California Institution for Women
Encyclopedia
California Institution for Women (CIW) is a female-only state prison located in the city of Chino
, San Bernardino County, California
.
gives a mailing address for CIW in the city of Corona
in Riverside County
, the prison has been physically located in the city of Chino since 2003 following an annexation of land in previously-unincorporated San Bernardino County.
CIW has 120 acres (48.6 ha). Its facilities include Level I ("Open dormitories without a secure perimeter") housing, Level II ("Open dormitories with secure perimeter fences and armed coverage") housing, and Level III ("Individual cells, fenced perimeters and armed coverage") housing. In addition, a Reception Center "provides short term housing to process, classify and evaluate incoming inmates."
As of Fiscal Year 2005/2006, CIW had 778 staff and an annual budget of $60 million. As of September 2007, it had a design capacity of 1,325 but a total institution population of 2,511, for an occupancy rate of 189.5 percent.
in 1932; however, after a 1952 earthquake, the female inmates were transferred to the just-opened CIW in Chino, and the Tehachapi facility was rebuilt as the male-only California Correctional Institution
. CIW was originally called "California Institution for Women at Corona," but "Corona residents objected to the use of their city in the prison's name and it was changed March 1, 1962, to Frontera, a feminine derivative of the word frontier, symbolic for a new beginning." CIW was the only women's prison in California until 1987, when the Northern California Women’s Facility opened.
In the early years of CIW, convicted women wore Sunday dresses while walking and working at the campus-like setting until the 1980s when three towers were added with officers atop armed with shotguns. Among other programs for inmates at CIW is "Voices from Within" in which inmates read books on tapes for "high school students in remedial classes," "college students with reading disabilities," and the blind.
The first prison nursery in California opened at CIW in 2006 "to correct what experts call a dangerous disruption of the natural bonding process." It "join[s] newborns with their incarcerated mothers for up to 15 months." In 2007, the state of California proposed building 45 new units for mentally ill inmates at CIW and 975 at the nearby California Institution for Men
; local officials opposed such plans.
Chino, California
Chino is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It is located in the western end of the Riverside-San Bernardino Area and it is easily accessible via the Chino Valley and Pomona freeways....
, San Bernardino County, California
San Bernardino County, California
San Bernardino County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,035,210, up from 1,709,434 as of the 2000 census...
.
Facilities
Although the official California Department of Corrections and RehabilitationCalifornia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is responsible for the operation of the California state prison and parole systems. CDC&R is the second largest law enforcement or police agency in the United States behind the New York City Police Department which employs approximately...
gives a mailing address for CIW in the city of Corona
Chino, California
Chino is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It is located in the western end of the Riverside-San Bernardino Area and it is easily accessible via the Chino Valley and Pomona freeways....
in Riverside County
San Bernardino County, California
San Bernardino County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,035,210, up from 1,709,434 as of the 2000 census...
, the prison has been physically located in the city of Chino since 2003 following an annexation of land in previously-unincorporated San Bernardino County.
CIW has 120 acres (48.6 ha). Its facilities include Level I ("Open dormitories without a secure perimeter") housing, Level II ("Open dormitories with secure perimeter fences and armed coverage") housing, and Level III ("Individual cells, fenced perimeters and armed coverage") housing. In addition, a Reception Center "provides short term housing to process, classify and evaluate incoming inmates."
As of Fiscal Year 2005/2006, CIW had 778 staff and an annual budget of $60 million. As of September 2007, it had a design capacity of 1,325 but a total institution population of 2,511, for an occupancy rate of 189.5 percent.
History
The original California Institution for Women was dedicated in TehachapiTehachapi, California
Tehachapi is a city incorporated in 1909 located in the Tehachapi Mountains between Bakersfield and Mojave in Kern County, California. Tehachapi is located east-southeast of Bakersfield, at an elevation of...
in 1932; however, after a 1952 earthquake, the female inmates were transferred to the just-opened CIW in Chino, and the Tehachapi facility was rebuilt as the male-only California Correctional Institution
California Correctional Institution
California Correctional Institution is a state prison located in Cummings Valley, west of the city of Tehachapi in southern California. It is a supermax...
. CIW was originally called "California Institution for Women at Corona," but "Corona residents objected to the use of their city in the prison's name and it was changed March 1, 1962, to Frontera, a feminine derivative of the word frontier, symbolic for a new beginning." CIW was the only women's prison in California until 1987, when the Northern California Women’s Facility opened.
