County’s 1st State Prison Prepares for Uneventful Opening

There won’t be any fanfare. No dignitaries, speeches or high school bands. When the new state prison in Lancaster opens Monday, its first two dozen prisoners will roll up quietly in buses and disappear through a gate en route to their cells.

Born of political compromise, survivor of a court battle with Lancaster and Los Angeles County, the $207-million prison will begin operations by accepting the vanguard of an inmate population that is expected to swiftly exceed its 2,200-bed capacity.

The 1.2-million-square-foot facility is the first state prison built in Los Angeles County, which accounts for nearly 40% of California’s prison population. It is expected to generate about $50 million a year for the Antelope Valley economy.

Prison officials have been working hurriedly to prepare the facility--formally called California State Prison, Los Angeles County--for occupancy, and they say there were no last-minute snags.

“We’re ready for the inmates to arrive . . .. No problems, no glitches, no shortages. Everything is perfect. Everything is running on schedule,” prison spokesman Lt. J. R. Andrews said Friday.

Ringed by razor-wire-topped fences and watchtowers holding armed guards, the inmate compound is divided into five complexes: dormitory housing for 200 minimum-security inmates, two medium-security facilities totaling 1,000 cells and two maximum-security complexes holding another 1,000 cells.

The prison has been a blur of activity in recent days. Guards underwent orientation and received rifle training. Prison yards were swept with metal detectors, to make sure construction contractors did not drop scrap metal that prisoners could fashion into weapons. Computerized ovens and automated cell-locking systems were put through their paces.

“We’re real excited about Monday,” said Ken Hicks, an aide to Warden Otis Thurman. “We’ve been planning on this day for a long time. Everybody’s excited and enthusiastic about getting this show on the road.”

Although prison officials call it a 2,200-bed facility, its cells contain two bunks apiece, meaning it can actually house 4,200 inmates. Thurman predicts the prison will hit 3,000 inmates and head toward 4,000 soon after opening. Most inmates are scheduled to be in place by May.

In addition to a variety of academic and vocational education programs, inmates will manufacture detergent for use in state institutions and operate a print shop.

They can use a number of exercise facilities, including soccer and baseball fields, a track, handball courts and a gym. For religious inmates, there will be services for Catholics, Protestants, Jews and Muslims. Native Americans can worship in two earthen sweat lodges.

The new prison emerged out of the so-called “pain for pain” compromise in the state Legislature in 1987. Under that deal, lawmakers agreed to place one prison in the heavily Republican Antelope Valley and another in the heavily Democratic East Los Angeles area.

Local officials in the Antelope Valley denounced the proposed prison as a public safety menace, and Lancaster and Los Angeles County sued to stop it but lost. After intense protests by East Los Angeles residents, the prison slated for that area was killed in September by Gov. Pete Wilson.

Although the Lancaster prison was ready for operation in mid-1992, the cash-starved state decided to delay its opening until this month to save on staffing costs.

The prison will employ 800 people. Most of its 512 guards will transfer from other facilities, giving it an experienced security force. But most of its teachers, medical staff and kitchen and clerical workers will be hired locally.