States.[9] Regarding adult prisons, CDCR has the task of receiving and housing inmates that were convicted of felony crimes within the State of California. When an adult inmate arrives at a state prison, he/she is assigned a classification based on his/her committed offense. Each prison is designed to house different varieties of inmate offenders, from Level I inmates to Level IV inmates; the higher the level, the higher risk the inmate poses. Selected prisons within the state are equipped with security housing units, reception centers, and/or "condemned" units. These security levels are defined as follows:[10]
- Level I: "Open dormitories without a secure perimeter."
- Level II: "Open dormitories with secure perimeter fences and armed coverage."
- Level III: "Individual cells, fenced perimeters and armed coverage."
- Level IV: "Cells, fenced or walled perimeters, electronic security, more staff and armed officers both inside and outside the installation."
- Security Housing Unit (SHU): "The most secure area within a Level IV prison designed to provide maximum coverage." These are designed to handle inmates that cannot be housed with the general population of inmates. This includes inmates that are validated prison gang members, gang bosses or shot callers, etc.
- Reception Center (RC): "Provides short term housing to process, classify and evaluate incoming inmates."
- Condemned (Cond): "Holds inmates with death sentences."
Parolees
According to the Department’s official Web site, "there are more than 148,000 adult parolees and 3,800 juvenile parolees supervised by the CDCR."[8] A 2002 article found that "California’s growth in the numbers of people on parole supervision — and in the numbers whose parole has been revoked — has far exceeded the growth in the rest of the nation."[11] California accounted for 12 percent of the U.S. population but 18% of the U.S. parole population, and almost 90,000 California parolees returned to prison in 2000.[11] Re entry assistance for inmates awaiting a Parole is provided by the non-profit organization California Reentry Program
Correctional Peace Officers
CDCR's Correctional Peace Officers have police powers while on duty as authorized by the California Penal Code. These Officers maintain the safety and security of all institutions. In addition to managing state prison systems, Correctional Peace Officers are also assigned to specialized units that handle many different aspects of prison operations and parole operations. These include CDCR transportation units, narcotics investigations, paroles, special services unit (SSU), Fugitive/Escape Recovery Detail (FERD), Gang Investigation, Investigative Services Unit (ISU), K-9 units, etc.
Union
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For more details on this topic, see California Correctional Peace Officers Association .
Officers of this department are represented by the California Correctional Peace Officers Association. It was founded in 1957. Its stated goals include protecting the safety of officers, advocating laws, funding and policies to improve prison operations and protect public safety. The union has had its controversies over the years, including criticism of its large contributions to former California Governor Gray Davis. Since the California recall election, 2003, the CCPOA has been a vocal critic of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Training
Correctional Peace Officers are trained at the Basic Correctional Peace Officer Academies (BCPOA) located in Galt, California & Stockton, California. The academy is 16 weeks in length and all cadets (or correctional officer candidates) must complete training courses in weapons, California law, physical abilities, defensive combat, inmate restraining techniques,tool/key control, and a number of other subject matter.
Officers killed in the line of duty
According to the Department’s official Web site, since 1952 inmates have killed 17 custody employees of what is currently CDCR.[12] Most recently, on January 10, 2005, Officer Manuel A. Gonzalez was killed in the line of duty at the California Institution for Men located in Chino.[13] An inmate fatally stabbed Officer Gonzalez with a shank (inmate manufactured knife).[14] The suspect was later charged with "assault by a life prisoner," which is a capital crime in California, and with murder[15]; however, as of October 2007 no trial date had been set.[16]
Prison reform
- See also: California Prison Growth
The California prison system is currently, and has been for many years, plagued with overcrowding due to an overwhelming inmate population. In June 2005, U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson put the state prison health care system into receivership, citing the "depravity" of the system.[17] In February 2006, the judge appointed Robert Sillen to the position,[18] and in July 2007 appointed a three-judge panel to oversee the changes.[9] In April 2007, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger introduced his Prison Reform Bill that will fund up to three new prisons. However, many state officials have agreed that even with three new prisons, the situation with overcrowding in the prison system will not be fixed. In addition to the overcrowding issue, the prison system is far understaffed with Correctional Peace Officers. The state is unable to hire and train enough new Officers to keep up with the flow of new offenders into the system.
External links
- California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Retrieved on December 16, 2007.
- California Correctional Peace Officers Association. Retrieved on December 16, 2007.
- California Reentry Program. Accessed 16 Dec 2007.
References
- ^ a b Corrections Independent Review Panel. Reforming Corrections. June 2004.
- ^ a b Governor Schwarzenegger Signs Legislation to Transform California's Prison System. Press release, 10 May 2005.
- ^ Furillo, Andy. Prisons plan shifts power to agency chief. Sacramento Bee, 7 January 2005.
- ^ California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Organizational Structure, October 2007. Accessed 17 November 2007.
- ^ California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Divisions and Boards. Accessed 17 November 2007.
- ^ CDCR Division of Juvenile Justice. DJJ Facts, Stats & Trends - Summary Fact Sheet (January 2007). Retrieved December 1, 2007.
- ^ CDCR Division of Adult Operations. First Quarter 2007 Facts and Figures. Retrieved December 1, 2007.
- ^ a b CDCR Division of Adult Institutions. Visitors Information Page. Retrieved November 30, 2007.
- ^ a b Moore, Solomon. New Court to Address California Prison Crowding. New York Times, July 24, 2007.
- ^ California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. California's Correctional Facilities. 15 Oct 2007.
- ^ a b Travis, Jeremy, and Lawrence, Sarah. California's Parole Experiment. California Journal, August 2002.
- ^ Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, State of California. Employees Killed By Inmates, January 1952 through December 2006. February 2007.
- ^ California Peace Officers' Memorial Foundation. In Remembrance: Ofc. Manuel A. Gonzalez. Retrieved December 1, 2007.
- ^ The Officer Down Memorial Page Remembers... Corrections Officer Manuel Ariza Gonzalez Jr. Retrieved December 1, 2007.
- ^ Leveque, Rod. Dismissal of charge against inmate denied. Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, CA), May 18, 2007.
- ^ Leveque, Rod. Suspect's father's testimony to be recorded for use in murder trial. Whittier Daily News, October 24, 2007.
- ^ Sterngold, James. "U.S. seizes state prison health care", San Francisco Chronicle, 2005-07-05. Retrieved on 2007-12-21.
- ^ Moore, Solomon. "Using Muscle to Improve Health Care for Prisoners", New York Times, 2007-08-27. Retrieved on 2007-12-21.
