Chuckawalla Valley State Prison

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Chuckawalla Valley State Prison is located south of Interstate 10, west of Blythe, California. The prison opened in December 1988 and covers 1,735 acres. Although the prison was designed to hold 1,738 inmates, in 2002-2003 it had 3,700 prisoners, and a staff of 898. The annual budget of the prison is around $60,000,000.

[edit] References

CDCR profile Chuckawalla Valley State Prison, opened in 1988, is a Level II, Medium Security Facility, designed to house approximately 2300 convicted felons. Its current population slightly exceeds 4000 inmates. Primary housing consists of 11 open dormitory style building on four main yards. Each housing unit contains 340 beds. There is also a Level I yard which consists of two buildings with 200 beds each. The Administrative Segregation Unit (ASU) serves as a temporary home for those who are found guilty of severe rule violations while incarcerated. ASU is comprised of 100 cells, each containing two beds.

General population inmates are allowed to enter and leave their living quarters as they wish, except at night, during count times, or during lockdown procedures. Two yards have been designated as SNY, or Special Needs Yards. These are reserved for sex offenders, gang drop-outs, former law enforcement, and others whose program needs cannot be met in general population.

The prison is staffed by approximately 450 sworn officers and 450 ancillary staff. Although the officers are trained in the use of firearms, most are armed with only pepper spray and a baton while on duty.