California is moving forward with its prison closures and announced that the California Correctional Center (CCC) in Susanville will close by June 30, 2022. CCC will be the second state prison slated to close according to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2020-21 budget.
CCC houses approximately 2,064 incarcerated people in addition to employing around 1,080 staff members.
CCC, an incarcerated firefighters training hub, places qualified firefighters in one of the state’s 14 Conservation Camps (fire camps) in Northern California. The fire camps utilize a dormitory design to house medium and minimum custody of prisoners. In 1988, a support facility was constructed with cells for medium custody prisoners.
“I had hopes to go to fire camp and earn some good money,” said C. Herrate, San Quentin prisoner. “I guess it’s a good thing.”
CDCR Secretary Kathleen Allison said, “The significant decrease in the state’s incarcerated population over the past year is allowing CDCR to move forward with these prison closures in a thoughtful manner that does not impact public safety, and that focuses on the successful reentry of people into communities once they release from our custody.”
The closure will save an annual $122 million, a CDCR press release states.
The Deuel Vocational Institution in Tracy was the first prison to be announced for closure by September 2021.
The Correctional Training Facility (CTF) Soledad and the California Correctional Institution (CCI) in Tehachapi are also slated to close by June 30, 2022, with a savings of another $45 million, according to the press release.
“While these decisions are never easy, they are opening the door for the department to increase efficiencies as California continues to focus on reentry and rehabilitation efforts,” said Allison.
In 2020, the state ended its contracts with in-state private and for-profit prisons. The Taft MCCF (modified correctional community facility) was the final contracted prison scheduled to end by May 31, 2021.
