By Edwin E. Chavez
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced that another institution will close this year. This is the fifth prison being closed since 2021, a decision that is projected to save taxpayers over $150 million annually.
The California Rehabilitation Center, CRC [Norco], was known for decades to house felons along with low-level offenders with substance use disorder. CDCR used to assign these particular residents with a prisoner I.D. known as an “N” number, distinguishing those who were sent to prison with a determinate sentence for drug-related offenses from other residents.
According to a article by Stepanie Frith of the The Press-Enterprise published in November 2023, CRC is the only institution in California that gives former residents who have been rehabilitated an opportunity to erase their felony convictions.
Recently, San Quentin has received new arrivals from CRC. They spent several years incarcerated there and shared their experience and living conditions with SQNews.
“The condition of the prison was severely dilapidated. In some of the bunk[s] you could see hole[s] on the floor. Some of the windows were broken, and during the wintertime the wind was blowing [in]. There were rats [and] roaches,” said Marcus Barnett, a newly arrived San Quentin resident.
Barnett recognizes that CDCR officials did their best in trying to fix up the facility. However, the compound was deteriorated beyond repair, and could no longer be kept operable. To combat the frequent outbreaks of rodents, skunks, and raccoons that lived under the dorms, CRC introduced a cat program, assigning select residents to care for them.
Prior to becoming a prison, the 98 acres of land where CRC sits was a luxury hotel. Opened in 1928, it used to house and entertain the rich and famous. Buster Keaton, Babe Ruth, Will Rogers, and Charlie Chaplin were just some of those who were intrigued by the multiple amenities, which included mineral baths and an 18-hole golf course.
According to the CDCR website, in 1941 then-president Franklin D. Roosevelt converted the resort into a Navy hospital and extended it when the United States entered WWII. In 1957, the hospital was donated to the state, which turned it into a prison. In January 1963, CRC housed its first prisoner.
CRC has stayed in the news for more than a decade, after former Gov. Jerry Brown tried to shut it down in an attempt to meet a court order for overcrowding in 2012. However, a state senate bill halted the closure.
The 2025 decision to close CRC attracted backlash from the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, which called the closure a move that will have negative impacts with serious consequences.
“It affects not only correctional peace officers and their families but also the broader Riverside County community, which has relied on the stability of these jobs for decades. The human cost cannot be ignored. Closure will result in forced transfers, fractured families, and, in many cases, the end of long, distinguished careers in public safety,” Nathan Ballard, spokesman for CCPOA, said to Brian Rokos of the The Press-Enterprise in August 2025.
Emelio Lamas, a former CRC resident, feels that the prison had its benefits when it came to educational achievements. He emphasized that the educational staff were incredibly helpful in helping students get into classes and orienting them to academic expectations.
Lamas recognized that the custody administration at Norco were very supportive of rehabilitative programs. However, he said some correctional officers didn’t believe that prisoners could rehabilitate themselves.
“Some officers would think that such programs as Peer Support were a waste of time and money,” said Lamas.
Alfonso Hernandez III, a resident who has also been transferred to San Quentin, feels that CRC shouldn’t be shut down because a lot of people depended on the prison, including the incarcerated people. He feels lucky that he was able to take advantage of what the prison had to offer while he was housed there, although he appreciates the resources that San Quentin has to offer.
“Norco is not like here at San Quentin. Over there, when a person puts in a request to participate in self-help, it will take up to six months or up to a year in order to get into the groups,” he said. “I got a job within a few weeks of being here as a peer mentor support.”
