Correctional staff at NORCO’s California Rehabilitation Center (CRC) have begun writing Atty. General Rob Bonta opens the prison to alleviate the option of overpopulation in county jails.
California began putting some convicted felons in county jails in 2011 after the Supreme Court ruled that state prisons had caused brutal and unusual punishment. Now, according to a lawsuit filed by Bonta against Los Angeles County on September 8, the county’s prisons are overcrowded and uninhabitable.
In March, 878 inmates held at the Los Angeles County Jail were convicted, according to a sheriff’s department report. That’s 7% of the population.
“They are leaving the problem in the county, so they say their number has dropped and therefore the jail is being closed.”
Rohbock added that the beds at Norco Prison are open, with lower costs per inmate and have more rehabilitation and certification programs than most prisons.
The CDCR’s weekly report says the prison has 2,460 inmates, designed to be 1,822. Robert said the facility has enough beds to add inmates.
CDCR is used to determine which prison closure has eight criteria. These include demographic trends, operating costs, facility status, geographic considerations, impact on employees, program availability, legislative directives and public safety considerations.
After publication, CDCR spokesman Terri Hardy wrote that the California Rehabilitation Center was selected to close due to infrastructure costs, its uneven reasoning and population.
Hardy wrote that the prison “has older wooden facilities and requires substantial infrastructure investment to renew structures in disrepair. The imbalanced terrain in prison limits the prison’s ability to accommodate incarcerated Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) needs.” She continued: “In addition, the population of the CRC (mainly those with lower levels of incarcerated people who are less than a decade) is easier to relocate.”
The announcement on August 4 that the California Rehabilitation Center will be closed in fall 2026, citing the importance of forecasts for the prison population and cost savings. It does not specify why Norco Prison was selected among the 31 state-run prisons. A brief description of the facility mentions its origins as a luxury hotel and a naval hospital.
“As someone who has worked at the CRC for 15 years, we know that the CRC has this aura for it, and they think it’s some old naval bases that have been transformed in the 1950s and it has collapsed,” Rohbock said.
He said the old hotel was not part of the prison operation. Most buildings are modular and are part of the prisoner’s rehabilitation program, he said. As far as the cost is concerned, he said prisons are cost-effective for each inmate.
The letters also invited Bonta to visit the prison.
The Attorney General’s Office declined to comment on the letter. “We are seeking to force much needed, comprehensive reforms to the Los Angeles County Jail through litigation, and our complaints include everything we are currently able to share,” they wrote.
McGlin writes for sedatives Report Originally appeared.
