| Aerial View | |
| Location | Calipatria, California |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°09′58″N 115°29′10″W / 33.166°N 115.486°WCoordinates: 33°09′58″N 115°29′10″W / 33.166°N 115.486°W |
| Status | Operational |
| Security class | Minimum-maximum |
| Capacity | 2,208 |
| Population | 4,272 (193%) (as of fy 2008/09[1]) |
| Opened | 1992 |
| Managed by | California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation |
| Director | Larry Small, Warden |
Calipatria State Prison (CAL) is a male-only state prison located in the city of Calipatria, in Imperial County, California.
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Although located about 3 miles (4.8 km) from the center of Calipatria, the prison is within the city limits.[2] Called the lowest prison in the Western Hemisphere, it lies 184 feet (56 m) below sea level. As of Fiscal Year 2005/2006, CAL had a total of 1,143 staff and an annual operating budget of $123 million.[3]
The facility covers a total of 1,227.5 acres (496.8 ha) (with the prison on 300 acres (120 ha)).[3] As of September 2007, it had a design capacity of 2,308 but a total institution population of 4,180, for an occupancy rate of 181.1 percent.[4] Over 2,000 of its housing units are maximum-security Level IV ("Cells, fenced or walled perimeters, electronic security, more staff and armed officers both inside and outside the installation"); the remainder are minimum-security Level I ("Open dormitories without a secure perimeter").[3][5]
CAL opened in January 1992[3], approximately 22 months before California State Prison, Centinela (the other state prison in Imperial County). A $1.5 million electrified fence, which could cause instantaneous death for escaping inmates and which was the first of its kind among California state prisons, was installed in November 1993.[6][7] After a number of birds had died by electrocution, an ornithologist was hired to help redesign the fence and eliminate the problem.[8]
As of 1995, CAL's problems included "double-celling" (placing two inmates in bunk beds in a cell designed for one), psychological stress, a drastic shortage of work for prisoners, chronic understaffing among prison employees, and gang violence.[8] A May 1995 incident in which five inmates stabbed and assaulted eight officers"was described in 1997 as the worst inmate attack on staff in California state prisons in recent years.[7]
Angelo Buono, Jr. (also known as the Hillside Strangler) died at CAL in September 2002 of a "massive heart attack."[9]
An August 2005 riot at CAL was the most violent uprising at the prison.[10] The event left 25 inmates and 25 prison staff members wounded.[10] A guard shot and killed an inmate with a Mini-14 semiautomatic rifle, which was believed to have contributed to ending the violence.[10] A spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation stated that the disturbance involved Hispanic gang members."[11]
  | Calipatria riot reflects troubled prison system. Crowding, violence just part of problem. - SignOnSanDiego.com > News > State -- Calipatria riot reflects troubled prison system |
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