Chino
March 17, 2010
State issues report on 2009 Calif prison riot
A state report issued Tuesday on a gang and racially motivated riot at a California prison last year recommends changes in managing inmate gang members as well as improvements in communication and use of technology to identify inmates during disturbances.
The report by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation analyzed a two-hour rampage that erupted at the California Institution for Men in Chino on Aug. 8 as a result of Hispanic and white inmates attacking black inmates at a portion of the facility where inmates are received into the prison.
Nearly 1,200 inmates were involved, including 249 who required medical treatment for injuries. Six dormitories at CIM's Reception Center West were heavily damaged...
LINK - Google News (AP)
December 10, 2009
Four months after fact, CDCR announces CIM riot was based on fight between gangs
A riot at a Southern California prison that left more than 200 injured and two buildings destroyed was triggered by an "ongoing racial street war" between black and Hispanic gangs, corrections officials say.
The Aug. 8 fight erupted in a section of the California Institution for Men in Chino that houses newly arriving inmates from Southern California and ex-convicts returning to prison for parole violations.
Unaffiliated inmates joined the brawl after gang members began fighting, Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said Wednesday…
LINK - Google.com AP News
November 28, 2009
Chino prison expansion may help economy, hinder services, officials say
Major expansion of adult prison operations in the Chino Valley may provide a slight boost to the economy and to city coffers, but it may also affect some municipal services, officials said.
Nearly 3,000 more beds and an influx of new correctional officers are part of the $110million conversion of a Chino youth prison into an adult facility - a plan that adds 400 to 500 more correctional officers to the new facility replacing the Heman G. Stark Youth Correctional Facility.
About 1,800 adults will be housed there. A new reception center would house an additional 950 inmates. The new prison is expected to open in December 2013 if environmental reviews and construction run on schedule…
LINK - ContraCostaTimes.com
November 5, 2009
$110M Chino prison project outlined
Nearly 3,000 more beds and an influx of new correctional officers are part of the $110 million conversion of a local youth prison into California Institution for Men operations.
Prison officials informed Chino Mayor Dennis Yates that the plan would add 400 to 500 more correctional officers to the new facility at Heman G. Stark Youth Correctional Facility.
A riot in August at CIM forced the closure of a reception center and moved about 750 of its adult inmates to Stark…
LINK - DailyBulletin.com
September 11, 2009
Prison on the brink: Correctional facilities like Chino are overcrowded and dangerous
It's nearing noon inside the central wing of the California Institution for Men, and it's not hard to find evidence of how this has become Exhibit A in California's prison crisis.
A gymnasium is a sea of bunk beds. The 213 inmates inside are quarantined on this day, the result of worries about a swine flu outbreak. In a room like this, there is nowhere for a virus to go but directly to another inmate never more than a foot or two away. The basketball hoops and theater stage are reminders that this decaying part of the prison was never meant to house prisoners.
Likewise, a "day room" once envisioned as a place for inmates to play cards or watch TV is stacked with bunk beds, 54 beds for 54 prisoners who have little room to stand. In one corner, there is a shower and a toilet. Large fans stir the fetid air…
LINK - MercuryNews.com
September 9, 2009
Nevada realizes prison furloughs won’t solve budget problems
The head of Nevada's prison system Tuesday said his fears of requiring correctional staff to take furloughs were exacerbated by last month's prison riot in Southern California.
Howard Skolnik reiterated to the state Board of Examiners that he doesn't believe furloughs at state correctional institutions can be safely implemented.
In August, 175 inmates were injured during a riot at the California Institution for Men in Chino, where seven of eight housing units were left uninhabitable.
"On the day they had their incident, approximately 15 percent of their officers were on furlough," Skolnik said. "I personally don't believe that having those officers present would have stopped that incident from taking place, but I think 15 more staff could have significantly reduced the time and amount of damage that was done…"
LINK - MercuryNews.com
September 2, 2009
California State Assembly Approves Prison Legislation
The California State Assembly narrowly passed legislation on Monday to reduce the state prison population by 27,000 inmates and the state corrections budget by about $1 billion. After several hours of debate in Sacramento, the bill passed 41 to 35, without any Republican support and only about half of the Democratic majority.
