California Men's Colony
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The California Men's Colony ("CMC") is a male-only state prison in California, USA. It is located north of San Luis Obispo, California, halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
CMC is a level I, II, and III prison, with an east and west yard. This is a high profile prison with many programs to help prisoners adapt to society when they are released.
On the facility is a fire camp for approved inmates. Some of the programs for prisoners include: NA and AA meetings, church services and sports including out-side sports such as baseball, etc. CMC's rules and regulations make a safe prison and it is known to be one of the best prisons in California. Jobs for level I inmates include picking up trash on the beach. While it is sometimes impossible to get a hold of the warden or visiting sergeant at most prisons, CMC allows family members of inmates to talk personally via phone during normal business hours and offers a 24-hour contact with CMC CO's and other employees.
The prison first opened in 1954, and is designed to house 3,884 inmates. As of May 7, 2004, the population was 6,612.
[edit] Visiting
Like most California prisons, CMC only allows visiting during weekends and specified holidays. There is a fairly strict dress code, so visitors are advised to check the visitor's guide before coming.
For some reasons, CMC takes a long time to process visitors, resulting in long lines (often 1-2 hours). Perhaps to ameliorate this, in late 2005 the prison started passing out priority cards. This begins with cars lined up outside (~6:30 AM). Visitors can drive in to the compound at 7:30 AM, and cards are distributed until around 8:00 AM. Cards are apparently available to the first 100 visitors, and allow recipients to effectively "hold" a place in line (e.g., go out for breakfast or wait in their cars). Those who arrive later (or fail to get a card) must wait in line on a first-come, first-served basis.
Visiting hours are typically from 9 AM to 4 PM, though visits may be cut short as the outside seating area closes at 3 PM, and only those visitors/inmates with inside seats are allowed to remain.
Food is available from vending machines that take quarters or one-dollar bills. Larger bills are prohibited, though a machine which changes five-dollar bills is available in the lobby, though it has been known to eat the money at times; the prisoners refer to it as their own personal cigarette tax.
