California State Prison, Solano

California State Prison, Solano (SOL)

Aerial View
Location Vacaville, California
Coordinates 38°19′19″N 121°58′30″W / 38.322°N 121.975°WCoordinates: 38°19′19″N 121°58′30″W / 38.322°N 121.975°W
Status Operational
Security class Medium
Capacity 2,610
Population 4,123 (158%) (as of 31 December 2012[1])
Opened August 1984
Managed by California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
Warden Gary Swarthout

California State Prison, Solano (SOL) is a male-only state prison located in the city of Vacaville, Solano County, California, adjacent to the California Medical Facility. The facility is also referenced as Solano State Prison, CSP-Solano, and CSP-SOL.[2][3][4]

Facilities

As of Fiscal Year 2006/2007, SOL had a total of 1,308 staff and an annual operating budget of $158.4 million.[5] As of February 2011, it had a design capacity of 2,610 but a total institution population of 5,050, for an occupancy rate of 193.5 percent.[6]

SOL's 146 acres (59 ha) include the following facilities, among others:[2]

History

The California prison construction boom between 1984 and 2005 was driven by years of increasingly tough anti-crime legislation, and began with the construction of California State Prison, Solano, which opened in August 1984."[7] SOL was overseen by the warden of the California Medical Facility until January 1992, when a separate warden was assigned.[8] By 1998, SOL was so crowded that "emergency triple bunks" were added.[9] 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."[10] In the last year 2008/2009 triple bunking has been removed and the gyms at this time are not holding inmates (Aug 2009). The inmate population was approximately 5500 in August 2009.

References

  1. Offender Information Services Branch (3 January 2013). "Monthly Report of Population". California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. p. 2. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
  2. 2.0 2.1 California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. California's Correctional Facilities. 6 March 2011.
  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 State Prison, Solano (SOL) (2009). "Institution Statistics". California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Retrieved 2011-03-06.
  6. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Monthly Report of Population as of Midnight February 23, 2011.
  7. 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.
  8. California State Prison, Solano (SOL) (2011). "Historical Notes". California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Retrieved 2011-03-06.
  9. 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.
  10. Hamlin, Brian. Inmates can worship on their terms. The Reporter (Vacaville, CA), December 31, 2002.

External links