The bill was significantly weaker than a version that the State Senate passed last month. It will shorten sentences for some nonviolent prison inmates who participate in rehabilitation programs, reduce parole supervision for some infirm and nonviolent offenders, and increase monitoring for parolees with violent criminal records.
Law enforcement groups played a central role in pushing Democrats to strip the bill of provisions that would have reduced sentences for some nonviolent offenses and would have established a public safety commission to redo prison sentencing guidelines…
LINK - NYTimes.com
September 2, 2009
CIM officers say riot could have been avoided
A riot that injured more than 200 inmates at the California Institution for Men in Chino and gutted one of the prison's reception centers might have been avoided had administrators responded properly to concerns raised by state auditors and complaints from the facility's staff, according to some corrections officers at the prison.
Auditors in recent years uncovered major deficiencies in the upkeep and maintenance of the prison's facilities and warned that failure to follow proper procedures for segregating high-risk inmates from those with less serious offenses might pose a danger to the facility, its staff and inmates housed there.
Current and former staffers made similar complaints in union grievances filed over the past year and said in interviews that the improper placement of high-risk inmates in the minimum security Reception Center-West was likely a factor in the riot, which began about 8 p.m. Aug. 8 and wasn't quelled until the following morning…
LINK - ContraCostaTimes.com
August 28, 2009
California to move offenders out of Chino, the largest, harshest youth prison
California's largest and most notoriously troubled youth prison will soon shut its doors to juvenile offenders, the latest move in a systemwide shift away from punitive, adult-style warehouses that has contributed to the most dramatic downsizing of its kind in American history.
Human rights activists and crime experts alike celebrated Thursday as juvenile justice chief Bernie Warner announced the pending removal of all young offenders from the Heman G. Stark Correctional Facility in Chino. The facility now houses 390 men, including 32 from Northern California, who committed serious and violent offenses as minors.
Stark is one of the state's two most violent institutions for men ages 18 to 25 doing time for crimes as serious as rape, armed robbery and murder. By law, the young inmates, known as wards, are entitled to treatment and rehabilitation before being released. But those at Stark say they are too scared even to go to school inside the facility due to constant gang and racially motivated attacks. Some spend up to 21 hours in their cells as punishment. Counselors wear stab-proof vests…
LINK - MercuryNews.com
August 27, 2009
California to shut its largest youth prison
California's largest and most notoriously troubled youth prison will soon shut its doors to juvenile offenders, the latest move in a systemwide shift away from punitive, adult-style warehouses that has contributed to the most dramatic downsizing of its kind in American history.
Human rights activists and crime experts alike celebrated Thursday as juvenile justice chief Bernie Warner announced the pending removal of all young offenders from the Heman G. Stark Correctional Facility in Chino. The facility now houses 390 men, including 32 from Northern California, who committed serious and violent offenses as minors.
Stark is one of the state's two most violent institutions for men ages 18 to 25 doing time for crimes as serious as rape, armed robbery and murder…
LINK - ContraCostaTimes.com
August 27, 2009
California to close its largest juvenile prison
The state is closing California's largest youth prison as the population of juvenile offenders in state custody continues to decline, corrections officials announced Thursday.
The Heman G. Stark Youth Correctional Facility in Chino will be converted into an adult prison, state officials said. The move is part of a plan to "right-size" staff at the Division of Juvenile Justice, which is reducing its workforce by 400 employees by the end of this year to save the state up to $40 million, said Bernard Warner, the chief deputy secretary for the division.
The plan also is geared toward reducing the annual cost of incarcerating and caring for each ward from $252,000 to $175,000, state officials said…
LINK - LATimes.com
August 19, 2009
Schwarzenegger tours devastation after prison riot
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday toured the Southern California prison where 175 inmates were injured in a riot earlier this month, likening the devasation to a scene from one of his movies.
More than 1,000 inmates were involved in the Aug. 8 riot at the California Institution for Men in Chino. The melee left dormitories so badly damaged that inmates have been shipped to other prisons while the dorms are being repaired. One unit was burned, while toilet seats, pipes and other materials were ripped out to be used as weapons.
