Location Tehachapi, California Security class Minimum to maximum Capacity 2,783 | Status Operational Phone +1 661-822-4402 | |
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Population 4,484 (161.1%) (as of 31 December 2012) Opened 1954 (original California Institution for Women existed on same site 1932–1952) Managed by California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Address 24900 CA-202, Tehachapi, CA 93561, USA | ||
California Correctional Institution (CCI) is a state prison located in Cummings Valley, west of the city of Tehachapi in southern California. It is a supermax. CCI is sometimes referred to as "Tehachapi prison" or "Tehachapi". As stated by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, its overall mission is "to incarcerate and control felons, while providing the opportunity for meaningful work, training and other programs. The prison provides programs for those inmates who are willing to work and participate fully in available programs."
Contents
Facilities
CCI has 1,650 acres (670 ha) including Level I ("Open dormitories with a secure perimeter") housing; Level II ("Open dormitories with secure perimeter fences and armed coverage") housing; Level IV ("Cells, fenced or walled perimeters, electronic security, more staff and armed officers both inside and outside the installation") housing; a Security Housing Unit (SHU, which is "the most secure area within a Level IV prison designed to provide maximum coverage"); and a Reception Center (RC) which "provides short term housing to process, classify and evaluate incoming inmates." As of March 2012, the facility's total population was 4,753, or 170.8 percent of its design capacity of 2,783.
History
The original California Institution for Women, the first women’s facility in California, opened on the site of what is now CCI in 1932. It was sometimes referred to as "Tehachapi", as in the 1940s films Maltese Falcon and Double Indemnity. The institution was "run for many years independently from the correctional system for men" but beginning in 1944 was gradually brought under the control of the California Department of Corrections. After the 1952 Kern County earthquake on July 21, "made the brick dormitories unsafe", the institution was closed and the 417 prisoners were sent to the new California Institution for Women in Corona.
The prison was rebuilt and reopened in 1954 as CCI, an all-men's prison. In 1985–1986, maximum and medium security facilities were added to it. The Southern Maximum Security Complex at Tehachapi was "touted as the most advanced in the country", but was also "called a 'white elephant' and a 'Cadillac' because it took so long to build and cost so much".
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger "directed inmate firefighters and staff from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation", including those from CCI, to help fight the October 2007 California wildfires.
In culture
The women's prison has been frequently mentioned in popular film and radio, particularly during the noir era.