California Correctional Institution Explained

Prison Name:California Correctional Institution (CCI)
Location:Tehachapi, California
Status:Operational
Classification:Minimum to Supermax
Capacity:2,172
Population:2,611 (120.2%)
Populationdate:January 31, 2023[1]
Opened:1954 (original California Institution for Women existed on same site 1932–1952)
Managed By:California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
Warden:Brian Cates

California Correctional Institution (CCI) is a supermax state prison in the city of Tehachapi in southern California. CCI is sometimes referred to as "Tehachapi prison" or "Tehachapi".[2] [3] As stated by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, its overall mission is "to incarcerate and control felons, while providing the opportunity for meaningful work, training and other programs. The prison provides programs for those inmates who are willing to work and participate fully in available programs."[4]

Facilities

CCI is in the Cummings Valley region.

CCI has including Level I ("Open dormitories with a secure perimeter") housing; Level II ("Open dormitories with secure perimeter fences and armed coverage") housing; Level III ("Individual cells, fenced perimeters 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."[5] As of November 2020, the facility's total population was 2983, or 107.2 percent of its design capacity of 2,783.[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 1952 Kern County earthquake on July 21, "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 reopened in 1954 as CCI, an all-men's prison.[5] In 1985–1986, maximum and medium security facilities were added to it.[5] 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]

In popular culture

The women's prison has been frequently mentioned in popular film and radio, particularly during the noir era.

JR (artist) made a documentary film in 2023.

Notable inmates

Notable staff

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation: Monthly Report of Population As of Midnight January 31, 2023. January 31, 2023. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Internal Oversight and Research. September 21, 2023.
  2. Pepper, Art, and Laurie Pepper. Straight Life: The Story of Art Pepper. Updated ed. New York: Da Capo Press, 1994.
  3. Warden Named to State Prison – Official to Take Over Friday in Lancaster. Daily News of Los Angeles, August 25, 1994.
  4. Web site: California Correctional Institution (CCI). Ca.gov. 26 March 2012.
  5. Web site: California Correctional Institution (CCI) . Mission Statement . California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation . 2009 . 17 April 2012.
  6. Web site: Offender Information Services Branch . Monthly Report of Population . California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation . 2 . 30 November 2020 . 29 December 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130516203048/http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Reports_Research/Offender_Information_Services_Branch/Monthly/TPOP1A/TPOP1Ad1212.pdf . 16 May 2013 . dead .
  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. .
  11. Tehachapi's inmates will go to Corona. 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. Web site: The Incredible Case of the Infamous Lower Haight Abortion Mill. February 2012.
  15. Web site: CDCR Public Inmate Locator Disclaimer.
  16. Web site: Man sentenced in 1988 slaying of LO couple.
  17. Web site: CDCR Public Inmate Locator Disclaimer.
  18. News: Madge Meredith. The des Moines Register. 5 August 1951. 29.

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