"Entire housing units were burned," Schwarzenegger said during a news conference after surveying the damage. "It looks like a scene from one of my movies, except this is real danger here and real destruction…"
LINK - Google.com (Associated Press)
August 19, 2009
Governor highlights his prison plan at site of a recent prison riot
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today visited the California Institution for Men in Chino, the site of a prison riot earlier this month that sent 55 inmates to hospitals and caused millions of dollars worth of property damage.
Schwarzenegger said his main motivation was to thank prison guards who were able to quell the unrest without "loss of life," but the governor wasted no time in making a pitch for his prison reform package that would save the state $1.2 billion this year by reducing the state prison inmate population by about 27,000.
Prison overcrowding has been one of the biggest issues for the state, and the issue was highlighted when fights broke out among inmates at the Chino prison, where nearly 6,000 prisoners are housed in a facility built for 3,000 inmates…
LINK - SFGate.com
August 18, 2009
Lawmakers tackle prison overcrowding in wake of riot
With the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation dealing with the aftermath of a bloody prison riot here, state senators will vote Thursday on a proposal to reduce prison overcrowding.
Experts said overcrowding may have been a major factor in the racially-motivated riot on Aug. 8 at the California Institution for Men's Reception Center West.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed a plan to cut the state prison population by 27,000 inmates, which would trim the state budget by $1.2 billion.
Democrats support the plan, while Republicans have reservations…
LINK - DailyBulletin.com
August 17, 2009
Latest on Chino riot…
Last weekend's riot at the California Institution for Men was violent, destructive, and a grave danger to inmates and prison staff members.
It was also predictable.
In their most recent audit of the Chino facility, completed in November, state auditors noted numerous problems at the prison, including overcrowded conditions and crumbling infrastructure.
Auditors also found that dangerous, high-security-risk inmates were improperly housed with low-level inmates in Reception Center-West - where last weekend's riot took place - posing a safety risk for inmates and staff members…
LINK - DailyBulletin.com
August 16, 2009
Prison problems: Legislature Opinion Pieces in the San Bernadino Sun
Prison reform will be one of the most contentious issues the state Legislature has to deal with when it returns to session on Monday.
Last month's budget deal included a $1.2 billion cut to the budget of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic legislative leaders proposed saving that amount through reforms that would result in reducing the prison population by about 27,000. But Republican legislators balked at the plan, endangering the two-thirds vote needed to pass the budget.
So the prison cost savings became part of the budget package, but with the specific avenues for cutting expenses left to be determined later…
LINK - SBSun.com
August 14, 2009
State briefs sheriffs after prison riot
Counties around the state were trying to determine how a weekend prison riot that damaged seven housing units and displaced more than 1,100 prisoners might impact local lockups in the weeks ahead.
Sheriffs from California's 58 counties were invited to participate in a conference call Thursday to discuss the effects of the riot at the California Institution for Men in Chino, Scott Kernan, undersecretary of adult operations for the state prison system, told The Associated Press.
Kernan said it was too early to tell if local jails would feel the impact from the lost beds at the prison's Reception Center West but warned a backlog could occur…
LINK - MercuryNews.com
August 13, 2009
Update on August 8 Riot at California Institution for Men
Following the August 8 riot at California Institution for Men (CIM), the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has completed the transfer of approximately 1,150 inmates who were displaced by the riot.
Inmates were transported to Calipatria State Prison in Imperial County, Correctional Training Facility in Monterey County, and California Rehabilitation Center in Riverside County.
More than 700 inmates from CIM were temporarily housed in a vacant facility at the nearby Heman G. Stark Youth Correctional Facility in Chino…
LINK - CDCR.ca.gov
August 13, 2009
CCI remains on lockdown
The California Correctional Institution in Cummings Valley remains on a modified program as of Wednesday, Aug. 12 in response to the serious inmate disturbance at the California Institution for Men in Chino over the weekend.
A modified program is not as severe as a lockdown, in which all inmates are confined to their cells, said California Correctional Institution (CCI) Public Information Officer Jon Bartelmie.
The Chino disturbance erupted Saturday, Aug. 8. Bartelmie said that CCI sent 79 officers, supervisors and medical personnel to assist at the Chino facility. The last one returned Tuesday, Aug. 11…
LINK - TehachapiNews.com
August 13, 2009
CIM inmates sent to Stark after riot
More than 700 adult inmates left with no place to stay after last weekend's prison riot are being housed near juvenile inmates at the nearby Heman G. Stark Youth Correctional Facility.
