California in 1851 initiated its first correctional institutions that were run by the state. CDCR’s history can be fully traced to 1912 when it was called California State Detentions Bureau(California Department of Correction & Rehabilitation, n.d.”). Then in 1951 the name changed to California Department of Corrections, and then in 2004 changed its name to California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) (California Department of Correction & Rehabilitation, n.d.”). Currently the CDCR is managed by Secretary Scott Kernan and Ralph M. Diaz who is the Undersecretary (“CDCR Executive Staff, n.d.”).
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is the entity that is responsible for operating both the California parole and state systems. The organization is location in the city of Sacramento, which the capital of California(California Department of Correction & Rehabilitation, n.d.”). . Behind the New York City Police Department (NYPD) that employs over 40, 000 officers in the United States, the CDCR is considered the second largest police agency. Correctional officers who work for the CDCR are sworn peace officers as regular police officers who work for law enforcement agencies in California. While on duty, these correctional officers have the same peace officer duty as law enforcement. In the year 2013, CDCR has close to 24, 000 correctional officers, 700 investigators and close to 1, 500 parole agents on staff(“State of California: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Adult Institutions, Programs, and Parole, 2015.”). The mission of the CDCR is to safely as well as securely supervise both juvenile and adult offends as a way to protect the public by providing treatment, and rehabilitation ensuring that those individuals are properly reintegrated successfully into society (“Corrections year at a glance, 2011”).
Former government Arnold Schwarzenegger reorganized the CDCR in 2005 and made recommendations based on the advice of a commission made up of members of the community to reorganize the complete operation of the CDCR (“About CDCR Strategic Plan: An Update to the Future of California Corrections, n.d.”).
The Administration in 2012 the CDCR devised a strategy to save money due to the fact that prisons in the California system are not as populated as before. An important part of the change was the new classification system that was introduced for the inmates, and the resultant housing accommodations that would be made along with new forms of treatment services (“About CDCR Strategic Plan: An Update to the Future of California Corrections, n.d.”). There was also a new funding strategy employed to hire more staff and in order to adjust the workload for CDCR personnel(“About CDCR Strategic Plan: An Update to the Future of California Corrections, n.d.”).The Division of Adult Institutions(DAI) is focused on four main disciplines to complement the CDCR’s mission of excellence such as Female Offenders, High Security Male Offenders, General Population Male Offenders and Reception Centers (“Division of Adult Institutions , n.d.”).
CDCR has experienced its own issues over the years ranging from public outcry of inadequate care of inmates as well as abuse and concerns of inhumane conditions in which prisoners live. The hope is that the reorganization of the CDCR would be more compliant with human rights laws.
Reference Page
California Department of Correction & Rehabilitation, n.d. Web. 13 July 2016
Corrections year at a glance, 2011. Web. 13 July 2016
Division of Adult Institutions , n.d. Web. 13 July 2016