In the early years of CIW, convicted women wore Sunday dresses while walking and working at the campus-like setting until the 1980s when three towers were added with officers atop armed with shotguns. Among other programs for inmates at CIW is "Voices from Within" in which inmates read books on tapes for "high school students in remedial classes," "college students with reading disabilities," and the blind.
The first prison nursery in California opened at CIW in 2006 "to correct what experts call a dangerous disruption of the natural bonding process." It "join[s] newborns with their incarcerated mothers for up to 15 months." In 2007, the state of California proposed building 45 new units for mentally ill inmates at CIW and 975 at the nearby California Institution for Men
California Institution for Men
California Institution for Men is a male-only state prison located in the city of Chino, San Bernardino County, California. It is often colloquially referenced as "Chino." In turn, locals call the prison "Chino Men's" or just "Men's" to avoid confusion with the city itself...
; local officials opposed such plans.
Notable inmates
- Patricia KrenwinkelPatricia KrenwinkelPatricia Dianne Krenwinkel is an American convicted killer and a former member of Charles Manson's murderous commune, known as "the Family". During her time with Manson's group, she was known by various aliases such as "Big Patty", "Yellow", and "Mary Ann Scott", but to The Family she was most...
, and Leslie Van HoutenLeslie Van HoutenLeslie Louise Van Houten is a former member of Charles Manson's "Family" who was convicted of the murders of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca.-Life with Manson:...
, of Charles MansonCharles MansonCharles Milles Manson is an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune that arose in California in the late 1960s. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders carried out by members of the group at his instruction...
's "Family," are current inmates. Susan AtkinsSusan AtkinsSusan Denise Atkins was a convicted American murderer who was a member of the "Manson family", led by Charles Manson. Manson and his followers committed a series of nine murders at four locations in California, over a period of five weeks in the summer of 1969...
, another Manson Family member was transferred to Central California Women's FacilityCentral California Women's FacilityCentral California Women's Facility is a female-only California Department of Corrections state prison located in Chowchilla, California. It is across the road from Valley State Prison for Women. It is the largest female correctional facility in the United States. It houses the State of...
in May 2008. Each has repeatedly been denied parole. Most recently, Atkins was denied a compassionate release in July 2008, Krenwinkel had been scheduled to have a hearing in January 2008 but the date was postponed upon request of her new lawyer, and Van Houten received a two-year denial in August 2007. Susan Atkins died September 24, 2009.
- Dorothea PuenteDorothea PuenteDorothea Helen Puente was a convicted American serial killer. In the 1980s, Puente ran a boarding house in Sacramento, California, and cashed the Social Security checks of her elderly and mentally disabled boarders...
"did two years and six months [at CIW] for a forgery conviction" beginning in 1984. - Cathy Evelyn SmithCathy SmithCatherine Evelyn Smith is a occasional backup singer, rock star girlfriend, "groupie" and drug dealer, who served 15 months in the California state prison system for injecting John Belushi with a fatal dose of heroin and cocaine in 1982.Smith had been paid for a front page headline story in the...
was in CIW between December 1986 and March 1988 for involuntary manslaughter and drug charges related to the death of John BelushiJohn BelushiJohn Adam Belushi was an American comedian, actor, and musician, best known as one of the original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, The Star of the Films National Lampoon's Animal House and the The Blues Brothers and for fronting the American blues and soul...
. - Brenda Ann SpencerBrenda Ann SpencerBrenda Ann Spencer is a convicted American murderer who carried out a shooting spree from her home in San Diego, California, on January 29, 1979. During the shooting spree, she killed two people and injured nine others at Cleveland Elementary School, which was located across the street from her home...
, a current inmate, was convicted of killing two people and wounding nine at a school in San Diego in 1979. It was this shooting that inspired Bob GeldofBob GeldofRobert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
to write his song "I Don't Like Mondays" performed by the Boomtown RatsThe Boomtown RatsThe Boomtown Rats were an Irish punk rock band that had a series of Irish and UK hits between 1977 and 1985. They were led by vocalist Bob Geldof.-Biography:All six members were originally from Dún Laoghaire, Ireland...
. - Elisabeth Anne "Betty" BroderickBetty BroderickElisabeth Anne "Betty" Broderick is a former American socialite convicted of the November 5, 1989 murder of her former husband Dan Broderick and his second wife, Linda Kolkena...
, a current inmate, was a San Diego socialite who was convicted of the 1989 murder of her ex-husband, Dan Broderick, and his new wife, Linda Kolkena Broderick. She was convicted in 1991 and was sentenced to 32-year-to-life in prison.