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21-786: California Correctional Center ( CCC ) was a state prison in the city of Susanville in Northern California. It was a minimum-security facility. Also located in Susanville is the High Desert State Prison (California) (maximum security), and nearby the Federal Correctional Institution, Herlong . Lassen County has a concentration of prisons, which employ half of the adult population of Susanville. The state facilities prisons were severely overcrowded until 2012, when legislation

42-558: A CDCR spokesperson stated that firefighters earn $ 2.90 - $ 5.12 per day, with an additional $ 1 per hour when assigned to an active emergency. Citing a San Francisco Chronicle article about a bill to remove restrictions on formerly incarcerated firefighters becoming career firefighters upon release, 2020 presidential candidate Julian Castro tweeted "In California, incarcerated people are risking their lives battling wildfires for $ 1/hour. Yet these same people are barred from firefighting after release. It's wrong. If you can save lives serving

63-564: A design capacity of 3,883 but a total institution population of 6,093, for an occupancy rate of 156.9 percent. Due to AB109 , the inmate population was reduced to 2889 as of March 13, 2012. The prison was built in 1963 as a minimum-security facility. It was expanded in 1987 to include facilities to accommodate medium-security inmates. Among the vocational programs at CCC, the "certified 90-day horse gentling program" for wild horses, begun in 1987, has received much attention. The federal Bureau of Land Management supplies wild horses captured from

84-505: A sentence, you can save lives when you're released." The bill did not pass. In September 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2147, which allows inmate firefighters to petition courts to dismiss their convictions after completing their sentences. This would provide a path for former prisoners to obtain EMT certification on release, a frequent requirement for hiring or advancement as

105-536: A temporary restraining order which halted the closure. The California Correctional Center was fully deactivated as of June 30, 2023. The documentary film Prison Town, USA , was shown as part of the P.O.V. series on PBS television in July 2007. It explores the effects upon the residents of rural Susanville of living near the CCC, High Desert State Prison , and the nearby Federal Correctional Institution, Herlong , which

126-667: The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation ," including those from CCC, to help fight the California wildfires . On December 20, 2016, a riot erupted at the prison involving approximately 100 prisoners. The prison was scheduled to close in June 2023. However, defenders of the California Correctional Center sued the state, which prompted a judge in rural Lassen County to issue

147-617: The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) and the Los Angeles County Fire Department . The mission of the Conservation Camp program is to "support state, local and federal government agencies as they respond to emergencies such as fires, floods, and other natural or manmade disasters." Over 3,000 incarcerated people work at the conservation camps each year, including men, women, and juveniles, all of whom have volunteered for

168-411: The "high desert border country of northeastern California and western Nevada"; inmates "are not paid for their participation." After the program, the horses "become candidates for the periodic public horse adoptions held at the prison." The program is thought to benefit inmates; as one participant said, "it teaches you patience and teaches you that if you want something, you have to work at it." In 2004,

189-466: The 40s and 50s, including the first youth camps. In 1959, California Senate Bill 516 authorized expansion of the program, motivated by the comparatively cheap cost of housing and paying incarcerated laborer for firefighting and environmental programs, the belief that the program was effective at rehabilitation, and a desire to reduce overcrowding inside prisons. Between 1959 and 1966, the program grew to 42 camps staffed by 2,880 incarcerated people, or 8.7% of

210-735: The CDCR, "As they repay their debt to society, camp inmates also provide a real economic benefit to local communities. In 1989 alone, camp inmates worked 5.5 million hours—a $ 43 million value". Per a CDCR news report, as of 2007 "Approximately 200 crews log an average of more than three million person hours a year fighting wildfires and responding to floods, earthquakes, and search and rescue missions. [...] When not responding to emergencies, crews put in an additional seven million hours every year working on conservation projects on public lands and community service projects. Fire crews clean up campgrounds, beaches and parks on city, county and state land and provide

231-566: The California state legislature in 1915 to build roads and railroads, respond to environmental issues, and participate in some types of agriculture. In response to firefighter labor shortages during World War II, the Rainbow Conservation Camp was established as the first permanent fire camp, in 1946. It was modeled after New Deal Civilian Conservation Corps camps. The program grew to 16 camps throughout California in

