California State Prison, Los Angeles County

California State Prison, Los Angeles County (LAC) is a male-only state prison located in the city of Lancaster, in Los Angeles County, California. The only state prison located in the county, it is also referenced as Los Angeles County State Prison, CSP-Los Angeles County.[2][3][4] Only occasionally is the prison referred to as Lancaster State Prison, which was particularly avoided in 1992 partly to ease the stigma for Lancaster.[5]

California State Prison, Los Angeles County (LAC)
LocationLancaster, California
Coordinates34.694°N 118.228°W / 34.694; -118.228
StatusOperational
Security classMinimum–maximum
Capacity2,300
Population3,158 (137.3% capacity) (as of April 30, 2020[1])
OpenedFebruary 1993
Managed byCalifornia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
WardenRaybon C. Johnson Jr.

Facilities

As of Fiscal Year 2006/2007, LAC had a total of 1,519 staff and an annual operating budget of $100 million.[2] As of September 2007, it had a design capacity of 2,300 but a total institution population of 4,976, for an occupancy rate of 216.3 percent.[6]

As of April 30, 2020, LAC was incarcerating people at 137.3% of its design capacity, with 3,158 occupants.[1]

LAC's 262 acres (106 ha) include the following facilities:[2][7]

  • Level I housing: Open dormitories without a secure perimeter
  • Level IV housing: Cells, fenced or walled perimeters, electronic security, more staff and armed officers both inside and outside the installation
  • Reception Center (RC): provides short term housing to process, classify and evaluate incoming inmates

History

Before the prison opened in 1993, Los Angeles County hosted no prisons but accounted for forty percent of California's state-prison inmates.[8] "Most of Lancaster's civic leaders and residents" opposed the building of the prison, and four inmates escaped from LAC in its first year of operation.[9] Nevertheless, by 2000 city residents' opinions of the prison had improved so much that a proposal to increase the proportion of maximum-security inmates received little criticism.[9]

A 2006–2007 conversion "of roughly half of" LAC's facilities decreased the number of maximum security inmates and increased the number of reception center inmates.[10] Since reception center inmates are at the prison for shorter times than maximum security inmates, the conversion may "reduce the number of families that will relocate to the region to be near a family member who is in the prison" and "reduce the number of prisoners who will want to relocate to the area after serving their sentences or after being released on parole".[10]

During the COVID-19 Pandemic of 2020, an inmate at California State Prison in Lancaster, was placed in isolation. On March 19, 2020, he reported that he was not feeling well. The agency said the patient was tested the following day and the results were received Sunday.

Notable inmates

Current
  • Joe Son: Actor and former mixed martial artist.

Former

See also

References
  1. "California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation: Monthly Report of Population As of Midnight April 30, 2020" (PDF). California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Internal Oversight and Research. April 30, 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 3, 2020. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  2. California State Prison, Los Angeles County (LAC) (2009). "Mission Statement". California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Archived from the original on August 6, 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  3. Thomas Russell, Wendy. "7-year case against city finally ends". Long Beach Press-Telegram, June 2, 2007.
  4. Stoltze, Frank "Lancaster State Prison Offers Glimpse into Overcrowding Problem". KPCC Radio, April 26, 2007.
  5. Wolcott, Denis. "County Wants Valley's Name Dropped From New Prison". The Daily News of Los Angeles, December 30, 1992.
  6. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.Monthly Report of Population as of Midnight September 30, 2007. Archived October 26, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  7. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. California's Correctional Facilities Archived 2007-12-14 at the Wayback Machine. 15 Oct 2007.
  8. Wolcott, Denis. First Inmates Arrive at New Prison - Lancaster's 252 acre State Facility to Hold 2,200. Daily News of Los Angeles, February 2, 1993.
  9. Fox, Sue. "Prison, Lancaster Mend Fences and Build Tranquil Relationship". Los Angeles Times, May 14, 2000.
  10. Skeen, Jim. Conversion of A.V. "Prison Gets Support - Civic Leaders Say Change Will Lessen Crime in Area". Daily News of Los Angeles, December 23, 2006.
  11. https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/2017/11/20/man-wrongly-convicted-1978-killings-simi-valley-recommended-release-prison/882970001/
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