Aug 15 2009
Cause and effect: Prison riots in Chino
While initial cause of the August 8th prison riots that took place at the California Institute for men in Chino are unknown, we can already begin to draw some conclusions from the incident.
Three major problems that prisons in California and all across the country are facing were brought to light with this incident: massive overcrowding, budget cuts and understaffed facilities.
These are major problems that our government needs to address, because the status quo is not only unacceptable — it’s unsustainable. California’s prisons are already due for a $1.2 billion budget cut this year and prison systems across the country are being forced to tighten their belts as our nation buckles down amidst the current recession.
At the same time though we are arresting people in record numbers. Over 1% of the nation’s population is incarcerated as I type this post. We don’t even have room for all of the people we’re throwing in prison (a good majority of which are for non-violent drug crimes). According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), California prisons currently hold 154,649 prisoners in facilities designed to house only 84,271 prisoners.
In the Chino facility where the riots took place 5,877 prisoners are kept in a prison designed to hold 2,976 inmates.
“You’re talking about hundreds of men moved into triple bunks in what used to be gyms and cafeterias,” said Barry Krisberg, president of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency in Oakland, California. “They’re not even cells. They’re just empty places where we’re shoving people.”
Too many prisoners isn’t the only problem though. Prison systems facing looming budget cuts are having to cut back on staffing while taking in these extra loads of inmates.
“We’re broke. How the heck are we going to operate these prisons?” Asked Jeanne Woodford, former warden at San Quentin and president of the CDCR. “Most prisons cost from $150 to $200 million a year to operate. There’s just no money for it.”
Broke, understaffed and overcrowded, our prisons are facing a deadly combination. A combination that played full circle in the Chino prison riot, which injured over 250 people.
The riot began in one of the seven 200-inmate housing units in the complex. Each unit has two guards assigned to it. By the time the crisis response team of 80 guards had arrived the riot had gotten so chaotic that it took several hours for the guards to regain control of the facility.
It seems clear what caused the riot by only looking at the over crowding data. Maybe we need to reevaluate some of our social policys. We have more people in prison that china and they have 4xs the population. Hmm somethings is amis.. .but the minute you use the term police state everyone gets all touchy.
prison population surging
extrajudicial detentions
military spying on the population http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2009/7/29/obamas_military_is_spying_on_us_peace_groups
US troops taking a strong hold in energy producing regions
Is it just me, or does this bode ill.
Funny how so many people can miss so much fricking writing on the wall, isn’t it?