Correctional officers at the California Rehabilitation Center (CRC) in Norco have started writing Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta to keep the prison open, presenting it as an option to alleviate the overpopulation in county jails.
California began placing some convicted felons in county jails in 2011, after the Supreme Court ruled that the overcrowding in state prisons resulted in cruel and unusual punishment. Now, according to the lawsuit Bonta brought against Los Angeles County on Sept. 8, the county’s jails are overcrowded and uninhabitable.
In March, 878 inmates held at Los Angeles County jail were convicted felons, according to a Sheriff’s Department report. That’s 7% of the population.
“They’re causing the issue by keeping them in counties, so they say their numbers are down, so they’re closing prisons,” said Correctional Officer Jeremiah Rohbock, who wrote the initial letter.
The Norco prison has open beds, low costs per inmate and more rehabilitation and certification programs than most prisons, Rohbock added.
The CDCR’s weekly report says that the prison has 2,460 inmates, and was designed for 1,822. Rohbock said the facility has enough beds to add additional inmates.
There are eight criteria the CDCR uses to identify which prisons close. Those include population trends, operational costs, facility condition, geographic considerations, impact on staff, program availability, legislative directives and public safety considerations.
After publication, CDCR spokesperson Terri Hardy wrote that the California Rehabilitation Center was chosen to be closed due to infrastructure costs, its uneven grounds and its population.
The prison “has older, wooden facilities and would require significant infrastructure investment to update structures that are in disrepair. Uneven terrain at the prison limits the prison’s ability to house incarcerated persons with American with Disabilities Act (ADA) needs,” Hardy wrote. “Additionally, CRC’s population — primarily lower-level incarcerated people with less than ten years to serve – are more easily relocated,” she continued.
The Aug. 4 announcement that the California Rehabilitation Center will close by fall 2026 cited projections of lower prison populations and the importance of cost savings. It did not specifically say why the Norco prison was chosen out of the 31 prisons operated by the state. A short description of the facility mentioned its origins as a luxury hotel and a naval hospital.
“As someone who’s worked here at CRC for 15 years, we knew that CRC has this aura about it, that they feel this is some old naval base that has been converted in the 1950s, and it’s been falling apart,” said Rohbock.
The old hotel, he said, isn’t part of the prison’s operations. The majority of buildings are modular, and maintained as part of the inmates’ rehabilitation programs, he said. As far as the cost, he said the prison is the fifth-most cost effective per inmate.
The letters also invited Bonta to visit the prison.
The attorney general’s office declined to comment on the letters. “We are seeking to compel much-needed, comprehensive reform to Los Angeles County jails through our lawsuit, and our complaint includes all we are able to share at this time,” they wrote.
McGloin writes for CalMatters where this report originally appeared.