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252-814: The Los Angeles County Fire Department. Camps are structured as open dormitories, with dining and maintenance activities staffed by incarcerated people and supervised by correctional staff. The two active camps for women are Malibu Conservation Camp and Puerta la Cruz. Most youth camps have been converted to camps for adult men, with one remaining youth camp at Pine Grove. Work varies by camp but often includes: Programs vary by camp but often include: Mobile Fire Kitchen Units, deployed to feed responders and displaced community members in emergencies like fires and earthquakes, are primarily staffed by incarcerated workers from conservation camps. Conservation camps received increased public scrutiny in

273-516: The anti-prison political action group Californians United for a Responsible Budget coalition (which advocates for "lowering the number of inmates and prisons") suggested that CCC and three other prisons be closed as a cost-cutting measure, but CCC continued to operate. Advocates wanting to improve prison conditions gained passage of legislation in 2012 requiring reduction in the severe overcrowding in state prisons. In October 2007 Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger "directed inmate firefighters and staff from

294-455: The criteria for assignment to a conservation camp." It has 1,100 acres (450 ha) including Level l ("Open dormitories without a secure perimeter") housing, Level ll ("Open dormitories with secure perimeter fences and armed coverage") housing, Level lll ("Individual cells, fenced perimeters and armed coverage") housing, and camps. As of Fiscal Year 2006/2007, CCC had 1,184 staff and an annual budget of $ 139 million. As of September 2007, it had

315-1112: The history, conditions, and demographics of California's prison system specifically, see Prisons in California . Reception centers house incarcerate people incoming to the state prison system while they complete an evaluation and receive a custody score. After that, they may be transferred to another prison for longer-term confinement. While all facilities have some level of education, treatment, and pre-release programs, reentry hubs provide specific reentry support to incarcerated people within 4 years of release, including cognitive behavioral therapy , job search skills, and financial literacy. In an effort to relieve California prison overcrowding that peaked in 2006, CDCR began housing California prisoners in prisons in other states. In 2009, CDCR began to phase out its use of out-of-state facilities, and it stopped incarcerating people in out-of-state facilities in 2019. The facilities were: California Conservation Fire Camps The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) runs 44 conservation camps (also called fire camps ) jointly with

336-484: The labor for weed abatement and other projects that help reduce the risk of fires and other disasters." The report also stated that use of incarcerated labor in Conservation Camps save the state more than $ 80 million annually. Today, approximately 3,100 incarcerated people live and work out of 44 camps run by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in conjunction with either CAL FIRE or

357-443: The late 2000s after a series of damaging fires in the state, with concerns about the safety of incarcerated firefighters, their compensation, and their inability to become firefighters upon release. Two incarcerated firefighters at Bautista Conservation Camp died in a 1990 fire, and many crew members were injured. Three incarcerated firefighters died on the job in 2017 and 2018. In response to one media inquiry about conditions and pay,

378-470: The prison population at that time. Camp funding and therefore staffing declined under the Governorship of Ronald Reagan from 1967 to 1975, before a resurgence in the 1980s emphasizing cost savings rather than rehabilitation. The first conservation camp for women was opened in 1983 with the conversion of the Rainbow Conservation Camp from a men's camp to a women's camp. Per a 1990 pamphlet published by

399-406: The program. All volunteers receive the same entry-level training as CAL FIRE's seasonal firefighters. CAL FIRE reported 3,500 incarcerated firefighters in its 2018-2019 staffing numbers, making incarcerated firefighters approximately 27% of the total firefighting capacity of the state. Conservation camps are an evolution of "road camps" staffed by incarcerated people, first formally authorized by

420-540: Was opening when the film was made. In "job-starved rural America, ... residents see them as the last and only chance for employment after work at the lumber mill or the dairy dries up." List of California state prisons CDCR operates a variety of other incarceration facilities, including fire camps and California Division of Juvenile Justice facilities. For more information on the totality of jurisdictions and facilities involved in incarceration in California, see Incarceration in California . For more information on

441-410: Was passed requiring reduction in prison populations. Many facilities are still above design capacity, increasing risk to correction officers and inmates. CCC's missions are "to receive, house, and train minimum-custody inmates for placement into one of the institution's 18 Northern California conservation camps" and "to provide meaningful work, training, and education programs for inmates who do not meet

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