California will shutter a prison in Riverside County next year as part of the multiyear effort to reduce the state’s prison expenses as the average incarcerated population continues to decline.
On Monday, the corrections department announced it would close the California Rehabilitation Center in the fall of 2026 to accommodate for the state’s lowest prison population since the late 1980s. Today, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s incarcerated population is roughly 91,000, down more than 80,000 people since 2006.
“CDCR is committed to managing its resources responsibly to enhance public safety and best serve the people of California,” the department said in a news release. “California’s 2025-26 budget called for a prison closure, one of many challenging actions required to address the state’s fiscal position.”…