Kern Valley Prison to Open But Opponents Still Slam It

After lengthy delays caused by lawsuits and a string of protests, Kern Valley State Prison will open to its first 13 inmates today, with thousands more expected to follow in the coming months.

Also known as Delano II, the controversial new prison will ultimately house more than 5,000 inmates by January when it is expected to be fully operational.

State corrections officials praised the opening as part of a solution to overcrowding and violence among maximum security inmates throughout California -- a population that has grown from 28,230 in 2000 to about 31,730 currently.

“It will relieve some of the congestion,” said Kern Valley prison manager George Galaza.

Kern Valley is the last planned prison in the state, officials said.

But even as inmates begin settling into the new facility, opposition remains fierce.

“We continue to say this is a prison that California doesn’t need, Californians don’t want and California can’t afford,” said Rose Braz, director of Critical Resistance, an Oakland-based nonprofit with the stated mission of ending society’s reliance on prisons to solve social problems.

The prison’s design and construction cost $379 million. Its annual operating budget will be about $136 million, and its workforce will consist of about 780 custody staff and 365 support staff.

Legislation approving the new prison was signed by Gov. Gray Davis in 1999, and the legal battle began the following year when Critical Resistance and other organizations filed suit against the state. Critical Resistance alleged that the environmental impact report for the prison had several flaws.

“One theme of this prison has been that California voters had no say in whether this prison got built or not,” said Braz, who called the prison a “thank you gift” from Davis to the prison guards for their support.

Ultimately the state prevailed and in 2002 construction began.

The prison sits on 480 acres, with an adjacent 200-acre parcel for wastewater disposal. The new prison is less than half a mile from North Kern State Prison.

The layout for Kern Valley is similar to that of other prisons built in recent years, said George A. Sifuentes, deputy director of the Department of Corrections.

“If you flew over them they all look the same,” he said of the drab series of tan buildings arranged in a similar fashion.

But the prison is distinguished as the first state maximum security facility in which a full array of training and educational programs is offered and all inmates are required to participate. Such programs can occupy 6 1/2 hours of an inmate’s day.

Without the programs, inmates are idle, and idleness can lead to trouble, Galaza said. Programs increase safety for inmates, correctional officers -- and society when inmates are released, he said.

The prison staff has a responsibility to provide useful programs to inmates, “so that when they do return to the community we will have done all we can to change that person’s focus ... and make them better citizens,” Galaza said.