California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation patch

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is responsible for the operation of the California state corrections, rehabilitation, and parole systems. It was created in 2005 by reorganization of the former Youth and Adult Correctional Agency. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Corrections refers to one of the components of the criminal justice system. ... This theory of punishment is based on the notion that punishment is to be inflicted on a offender so as to reform him, or rehabilitate him so as to make his re-integration into society easier. ... It has been suggested that Medical parole be merged into this article or section. ...

Creation and current organization

In 2004, a Corrections Independent Review Panel appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and led by former Governor George Deukmejian noted "California’s $6 billion correctional system suffers from a multitude of problems — out-of-control costs; a recidivism rate far exceeding that of any other state; reported abuse of inmates by correctional officers; an employee disciplinary system that fails to punish wrongdoers; and the failure of correctional institutions to provide youth wards and inmates with mandated health care and other services."^[1] Among other recommendations to address these problems, the Panel suggested "Reorganizing the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency."^[1] The Agency had consisted of "the Department of Corrections, the Department of the Youth Authority, the Board of Prison Terms, the Board of Corrections, the Commission on Correctional Peace Officer Standards and Training, the Narcotic Addict Evaluation Board and the Youth Authority Board."^[2] Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (German pronunciation IPA: ) (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian-born American bodybuilder, actor, and politician, currently serving as the 38th Governor of the U.S. state of California. ... Courken George Deukmejian, Jr. ... This article is about recidivism in criminology and penology. ...

Schwarzenegger made a reorganization plan public in January 2005 implementing many of the recommendations of the panel but without "a citizens commission overseeing the state's entire correctional operation."^[3] The reorganization became effective on July 1, 2005.^[2] The CDCR's current Divisions and Boards include (among others)^[4][5]:

• Division of Juvenile Justice, formerly known as the California Youth Authority (Department of the Youth Authority).
• Division of Adult Institutions, responsible for the adult prisons.
• Division of Adult Parole Operations.
• Board of Parole Hearings, which combines the old Board of Prison Terms, the Narcotic Addict Evaluation Authority, and the Youth Authority Board.
• Corrections Standards Authority, whose functions parallel those of the former Board of Corrections and the former Commission on Correctional Peace Officer Standards and Training.

The California Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), formerly known as the California Youth Authority (CYA), provides education, training, and treatment services for Californias most serious youth offenders. ... The following is a list of state prisons in California. ...

Correctional and rehabilitation facilities

According to the Department’s official Web site, "Currently there are 33 adult prisons, 13 adult community correctional facilities, and eight juvenile facilities in California that house more than 165,000 adult offenders and nearly 3,200 juvenile offenders."^[6] This inmate population makes the CDCR the largest state-run prison system in the United States.^[7] The following is a list of state prisons in California. ...

Regarding adult prisons, CDCR has the task of receiving and housing inmates that were convicted of felony crimes within the State of California. When an adult inmate arrives at a state prison, he/she is assigned a classification based on his/her committed offense. Each prison is designed to house different varieties of inmate offenders, from Level I inmates to Level IV inmates; the higher the level, the higher risk the inmate poses. Selected prisons within the state are equipped with security housing units, reception centers, and/or "condemned" units. These security levels are defined as follows:^[8] For the record label, see Felony Records The term felony is a term used in common law systems for very serious crimes, whereas misdemeanors are considered to be less serious offenses. ...

• Level I: "Open dormitories without a secure perimeter."
• Level II: "Open dormitories with secure perimeter fences and armed coverage."
• Level III: "Individual cells, fenced perimeters and armed coverage."
• Level IV: "Cells, fenced or walled perimeters, electronic security, more staff and armed officers both inside and outside the installation."
• Security Housing Unit (SHU): "The most secure area within a Level IV prison designed to provide maximum coverage." These are designed to handle inmates that cannot be housed with the general population of inmates. This includes inmates that are validated prison gang members, gang bosses or shot callers, etc.
• Reception Center (RC): "Provides short term housing to process, classify and evaluate incoming inmates."
• Condemned (Cond): "Holds inmates with death sentences."

Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the execution of a convicted criminal by the state as punishment for crimes known as capital crimes or capital offences. ...

Parolees

According to the Department’s official Web site, "there are more than 148,000 adult parolees and 3,800 juvenile parolees supervised by the CDCR."^[6] A 2002 article found that "California’s growth in the numbers of people on parole supervision — and in the numbers whose parole has been revoked — has far exceeded the growth in the rest of the nation."^[9] California accounted for 12 percent of the U.S. population but 18% of the U.S. parole population, and almost 90,000 California parolees returned to prison in 2000.^[9]

Personnel

The CDCR has approximately 31,000 Correctional Officers, Correctional Counselors and Parole Agents, making this the largest State prison system in the United States, and also the 2nd largest law enforcement agency in the United States, next to the New York Police Department. These employees have state peace officer powers (or police powers) while on duty as authorized by the California Penal Code. These Officer's maintain the safety and security of all institutions. In addition to managing state prison systems, Correctional Peace Officers are also assigned to specialized units that handle many different aspects of prison operations and parole operations. These include CDCR transportation units, narcotics investigations, paroles, special services unit (SSU), Fugitive/Escape Recovery Detail (FERD), Gang Investigation, Investigative Services Unit (ISU), K-9 units, etc. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Criminal Code. ...

Union

Officers of this department are represented by the California Correctional Peace Officers Association. It was founded in 1957. Its stated goals include protecting the safety of officers, advocating laws, funding and policies to improve prison operations and protect public safety. The union has had its controversies over the years, including criticism of its large contributions to former California Governor Gray Davis. Since the California recall election, 2003, the CCPOA has been a vocal critic of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA), founded in 1957 as the California Correctional Officers Association (CCOA), is the prison guards labor union in California. ... Arnold Schwarzenegger, winner of the 2003 California recall The 2003 California recall was a special election permitted under California law. ...

Training

Correctional Peace Officers are trained at the Basic Correctional Peace Officer Academies (BCPOA) located in Galt, California & Stockton, California. The academy is 16 weeks in length and all cadets (or correctional officer candidates) must complete training courses in weapons, California law, physical abilities, defensive combat, inmate restraining techniques and a number of other subject matter.

Prison Reform

The California prison system is currently, and has been for many years, plagued with overcrowding due to an overwhelming inmate population. Although California has 32 active state prisons, the state is unable to handle the flow of incoming inmates into the system. In April 2007, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger introduced his Prison Reform Bill that will fund up to three new prisons. However, many state officials have agreed that even with three new prisons, the situation with overcrowding in the prison system will not be fixed. In addition to the overcrowding issue, the prison system is far understaffed with Correctional Peace Officers. The state is unable to hire and train enough new Officers to keep up with the flow of new offenders into the system. Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (German pronunciation IPA: ) (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian-born American bodybuilder, actor, and politician, currently serving as the 38th Governor of the U.S. state of California. ...

Officers Killed in the Line of Duty

Since 1903, a total of 33 Correctional Peace Officers have been killed in the line of duty. Most recently, on January 10, 2005, Officer Manuel A. Gonzalez was killed in the line of duty at the California Institution for Men located in Chino, California. Officer Gonzalez was fatally stabbed with a shank (inmate manufactured knife) by an inmate. The suspect was later charged with capital murder of a Peace Officer. is the 10th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This page may meet Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ... Chino is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. ...

External links

• California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Retrieved on November 2, 2005.
• California Correctional Peace Officers Association. Retrieved on June 26, 2007.

References