The California State Prison System is one of the largest in the United States. It is administered by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, supervising over 170,000 inmates. Such a figure translates to about 475 inmates for every 100,000 California residents. California State Prisons have, for quite some time, been the subject of controversy due a variety of factors.
Firstly, the entire California State Prison System has been under fire due to the fact that the state has a very large and diverse population and a history of both gang violence and drug related crimes. Furthermore, California State Prisons have become well-known for being extremely overcrowded.
In total, the facilities in California are designed to house about 83,000 inmates, which the current population is at more than double that figure. Furthermore, issues regarding overpopulation of California State Prisons have also brought out other factors, such as inadequate facilities, medical care, and treatment of prisoners.
In recent years, the issue of overpopulation in California State Prisons has warranted Federal involvement. One of the proposed plans is to move inmates to other facilities in other states. Currently, California prisons use private institutions as well as correctional facilities in three other states, Arizona, Mississippi, and Tennessee, to alleviate some of the overpopulation issues in the various California State Prisons.
Some the most well-known California State Prison facilities include Folsom State Prison, San Quentin State Prison, Pelican Bay State Prison, and Ironwood State Prison.
