NORCO, Calif. — The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has announced it will permanently shutter the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco by fall 2026, citing a historic drop in the state’s prison population. The closure, long demanded by criminal justice reform advocates, marks the fourth state-owned prison to shut down in four years.
Advocates say the closure is the direct result of years of grassroots organizing aimed at exposing the facility’s deteriorating conditions and shifting public policy away from incarceration and toward community investment.
“Five years ago, our community of people most impacted by incarceration organized a list of prisons to prioritize for closure, and CRC was at the top of that list,” said Amber-Rose Howard, executive director of Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB), a statewide coalition of more than 100 organizations working to reduce the state’s reliance on incarceration. “In moments like this, when community organizing and administrative change align, we celebrate.”
The CRC, originally built as a luxury hotel in the 1920s and later converted into a prison in the 1980s, has long drawn criticism for its unsafe and inhumane conditions. Incarcerated people and their families have documented ongoing infestations of rodents and cockroaches, unreliable access to safe drinking water, chronic overcrowding, extreme heat, and staff-instigated violence.
“Prison is hard. CRC has been especially and unnecessarily difficult,” said Hallie Smith in a statement, whose husband, Lafonté Smith, is currently imprisoned at CRC. “I can rest easy knowing my loved one will be moved from the worst prison he has ever experienced.”
In July, CURB joined with other advocacy groups, including Critical Resistance, Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, and Riverside All of Us Or None, to rally outside CRC’s gates and call for the prison’s immediate closure. The rally featured speeches from formerly incarcerated individuals and family members of those still behind bars.
While CDCR has not yet announced where CRC’s incarcerated population will be relocated, CURB is calling on state officials to ensure that all transfers are done transparently and humanely, with continued access to education, credit-earning opportunities, and rehabilitative programming, areas that have seen significant disruption during previous closures.
Beyond prison walls, local officials and advocates alike see the closure as a rare opportunity to redirect public funds toward revitalizing Norco and surrounding communities. CURB’s Prison Closure Roadmap outlines how an estimated $150 million in annual savings from CRC’s closure could be reinvested in housing, education, mental health services, and job creation.
“Our coalition is looking forward to continued alignment with state leaders in terms of prison closure, including concrete plans for transitioning carceral spaces into life-affirming spaces for families and communities,” Howard said.
In a public petition, CURB framed the Norco facility as “a symptom of a wider problem,” pointing to out-of-control prison spending that, they argue, has directly contributed to California’s projected $73 billion budget deficit.
“California has spent our tax dollars on toxic prisons like CRC instead of investing in the critical economic, environmental, and health care needs facing Riverside County and other communities,” the group stated. “The time for action is now. Governor Newsom must commit to closing at least five more state prisons, starting with the urgent closure of CRC Norco.”
Anonymous accounts from inside describe temperatures exceeding 100 degrees without air conditioning, only five fans for 100 men, constant toilet breakdowns, rodent infestations, and a lack of access to programming — conditions that advocates say undermine any claims that CRC serves a rehabilitative function.
CRC’s deactivation is part of a broader trend in California’s efforts to decarcerate. As the state’s incarcerated population declines, long-standing advocacy campaigns are pushing for broader reinvestment in the social infrastructure of communities historically impacted by mass incarceration.
According to CDCR, the adult prison population has declined significantly, from a peak of more than 173,000 in 2006 to roughly 91,000 today — the lowest level since the late 1980s. That decline has enabled the department to end its use of private prison contracts and led to the permanent closure of facilities including Deuel Vocational Institution, California Correctional Center, and Chuckawalla Valley State Prison.
Altogether, CDCR reports that 11 full facilities, portions of two more, and 42 housing units have been deactivated, resulting in annual savings of hundreds of millions of dollars for the state.