The adults are among the 1,155 California Institution for Men inmates moved to other state prisons from CIM's Reception Center West, where incoming prisoners are housed for evaluation.
The reception center was badly damaged in the melee.
Among public concerns is the safety of Stark's youth wards, said CIM spokesman Lt. Mark Hargrove…
LINK - DailyBulletin.com
August 12, 2009
At Chino, mute evidence speaks of violent riot
Charred cotton mattress stuffing is heaped on a scruffy lawn outside Joshua Hall dormitory at the California Institution for Men, the interior ankle-deep in ash and evidence of inmate-on-inmate brutality that has destroyed precious space in one of the state's most volatile prisons.
In neighboring Otay Hall, dried blood stains a lower bunk mattress where a reclining inmate's chest would be, two deep gashes in the fabric suggesting a stab wound.
Between the two dorms — one destroyed by fire, the other smashed and debris-strewn — stands an empty carton marked "White Kittey," testifying to the racial divides that run deep among the facility's 5,900 prisoners…
LINK - LATimes.com
August 12, 2009
Prison riot to cost California millions in repairs
California's corrections chief says it will cost taxpayers $5 million to $6 million to make repairs and clean up from last weekend's prison riot.
Corrections Secretary Matthew Cate said Wednesday it will cost more if the state rebuilds a dormitory destroyed by fire at the California Institution for Men in Chino.
Cate says the state does not expect significant costs from transferring 1,155 inmates to other facilities after the riot Saturday in San Bernardino County. Employees from the damaged prison are being sent to oversee those inmates at the other facilities…
LINK - Google.com Associated Press
August 11, 2009
Prison officials had warning that a disturbance was likely in Chino
Corrections experts warned two years ago that overcrowding at the California Institution for Men at Chino created "a serious disturbance waiting to happen," foreshadowing the weekend riot that injured 175 prisoners, destroyed or damaged six dormitories and forced relocation of at least 1,000 men.
The Chino prison housing 5,900 inmates, nearly twice its designed capacity, remained on lockdown Monday, as did nine other state prisons from which officers were called to help quell the violence Saturday night and begin sorting through the wreckage.
California Institution for Men at Chino
Rampaging inmates set fire to one dormitory of the Reception Center-West and smashed bunks and lavatories in five others in a four-hour melee that corrections officials said was linked to racial tensions between Latinos and blacks…
LINK - LATimes.com
August 11, 2009
Expert warned officials of crowded Calif. prison
A weekend riot at an overcrowded California prison that injured 175 has come at a critical time for the state's prisons.
Next week, lawmakers begin deciding how to cut $1.2 billion from the corrections budget, and will also consider Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to trim the state inmate population by about 27,000 inmates to save money.
Inmates at the California Institution for Men in Chino tore doors from their hinges and broke off toilets and sinks in a four-hour riot Saturday, and many fear the crowding that may have helped escalate the brawl — which appeared to be racially motivated — will only get worse with budget cuts…
LINK - Google.com Associated Press
August 10, 2009
Lawmakers question origin of prison riot, future of inmates, prisons
As state prison officials investigated the cause of the weekend riot at the California Institution for Men in Chino, local leaders and lawmakers started using the riot - which hospitalized 55 inmates - to frame the debate over a federal order to reduce the state's overall prison population.
While some officials said the apparently race-motivated riot is evidence that prisoners are dangerous and should be kept behind bars, others said the riot shows how dangerous the state's overcrowded prisons have become."Without a doubt, given that racial tensions exist, they are only exacerbated by the fact of our overcrowded prisons," said Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, chairman of the state Senate Public Safety Committee. "This could happen at any moment at any one of our overcrowded facilities. It would not take much to spark it."
The Reception Center West at the Chino facility, where Saturday's riot took place, was housing 1,280 men at the end of July. It was designed to hold only about 615…
LINK - DailyBulletin.com
August 10, 2009
Riot at crowded California prison as budget cuts loom
Inmates at an overcrowded California prison tore doors from their hinges and broke off toilets and sinks in a four-hour riot that injured 175 people, and many fear the crowding that may have helped escalate the brawl will only get worse with $1.2 billion in budget cuts.
