The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced earlier this month that due to “a recent and concerning rise in violent incidents directed towards both staff and incarcerated individuals,” as well as “an increase in overdose cases and findings of contraband,” it was placing its Level III and Level IV (high security) facilities on a “modified program.”
In a news release, CDCR specified that the program differs from a lockdown in that the imprisoned individuals will “have access to essential services, including medical care, legal proceedings, and other critical appointments.” The incarcerated will have supervised access to showers, and those in Level III will be allowed “to dine in the dining halls under controlled conditions,” while those incarcerated in Level IV “will have their meals delivered directly to their respective housing units.”
On its website, CDCR posted statistics that it says demonstrate the need for the modified program, including the number of contraband items such as improvised weapons, drug paraphernalia, and cell phones that were confiscated, as well as the number of incidents of assault and battery on staff and other incarcerated individuals.
Visits from friends and family have been suspended at all Level III and Level IV prisons, but legal visits will still be permitted.
A group of incarcerated individuals at Salinas Valley is on a hunger strike to protest the restrictions. According to CDCR, it will “promptly identify, assess, monitor, and treat patients participating in a hunger strike or refusing food.”
There are 22 prisons affected by the modified lockdown.