California Prisons End Housing Segregation

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California state prisons ended the practice of using race as a factor in determining inmate housing assignments.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation agreed to integrate double cells starting July 1 as part of a 2005 court settlement. The lawsuit, filed by an inmate, claimed the practices of segregating inmates by race violated his constitutional rights.

Male inmates are segregated by race to mitigate racial tension and potential inter-racial violence, officials say. The CDCR houses approximately 170,000 inmates in 33 facilities throughout the state.

Almost 30 percent of the state’s male inmate population is black, 39 percent is Latino and nearly 26 percent is white, according to the CDCR. Approximately 6 percent of male inmates are classified as being of other ethnicity.

Under a phased plan, which officials will use to assess and fine-tune implementation of the policy, cell integration is being piloted at two facilities: the 3,800-inmate Mule Creek State Prison in Ione and the Sierra Conservation Center in Jamestown, which houses more than 6,500 inmates in 19 camps.

During implementation, every inmate will be interviewed, evaluated and classified for integrated housing assignment. Inmates who are deemed eligible for integration, but refuse to comply with a desegregated housing assignment, will be subject to disciplinary action, including loss of privileges, officials say.

Some officials and staff are concerned about a potential increase in racial tension and racially motivated acts of violence. However, the desegregation initiative may aid efforts to manage and reduce the influence of race-based prison gangs, officials say.

Texas implemented a racially integrated housing policy during the 1990s. Although interracial incidents increased in the wake of integration, levels of violence have since declined, officials say.

California’s desegregation policy will be applied to facilities throughout the state beginning Jan. 1, officials say.