California State Prison, Solano

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California State Prison, Solano (SOL, CSP-Solano, CSP-SOL, Solano State Prison)
Aerial View
Location: Vacaville, California, United States
Coordinates: 38°19′19″N 121°58′30″W / 38.322, -121.975
Status: Operational
Security class: medium
Capacity: 2,610 (but houses 6,025 as of September 2007)
Opened: 1984
Managed by: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
Director: D.K. Sisto, Warden

California State Prison, Solano (SOL) is a male-only California state prison located in the city of Vacaville, Solano County. It is newer than California Medical Facility, the other state prison in Vacaville.[1] SOL is also known as "CSP-Solano"[2], "CSP-SOL"[3], and "Solano State Prison"[4].

[edit] Current facility

As of Fiscal Year 2006/2007, SOL had a total of 1,308 staff and an annual operating budget of $158.4 million.[2] As of September 2007, it had a design capacity of 2,610 but a total institution population of 6,025, for an occupancy rate of 230.8 percent.[5]

SOL's 146 acres include the following facilities, among others[1][2]:

  • Level II housing ("Open dormitories with secure perimeter fences and armed coverage").
  • Level III housing ("Individual cells, fenced perimeters and armed coverage").

[edit] History

A California "prison construction boom" between 1984 and 2005 was "driven by years of increasingly tough anti-crime legislation."[6] This boom "started with the construction of California State Prison, Solano, which opened in August 1984."[6] By 1998, SOL was so crowded that "emergency triple bunks" were added.[7] A 2001 U.S. District Court ruling and a 2002 U.S. Court of Appeals decision supported the "right of Muslim inmates" at SOL "to attend regular weekly religious services and wear beards in accordance with their faith."[8]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. California's Correctional Facilities. 15 Oct 2007.
  2. ^ a b c California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. California State Prison, Solano (SOL). Accessed 15 Dec 2007.
  3. ^ California State Prison, Solano (SOL) Guide. Prison Talk Online thread, 14 May 2006, accessed 16 Dec 2007.
  4. ^ Governor Schwarzenegger Announces Appointments. 21 Dec 2006.
  5. ^ California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Monthly Report of Population as of Midnight September 30, 2007.
  6. ^ a b Furillo, Andy. Prison boom fades. As the building grinds to a stop, officials grapple less with housing criminals and more with figuring out how to return them to society. Sacramento Bee, July 12, 2004.
  7. ^ Stites, Roxanne. Squeezing in surplus prisoners - Already overcrowded, California State Prison, Solano ready for "triple bunking" to hold even more. The Reporter (Vacaville, CA), April 13, 1998.
  8. ^ Hamlin, Brian. Inmates can worship on their terms. The Reporter (Vacaville, CA), December 31, 2002.