September 29, 2011 | 5:02 PM | By

Chowchilla does not want a men’s prison, files suit

FILED UNDER: Corrections, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Chowchilla, Rosenberg Foundation, Women in Prison

Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla.

Public officials in Chowchilla have filed a lawsuit to prevent either of the local women’s prisons from being converted to house male inmates as realignment begins. Currently, California has 9.300 women inmates, spread across three women’s prisons–two of which are in Chowchilla. Under realignment, non-violence, non-serious, non-sex offenders will become the domain of county jails, not state prisons. The majority of women in prison fall into this category and so the female prison population will likely be cut in half over the next couple of years, reducing the need for women’s prison beds.

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Secretary Matt Cate told KALW last week that one or two of the women’s prisons in the state could be converted to house men–or the state “may bring back some offenders from out of state.” (9,500 inmates are currently housed in prisons in Arizona, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Michigan.)

But officials in Chowchilla have consistently resisted the idea of having a prison for men–which they believe would attract inmates’ families. Now, the town is filing a lawsuit to stop any conversion in its tracks. According to the Fresno Bee:

The suit, filed Monday in Madera County Superior Court, says Chowchilla officials believe the state did not conduct an environmental review, as required by the California Environmental Quality Act, before starting the process of converting Valley State Prison for Women into a men’s prison.

No decision has been made to convert the women’s prison east of Chowchilla to a men’s facility, Dana Toyama, spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said Wednesday.

However, state prison officials are in the process of determining where to house inmates now that the overall population is being cut.

Prison reform and budget reform advocates have suggested that the state could take the opportunity close one or two of the women’s prisons. Secretary Cate, however, said that option is not currently being considered. “If we close a prison, that’s reduced capacity,” Cate said. A federal court order upheld by the US Supreme Court in May, ordered the state to reduce its population to 137.5 percent of its design capacity over the next two years. The court order targets the overall prison system’s capacity, and does not require the state to reduce each of its individual prisons to a lower level of crowding. Eliminating a prison would reduce the prison system’s overall number of beds.

Tim Silard, president of the Rosenberg Foundation, has argued that closing two women’s prisons could save California $300 million in operating costs. “California has more than thirty adult prisons across the state and spends enormous amounts of money to keep those prisons going,” Silard told KALW last month. “The public is enormously supportive of saving money in our prison system and doing business differently.”

  • Guest

    I am the wife of a lifer… I am a professional, law abiding citizen who makes over $95,000 a year.  They could only wish that I would want to live there and benefit their economy!

  • Breakingbrian315

    Yeah just to bad ur husbands is a piece of crap. He’s garbage and so r u.

  • Monetclause

    Now that is an intelligent response. Go back to sleep Breakingbrian315, and I won’t ask which side of Brian you’re breaking, obviously not his brains!

  • jb

    I agree. Seems like an odd reason to not want the conversion. Don’t families move close to women in prison too?? My best guess is that the employees at the prison don’t want to deal with the male inmates and the community doesn’t want more serious offenders in their nearby prison. Because their reasoning seems pretty thin.

  • guest1

    Wow Brian i’m surprised you can read because you sure can’t spell or post a grammatically correct sentence to post. You are just jealous she probably makes 11 times what you make a year.

  • Anonymous

    A couple of facts to consider in this case:

    There are about 9,000 female prisoners currently in three facilities, two near Chowchilla, one near Corona.  The two northern prisons (CCWF and VSPW) taken together are rated to hold about 4,000 women but currently hold more than 7,000.  CIW (California Institution for Women) in southern California is rated to hold roughly 1,300 but is currently housing around 1,800.  The current population is at 170% of design population, and must over the next few years be reduced to 135%, or a bit more than 7,000.  

    Just keeping one facility open in Chowchilla and closing CIW and VSPW, as Mr Silard suggests, would bring down the capacity to under 2,700 — that would require reducing the overall total of women in state prisons by over 2/3.  That is a very optimistic number indeed.

    More likely is keeping CIW and Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF), which would together have (at 135% of rated capacity) room for about 4,500 inmates.  This still requires a drop of 50%, but this is probably practical as women are more likely to fit the profile of inmates that will not be sent to state prisons under realigment.

    But don’t be in too big of a hurry to move men into Valley State Prison for Women (VSPW).  Most of the housing would be classified as level I or II (minimum/medium, roughly) for men — and that will still require building changes and retraining.  And male inmates at those lower classifications are much less likely to be sent to state prisons from now on  – you don’t need more low security space, you need more high security space.

    Oh, a final snarky comment (forgive me) but it would be good if you could get the picture right at the top of the story.  That *is* a picture of CCWF, but *nobody* is suggesting closing that prison as it has specialized facilites such as condemmned housing and the main hospital for women.  The proposal is to convert VSPW across the street — and the aerial photo for that facility is available on the CDCR web site the same place you got CCWF’s.

  • guest

    I want to comment on Breakingbrain315. Such little words you chose to express your self. I am Correctional Officer and train new comers; I have worked in CDC for over 25 years. At first my my personal opinion about these women was negative but with in time I’ve learned that anyone of us can be in there shoes. When you have a loved one or someone your close to come into this system, your opinion will change. That person is someone mother, daughter, sister or even a best friend. If someone you knew were in prison, how would you feel? because those people as many say can easily be YOU…

  • officer

    what about the people who work there they want to make them lose there jobs and then transfer familys far away workers there have a life and families they cant just get up and move ..also it dont make no sence ok they say lets put the burden on the county jails and they are over crowded as it is now they are filled up cause we put the prisoners in there now guess what they are releasing them for no room ..now be on the streets to deal with you ..

  • Char S

    Where would the female prisoners go if men were in the prison?   If the state has only 3 womens prisons and CCWF is full also, and the other female prison if full, what are they going to do.  Over half get out and do it all over  again; seems like they do not get the help they need, or if they do, they leave the rehab place.  My girlfriend  was in VSPW  and over a yr later in CCWF for parole violation, due to drugs, and she went to a rehab, but left after 1 month!  it is a yo yo back and forth, cost alot of money!   May God help us all!