California Correctional Institution

California Correctional Institution (CCI)
Aerial View
Location Tehachapi, California
Status Operational
Security class Minimum to maximum
Capacity 2,781
Population 5,907 (212%) (as of fy 2006/07[1])
Opened 1954 (original California Institution for Women existed on same site 1932-1952)
Managed by California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
Director Michael Stainer, Warden (acting)

California Correctional Institution (CCI) is a state prison located in Cummings Valley, west of the city of Tehachapi in southern California. It is a supermax. CCI is sometimes referred to as "Tehachapi prison" or "Tehachapi."[2][3]

Contents

Facilities

CCI has 1,650 acres (6.7 km2) including Level I ("Open dormitories with a secure perimeter") housing; Level II ("Open dormitories with secure perimeter fences and armed coverage") housing; Level IV ("Cells, fenced or walled perimeters, electronic security, more staff and armed officers both inside and outside the installation") housing; a Security Housing Unit (SHU, which is "the most secure area within a Level IV prison designed to provide maximum coverage"); and a Reception Center (RC) which "provides short term housing to process, classify and evaluate incoming inmates."[4][5] As of Fiscal Year 2006/2007, CCI had 2,003 staff and an annual budget of $168 million.[4] As of September 2007, it had a design capacity of 2,785 but a total institution population of 5,806, for an occupancy rate of 208.5 percent.[6]

History

The original California Institution for Women, the first women’s facility in California, opened on the site of what is now CCI in 1932.[7] It was sometimes referred to as "Tehachapi", as in the 1940s films Maltese Falcon and Double Indemnity.[8][9] The institution was "run for many years independently from the correctional system for men" but beginning in 1944 was gradually brought under the control of the California Department of Corrections.[10] After the Kern County earthquake of July 21, 1952, "made the brick dormitories unsafe," the institution was closed and the 417 prisoners were sent to the new California Institution for Women in Corona.[11]

The prison was rebuilt and reopened in 1954 as CCI, an all-men's prison.[4] In 1985-1986, maximum and medium security facilities were added to it.[4] The Southern Maximum Security Complex at Tehachapi was "touted as the most advanced in the country," but was also "called a 'white elephant' and a 'Cadillac' because it took so long to build and cost so much."[12]

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger "directed inmate firefighters and staff from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation," including those from CCI, to help fight the October 2007 California wildfires.[13]

Notable inmates

References

  1. ^ California Correctional Institution (CCI) (2009). "Institution Statistics". California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Visitors/Facilities/CCI-Institution_Stats.html. Retrieved August 20, 2009. 
  2. ^ a b Pepper, Art, and Laurie Pepper. Straight Life: The Story of Art Pepper. Updated ed. New York: Da Capo Press, 1994. ISBN 0306805588
  3. ^ Warden Named to State Prison - Official to Take Over Friday in Lancaster. Daily News of Los Angeles, August 25, 1994.
  4. ^ a b c d California Correctional Institution (CCI) (2009). "Mission Statement". California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Visitors/Facilities/CCI.html. Retrieved August 20, 2009. 
  5. ^ California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. California's Correctional Facilities. Oct 15, 2007.
  6. ^ California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Monthly Report of Population as of Midnight September 30, 2007.
  7. ^ Bosquet, Jean. Rites open new woman's prison. Los Angeles Times, May 23, 1932.
  8. ^ Barrett, Larry. Cummings Valley, Tehachapi.
  9. ^ Dirks, Tim. Review of Double Indemnity (1944). Greatest Films at filmsite.org, accessed Nov 15, 2007.
  10. ^ Kruttschnitt, Candace, and Rosemary Gartner. Marking Time in the Golden State: Women's Imprisonment in California. New York : Cambridge University Press, 2005. ISBN 0521532655
  11. ^ Tehachapi's inmates will go to Corona. The Los Angeles Times, July 24, 1952.
  12. ^ Mecoy, Laura. Troubles With Prison Expansion. Sacramento Bee, November 27, 1985.
  13. ^ Gov. Schwarzenegger Directs CDCR to Utilize Inmate Fire Crews in Response to Major Wildfires. Press release, Oct 22, 2007.
  14. ^ Menendez Brothers Put in Separate Prisons. San Jose Mercury News, September 11, 1996.
  15. ^ Menendez weds in prison. Ventura County Star, November 23, 2003.police have released shocking video taken on a cell phone. It shows a caretaker physically abusing two mentally handicapped men. The victim, described as a 38-year-old man with the mental capabilities of a 2-year-old, is hit repeatedly last April inside a bathroom Police alleged the abuser is the victim's caregiver, a 22-year-old facing a number of charges, including felony false imprisonment, for allegedly blocking the door as the victim tried to leave. Shooting the video, police alleged. a 24-year-old caregiver who owned the cell phone at the time. Police are still trying to locate him. Also on the cell phone was another video, showing a second victim -- a 38-year-old man with the mental capabilities of a toddler. The video shows him being hit numerous times while the suspects laugh. Police learned of the video after Rama sold his cell phone to another employee, who later discovered the videos and reported the incidents to facility officials. Solis was arrested last week on felony false imprisonment and misdemeanor dependent abuse charges. He pleaded not guilty last week and has been released on $25,000 bail.
  16. ^ Former officer moved to prison. Ventura County Star, July 14, 2001.
  17. ^ Perez Freed From Prison - Parole: Rampart Figure Leaves Tehachapi for Undisclosed Location. Press-Telegram (Long Beach, CA), July 25, 2001.

External links
Above facilities are male-only unless noted by ♀(female) or ♂♀ (unisex)