From DJ Mitchell
The Calipatria State Prison website states that the prison’s mission is “to provide for the confinement of general population Level I (minimum custody) and Level IV (maximum custody) inmates who are willing to participate in vocational and/or academic programs, prison industries or support services.”
Except that there are no vocational or academic programs, nor are there supoport services for the bulk of the prison population. An inmate can wait years just to get to an AA meeting. What few jobs are available are occupied by the lifers who have been there the longest. The rest sit in their cells 21 hours per day.
According to the prison website, the facility was designed for 2,208 occupants. The site lists the prison’s current population at 4,151, nearly double what it was designed for.
Boredom and overcrowding… And they are surprised when violence erupts.