Prisons

Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing to significantly shrink the footprint of California’s prison system, partly because of massive budget cuts prompted by the pandemic but also because of philosophy. The revised budget he sent to state lawmakers this week envisions closing two state prisons in the coming years; cutting nearly one in five of the 43 inmate firefighter camps; and…

As the coronavirus pandemic decimates many companies, big business that has become synonymous with the world’s largest prison system continues to make money

California is planning to release within days as many as 3,500 inmates who were due to be paroled in the next two months as it tries to free space in cramped prisons in anticipation of a coronavirus outbreak, state officials said Tuesday. The move comes a week after Gov. Gavin Newsom halted intakes from jails, a move projected to lower…

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and California Correctional Health Care Services (CCHCS) have unveiled a new tool to track COVID-19 cases among California’s incarcerated population. On Wednesday, CDCR and CCHCS unveiled a patient testing tracker, which displays the number of incarcerated patients who have been tested for COVID-19, have tested negative, tested positive, have recovered, or...

The federal Bureau of Prisons is struggling to manage the growing coronavirus pandemic as advocates and even prison guards call for major reforms to head off a potential outbreak behind bars