Chino Mayor Dennis Yates said the prisoner reductions were a good thing, but he said CIM is still grossly overcrowded.
By Neil Nisperos
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
CHINO — The number of prisoners at California Institution for Men has fallen significantly, but local officials are still concerned about residents’ safety because of the deteriorating facility.
There were 6,700 inmates at CIM at this time last year. On Friday, that number was down to 5,912.
Prison spokesman Mark Hargrove said the reductions followed closures for renovations and the permanent removal of about 345 beds from the minimum-security unit. Inmates there were transferred to other prisons.
Hargrove said the renovations would take several years to complete and did not give specific dates.
The number of prisoners fluctuates by several hundred a week, but the prison generally sees about 600 incoming prisoners a week and paroles out about 450 weekly.
Hargrove said the number of correctional officers has been reduced from last year by 59 because of the reduced amount of prisoners for the COs to police.
Chino Mayor Dennis Yates said the prisoner reductions were a good thing, but he said CIM is still grossly overcrowded.
“Anytime they can lower the prisoner populations, that’s a good thing because it relieves some of the stress on the correctional officers,” Yates said. “But the fact remains: We still have more than twice the occupancy that the facility was built for, and it still doesn’t alleviate the conditions of the facility.”
City officials said they are concerned about the safety of residents near the 67-year-old prison, which they say is deteriorating structurally.
A plan devised by Chino and Chino Hills calls for selling state land surrounding the prison to developers. The estimated proceeds of $360 million would go toward a new CIM.
The plan was rejected by state officials, who projected the cost of a new prison at $2.3 billion. City officials said that estimate used faulty calculations and factored in a new sewer treatment plant that CIM did not need.
Since then, city officials have discussed the issue with Matthew Cate, secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
“Mr. Cate said he was going to check the legalities about the land-swapping proposition, Yates said. A teleconference with Cate is scheduled for this week.
In another issue, CIM is also being considered as a location for a new hospital to be run by the California Prison Health Care Receivership, a separate agency tasked with the building of seven prison hospitals.
CIM is being considered by court-appointed receiver Clark Kelso as one location for a hospital, according to receivership spokesman Richard Stapler.
City officials, fearing an influx of even more prisoners at CIM, have opposed this plan.
“At this point, we’re still in discussions with the city of Chino and Chino Hills as well as local agencies to assess the viability of building a new medical facility on the CIM property,” Stapler said.
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