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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.

Tents sit among hills and forest.

Highway camps paved way for Sierra Conservation Center

Inmates currently training as firefighters at Sierra Conservation Center (SCC) can trace the program’s roots to 1915 and the state’s...

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Royal Air Force pilots stand at attention in Lancaster.

Deuel Vocational Institution can trace roots to British WWII air field

Inmates being trained in aircraft engine repair at Deuel Vocational Institution can trace the program’s roots back to a World...

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Catholic school areal photo shows buildings surrounded by pastures and fields.

California correctional officers train in former seminary

Surrounded by pastures, nestled just outside the small northern California town of Galt, sits the Richard A. McGee Correctional Training...

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Three people stand around an open metal box.

Time capsule links Sierra Conservation Center’s past, present and future

On a recent warm summer day, employees at Sierra Conservation Center gathered to crack open a time capsule that had...

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Old barracks and Quonset huts made up the original Correctional Training Facility at Soledad.

Correctional Training Facility’s past runs from Hollywood to Disney

The Correctional Training Facility at Soledad can be found in the fertile Salinas Valley. Built in 1946 to ease overcrowding...

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Inmates stand at San Quentin prison gate, waiting to be transported to a new prison.

Rehabilitation at heart of California Institution for Men

California Institution for Men (CIM) was created in 1941, becoming the fourth state facility to house inmates. CIM was designed...

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Pine Grove youth inmate firefighters.

Pine Grove Youth Conservation Camp continues tradition of training young offenders

Pine Grove Youth Conservation Camp was established in 1945 but the original camp began a decade earlier as part of...

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Woman speaks to an inmate through the bars of a cell door.

Women unlock leadership roles in California prison system

After proving themselves in the rank-and-file as Correctional Officers, women set their sights on more ambitious goals in the traditionally...

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Two correctional officers work at a desk.

First female Correctional Officers opened career doors in California prisons

Prior to the 1970s, women working in corrections were limited to desks, phones, filing and typing. Today, thousands of women...

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Drawing of a building, long prison walls, a dock and mountain in the background.

San Quentin prison wasn’t always known by its current name

San Quentin State Prison is well known today but during its early days, the prison actually was known by a...

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