The State : Prison Moving 175 Women

Severe prison crowding is forcing the transfer of about 175 women inmates from the California Institution for Women near Chino to the California Rehabilitation Center at Norco, a few miles away, officials said. As male prisoners are paroled this week from the Norco facility, more room will be available for the women, who will be transferred beginning Friday. A building that houses men will be set aside for the women and the men will be moved to other housing units, said center spokesman James Clark. Figures from the state Department of Corrections show that there are 2,445 inmates at CIW, where officials have converted an auditorium and some recreation rooms into housing units. The prison was designed for 1,026 inmates.