NCJ Number
124095
Journal
Detention Reporter Dated: (April 1990) Pages: complete issue
Date Published
1990
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Ventura County (Calif.) custody facilities have long used inmate labor to help offset operating costs.
Abstract
Inmates do work that is essential to the facilities operation; annually an average of 470 inmates contribute an estimated 650,000 hours of labor to the County. Current work programs include janitorial work; food service; painting; landscaping; laundry; farming; hog, rabbit, and beef production; and butchering. Occasionally they work on projects such as the renovation of the Rose Valley Work Camp. The facility was originally constructed in the 1950s by the U.S. Naval Construction Battalion known as the "Seabees." Until 1972, the site was used as a base of training operations by naval personnel. It then was used as a base of large-scale fire-fighting operations. In 1986, arrangements were made to convert the site into a minimum security work camp. Renovation began in August 1988; Ventura County inmates put in 40,000 work hours of landscaping, painting, patching of walls, plumbing and roofing, and completed the project in April 1989. The first inmates were housed on May 1, 1989. Because Rose Valley offers inmates relative freedoms, eligibility standards are restrictive. Inmates must be classified as minimum-security and be without serious medical or behavioral problems, continuing court cases, or gang affiliations. Inmates volunteer for the work camp because it offers less crowded living conditions and opportunities for self-improvement. On a typical day, they wake up at 5:45, exercise, eat breakfast, and then work until 3:00 p.m., with breaks for coffee and lunch. After an evening meal, the inmates are allowed free time to play basketball, volleyball, cards, or pool; lift weights; watch television; socialize; or relax until quiet time at 10 p.m. and curfew at 11 p.m.