From the DataCenter's Criminal Justice Program, Spring/Summer 2002:

Delano II: The Struggle Continues…

A unique coalition of anti-prison activists, environmentalist, unions, faith communities, immigrant rights activists, educators, civils rights advocates, health care workers and residents of Delano, California, is waging a campaign that questions the need for a second prison to be built in Delano, a small, economically-depressed town in California's Central Valley. The proposed $595 million, 5,160 bed maximum-security prison would put a tremendous strain on Delano's resources and is unnecessary to prevent overcrowding. According to California Department of Corrections' own prison population statistics, California prisons currently have a surplus of beds and the prison population is declining.

Delano has learned firsthand that prisons are costly to the communities that host them, and they are not an economic development engine. Despite a Delano prison built in 1990, unemployment in the community remains at 26%. The California Department of Corrections estimates that of the 1600 new jobs created by the prison only 72 would go to local residents.

"The California Department of Corrections is again attempting to saddle a town with the infrastructural costs of hosting a prison. Delano schools are desperately overcrowded, and the city needs a new high school. Sacramento has set aside a maximum of $4 million, to be divided between the city and Kern County, to offset a $595 million project," said Joe Morales of the Delano Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment, part of the coalition. "This inadequate 'mitigation' will put a strain on city services and Delano's budget for years."

Last summer Critical Resistance, a national organization opposing the expansion of the prison industrial complex, in coalition with the California Prison Moratorium Project, the Delano Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment and numerous other groups, won an historic legal victory over the California Department of Corrections. In a lawsuit filed by the organizations, a Kern County Superior Court Judge ruled that the California Department of Corrections' environmental impact review for the proposed Delano prison was inadequate and that the agency must conduct a new environmental review.

In April, 2002, the coalition won a second victory: a California Senate budget subcommittee removed Governor Gray Davis' proposed funding for the prison from the Senate's version of the state budget, arguing that Delano II is unnecessary due to the declining prison population, and with a $20 billion deficit, the state cannot afford to build a new prison.

The DataCenter is providing ongoing research support to the Delano II campaign. We investigated the amount of federal funds going into the proposed prison project and gave leads for further exploration. In preparation for the state budget hearings in April, the DataCenter examined the structural difference between Level III and Level IV maximum-security prisons and found literature on that issue to help challenge the California Department of Corrections' claim that California needs another maximum-security prison.

In addition, the DataCenter was proud to sign on to a letter that was sent to the California Legislature opposing the construction of the 5,160 bed prison in Delano California.

However, the struggle continues. In the face of a $23 billion state budget deficit and a recent statewide poll showing Californians strongly oppose new prison construction, the California legislature voted to fund Delano II. Activists held a "Buy Back the Government Telethon" to protest the action, noting that the California prison guards union contributed $2.3 million to state legislative races. The California public voted against prison bonds in 1990 and again in 1996.

For further information or to get involved, contact Critical Resistance or the California Prison Moratorium Project.