Prison Closing In Riverside County, 2 Other IE Lockups To Cut Back

INLAND EMPIRE, CA — A state prison in Riverside County that currently houses over 2,000 inmates is expected to close in March 2025 amid ongoing cost cutbacks, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced Tuesday.

The CDCR is beginning the process to close Chuckawalla Valley State Prison in Blythe and trim-downs at six more prisons are planned — including two others in the Inland Empire: Norco's California Rehabilitation Center and Chino's California Institution for Men.

Chuckawalla is the third California prison Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration has recently moved to shutter. The California Correctional Center in Lassen County is expected to close by June. The Deuel Vocational Institution in Tracy shut down last year.

Additionally, the CDCR is ending a $32 million annual lease with CoreCivic for the California City Correctional Facility in Kern County. The contract is expected to end March 2024, according to Tuesday's announcement.

The break with CoreCivic marks the end of an era — a time when California contracted with private sector businesses for prison space to address statewide inmate overcrowding. CoreCivic owns and manages private prisons and detention centers and operates others on a concession basis, according to the company. The CoreCivic deal with CDCR began in 2013, and California City Correctional Facility is the last contract prison in the state system.

“Now that the term of the lease is expiring and there is additional space at nearby facilities, it makes sense to transition our staff and population into our state-owned facilities," according to Tuesday's announcement.

Inmates at prisons affected by closures will be transferred to other institutions or yards "based on their housing, custody and rehabilitative needs," according to the CDCR. "All of their rehabilitative, educational and self-help program credits will transfer with them."

Closure of some buildings at Folsom Women’s Facility in Sacramento County, Pelican Bay State Prison in Del Norte County, California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo County, and the California Correctional Institution in Kern County are also planned.

According to the Sacramento Bee, California’s state prison inmate population is shrinking. State prisons last week held about 94,000 incarcerated people, down from about 120,000 in 2019 and about 160,000 in 2011.

This year the state expects to spend about $18.8 billion on its prison system. California’s Legislative Analyst’s Office earlier this year estimated that shutting five state prisons would save $1.5 billion a year, according to the Sacramento Bee.

CDCR and the Newsom administration say they are working to minimize impacts on prison staff and communities surrounding the closing facilities. Options for employees include possible to transfer to other state prisons, according to Tuesday's announcement.