| Prison Name: | Southern Desert Correctional Center |
| Location: | 20825 Cold Creek Road Indian Springs, Nevada |
| Coordinates: | 36.515°N -115.5556°W |
| Status: | Open |
| Classification: | Medium |
| Capacity: | 2149 |
| Opened: | 1982 |
| Managed By: | Nevada Department of Corrections |
| Warden: | Gabriela Najera |
Southern Desert Correctional Center (SDCC) is a state prison for men located in Indian Springs, Clark County, Nevada, owned and operated by the Nevada Department of Corrections.[1] The capacity is 2149 inmates. Most are medium security.
This facility should not be confused with the Southern Nevada Correctional Center, a state facility at Jean that closed in 2008, or the Nevada Southern Detention Center, a private prison at Pahrump run by Corrections Corporation of America under contract with the United States Marshals Service.
Southern Desert Correctional Center opened in February 1982 with seven 102-cell housing units, one of which housed federal prisoners until the NDOC took it over in 1987. A new 200-cell housing unit opened in 1989, and two 240-bed dormitory-style housing units were added in March 2008, bringing the population capacity from 714 in 1982 to its present capacity of 2,149.[1]
On September 23, 2022, an inmate escaped from the facility. Porfirio Duarte-Herrera, one of the perpetrators of the 2007 Luxor bombing, used battery acid to weaken the window of his cell and created a dummy, possibly of cardboard, to fool the guards after exiting through it. His absence was not noticed for several days.[2] Officers only found out he was missing after other inmates informed them of his absence.[3] Duarte-Herrera was recaptured on September 28 at a bus stop in Las Vegas awaiting a bus to Tijuana, Mexico. Following this, Charles Daniels, the director of the NDOC, resigned at Governor Sisolak's request.[4]