A national expert warned 20 months ago that the Chino prison, which held nearly twice as many men as it was designed for, was "a serious disturbance waiting to happen" because of crowding.
Budget cuts
The fight, which appeared to be racially motivated, comes at a critical time for California prisons…
LINK - MercuryNews.com
August 10, 2009
Chino prison still locked down
The California Institution for Men remained on lockdown Monday after a 4-hour riot over the weekend hospitalized 55 inmates and injured 175.
All 10 prisons in Southern California were placed on lockdown until further notice, said Terry Thornton, spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Prison spokesman Lt. Mark Hargrove said 80 officers responded to the riot Saturday night, which involved some 1,300 inmates in eight barracks. The uprising lasted for about four hours. At least one housing unit caught fire…
LINK - SBSun.com (San Bernadino Sun)
July 30, 2009
Swine flu at Ironwood, Chuckawalla and Chino
…Meanwhile, state prison officials on Wednesday said, eight state prisons, including three in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, had isolated or limited the movement and visitation privileges of hundreds of inmates because of suspected and confirmed swine flu-like cases.
Since July 16, more than 730 inmates at Chino State Men's Institution at Chino have been quarantined after 13 men became ill with flu-like symptoms, said Luis Patino, spokesman for California Prison Health Care Services. Seven of the sick inmates were confirmed to have swine flu, he said.
Ironwood State Prison in Blythe had two confirmed and four suspected swine flu cases since July 16, Patino said. Chuckawalla Valley State Prison in Blythe had three confirmed and 55 suspected swine flu cases since June 30, he said.
Patino didn't immediately know how many inmates were being quarantined at Ironwood or Chuckawalla…
LINK - PE.com (The Press-Enterprise)
April 8, 2008
More Town Hall Meetings Scheduled
State President Mike Jimenez will be holding Town Hall meetings at the following times and locations:
On Thursday, April 10th - President Jimenez will be at the 5:00 p.m. R.J. Donovan Chapter meeting at La Bella Pizza which is located at 373 3rd Avenue in Chula Vista.
Also, President Jimenez will be in Chino on Wednesday, April 16th at Marisco's Mexican Restaurant (formerly known as Zendejas) which is located at 12811 Mountain Avenue, on the corner of Mountain Avenue and Riverside Drive, at about 3:00 p.m.
If you live in the area, please come out to hear Mike talk about all of the issues facing CCPOA members - the first round of Town Hall Meetings held in Blythe, Imperial, and Bakersfield were very well attended with nearly 200 members showing up in Bakersfield alone.
April 4, 2008
50 CIM inmates fight: 12 Hurt Before C.O.s Can Restore Order
Twelve prisoners were injured during a fight between white and Latino inmates on Friday at the California Institution for Men. The fighting started about 9:15 a.m. inside one of Reception Center-West's housing units, according to a CIM news release.
Using pepper spray, guards broke up the fight at the Laguna Hall unit within minutes. Lt. Mark Hargrove, a prison spokesman, said five of the injured inmates were taken to hospitals. He said one inmate had puncture wounds to his abdomen but that none of the injuries were life-threatening.
Hargrove said about 50 inmates were involved in what he called a "riot." A fight - apparently between a white and a Latino inmate - got more serious when the other inmates joined in, Hargrove said.
Laguna Hall is an open dormitory with 198 inmates, according to the news release…
LINK - DailyBulletin.com
March 7, 2008
New pretrial date in Blaylock case
A new pretrial date has been set for Jon Christopher Blaylock, the inmate accused of killing a Chino prison guard in 2005.
Blaylock and both sides of attorneys gathered in front of Judge Ingrid Uhler today at the Fontana Courthouse to lock down another time to start pretrial and motions for the case. They will be back in Fontana on May 2.Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Blaylock, who is charged with murder and assault by a life prisoner in connection with the Jan. 10, 2005, stabbing death of Correctional Officer Manuel Gonzalez.
LINK - SBSun.com (San Bernadino Sun)
December 20, 2007
Audit Reveals Issues/Problems at CIW
The California Institution for Women near Chino doesn't have enough space to house its inmates, and much of the 50-year-old facility is falling into disrepair, according to a new state audit. The Inspector General's Office also conceded that many of the problems at the prison are the result of underfunding from the state…
LINK - SBSun.com
