California Institute for Men (CIM) is a multi-security level complex in Chino, California. It opened in the 1980s and has a capacity of 2778 offenders, but is currently home to, according to statistics found on Insideprison.com, a mind-blowing 6298 men. With that in mind, there is no wonder it was recently in the news for a riot that injured 250 inmates.This prison's past has been riddled with problems other than overcrowding and riots. A corrections officer was killed in 2005, inspections have found it poorly maintained, inadequately staffed and unsanitary, and there have been escapes (one that resulted in 4 murders). A recent swine flu outbreak has also afflicted the prison.
Almost every article I've read asks the question, "what caused this riot?". Some speculate it was racial tension. A disgustingly over-budget system is now going to spend more money trying to discover the cause of this riot, rather than trying to solve what those of us with our eyes open already know caused it. Overcrowding.
There is racial tension in every prison. The difference, is that this is a grossly overcrowded, understaffed and poorly maintained prison that recently suffered a swine flu outbreak. It seems fairly obvious to me that California could save itself more headaches, more money and more lives if it just stopped being so lock-up happy. Maybe California ought to redefine what a criminal who presents a threat to society and is deserving of lock-up really is. 47% of all state held inmates are in for non-violent offenses. Is this worth the budget problems? The job cuts? The riots? The deaths of corrections officers and inmates alike? Is it really worth it? All of this to keep a few marijuana peddlers off the street? When does the silly become absolutely and morbidly absurd?
The prison remains under lockdown. Because that will solve all of California's needless corrections woes.
CDCR - California Institution for Men (CIM) - Home Page/Mission Statement
Record Poor at Riot-Scarred California Prison, Files Show - NYTimes.com
California Institution for Men - prison stories, prison history, prison conditions, and inmate treatment for California Institution for Men
At Chino, mute evidence speaks of violent riot - Los Angeles Times
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