Faced with seven homicides in the first nine weeks of the year, California prison authorities announced they have restricted inmate movement and revoked privileges such as visits and phone calls at high-security facilities across the state.
In a statement dated March 8, officials from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation cited a “surge” in violence directed at both inmates and staff as the reason for the crackdown at 11 prisons.
CDCR officials declined an interview request from The Times. Authorities are conducting a “comprehensive investigation” into causes of the violence, said Terri Hardy, a spokeswoman for the department…