California State Prison, Los Angeles County

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California State Prison, Los Angeles County (LAC, CSP-Los Angeles County, CSP-LAC, Los Angeles County State Prison)
Aerial View
Location: Lancaster, California, United States
Coordinates: 34°41′38″N 118°13′41″W / 34.694, -118.228
Status: Operational
Security class: minimum-maximum
Capacity: 2,300 (but houses 4,976 as of September 2007)
Opened: 1993
Managed by: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
Director: Brian Haws, Warden

California State Prison, Los Angeles County (LAC) is a male-only California state prison located in the city of Lancaster, in Los Angeles County. The "first and only state prison located in Los Angeles County," it is also known as "CSP-Los Angeles County"[1], CSP-LAC[1], and "Los Angeles County State Prison"[2]. It is occasionally called "Lancaster State Prison"[3][4] even though the official name was chosen in 1992 partly "to ease the stigma for Lancaster."[5]

[edit] Current facility

As of Fiscal Year 2006/2007, LAC had a total of 1,519 staff and an annual operating budget of $100 million.[1] As of September 2007, it had a design capacity of 2,300 but a total institution population of 4,976, for an occupancy rate of 216.3 percent.[6]

LAC's 262 acres include the following facilities, among others[1][7]:

  • Level I housing ("Open dormitories without a secure perimeter").
  • Level IV housing ("Cells, fenced or walled perimeters, electronic security, more staff and armed officers both inside and outside the installation").
  • Reception Center (RC), which "provides short term housing to process, classify and evaluate incoming inmates."

[edit] History

Before the prison opened in 1993, Los Angeles County "had no prison but accounted for 40 percent of California's state-prison inmates."[8] "Most of Lancaster's civic leaders and residents" opposed the building of the prison, and four inmates escaped from LAC in its first year of operation.[9] Nevertheless, by 2000 city residents' opinions of the prison had improved so much that a proposal to increase the proportion of maximum-security inmates received little criticism.[9]

A 2006-2007 conversion "of roughly half of" LAC's facilities decreased the number of maximum security inmates and increased the number of reception center inmates.[10] Since reception center inmates are at the prison for shorter times than maximum security inmates, the conversion may "reduce the number of families that will relocate to the region to be near a family member who is in the prison" and "reduce the number of prisoners who will want to relocate to the area after serving their sentences or after being released on parole."[10]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. California State Prison, Los Angeles County (LAC). Accessed 14 Dec 2007.
  2. ^ Governor Schwarzenegger Appoints Five Wardens. 5 November 2004.
  3. ^ Thomas Russell, Wendy. 7-year case against city finally ends. Long Beach Press-Telegram, June 2, 2007.
  4. ^ Stoltze, Frank Lancaster State Prison Offers Glimpse into Overcrowding Problem. KPCC Radio, April 26, 2007.
  5. ^ Wolcott, Denis. County Wants Valley's Name Dropped From New Prison. Daily News of Los Angeles, December 30, 1992.
  6. ^ California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Monthly Report of Population as of Midnight September 30, 2007.
  7. ^ California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. California's Correctional Facilities. 15 Oct 2007.
  8. ^ Wolcott, Denis. First Inmates Arrive at New Prison - Lancaster's 252-Acre State Facility to Hold 2,200. Daily News of Los Angeles, February 2, 1993.
  9. ^ a b Fox, Sue. Prison, Lancaster Mend Fences and Build Tranquil Relationship. Los Angeles Times, May 14, 2000.
  10. ^ a b Skeen, Jim. Conversion of A.V. Prison Gets Support - Civic Leaders Say Change Will Lessen Crime in Area. Daily News of Los Angeles, December 23, 2006.