Unlocking History
Using extensive research culled from historical records, Inside CDCR explores the rich history of the people, places and programs that helped shape the modern state correctional system.
California Institution for Men (CIM) was created in 1941, becoming the fourth state facility to house inmates. CIM was designed...
Read More About Rehabilitation at heart of California Institution for Men
Pine Grove Youth Conservation Camp was established in 1945 but the original camp began a decade earlier as part of...
Read More About Pine Grove Youth Conservation Camp continues tradition of training young offenders
After proving themselves in the rank-and-file as Correctional Officers, women set their sights on more ambitious goals in the traditionally...
Read More About Women unlock leadership roles in California prison system
Prior to the 1970s, women working in corrections were limited to desks, phones, filing and typing. Today, thousands of women...
Read More About First female Correctional Officers opened career doors in California prisons
San Quentin State Prison is well known today but during its early days, the prison actually was known by a...
Read More About San Quentin prison wasn’t always known by its current name
A correctional system established in the California Gold Rush was upended by an unlikely source – an inmate at Folsom...
Read More About 1940s Yacht Bandit scandal helped shape today’s CDCR