Author: Don Chaddock, Inside CDCR editor

Ship called Mariposa from late 1800s.

Ships were vital to California prison during early years

Early in CDCR's history, ships played a vital role in rehabilitation and transportation. Before automobiles or railroad expansion, let alone...

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Early California prisons were ships, seen across the bay.

Ships served as first prisons for fledgling state

At one time, the California prison system relied on ships for transport, supplies and the housing of the incarcerated population.

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Four photos of a man with mustache and thinning hair.

1870s stagecoach bandit Black Bart reforms, learns job skills

Black Bart robbed 28 stagecoaches between 1877 and 1883, when he was sentenced to San Quentin. While there, he took...

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Bus is transporting youth offenders to Preston.

State creates new agency for young offenders, part 4

Institutions for young offenders sparked the need for more oversight, resulting in the creation of the California Youth Authority, which...

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Drawing of Whittier State Reform School in Los Angeles.

Whittier, Preston youth reform schools open doors, part 3

With the closure of the two previous reform schools in San Francisco and Marysville, the state established two new schools...

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Sign says Intermountain Conservation Camp.

Intermountain Conservation Camp’s roots run deep in community

Tourists making their way to Lassen National Park, Burney Falls or the Lava Beds National Monument may not realize there...

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Drawing of San Francisco Industrial School.

State opens first reform school; Civil War ship enlisted, part 2

San Francisco tried to deal with a growing problem of trouble-causing youth in their rapidly growing city. The city set...

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Young teen boy mugshot with numbers 20863.

California state prisons evolve to handle young offenders, part 1

Crimes committed by youth ranged from murder to theft but without alternatives to state prison, most ended up in San...

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A prison tower and a chain-link fence with the words: The Correctional Officer. Doing Time - Life as an Inmate.

1970s Officer training film emphasizes empathy

California Medical Facility was given an 8mm film that appears to have been shot in the mid- to late-1970s or...

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Victim services information table with two women standing behind it.

Giving voice to others: Office of Victim and Survivor Rights and Services

Developing the methods to provide information, notification, restitution, outreach, training, referral and support services to crime victims and their next...

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