SACRAMENTO — Advocates are praising the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s decision to close the California Rehabilitation Center (CRC) in Norco by fall 2026, calling it a fiscally responsible move that reflects the state’s shrinking prison population and shifting priorities.
“We applaud Governor Newsom’s decision to spare precious state resources by closing the state prison at Norco, a decision that will save taxpayers more than a billion dollars in capital improvement costs,” said Anne Irwin, founder and director of Smart Justice California.
“Governor Newsom’s decision to close one of the state’s costliest prisons is the right resource reallocation at the right time,” Irwin said. “During a time when Californian’s leaders are scrambling to backfill funding for essential programs threatened by the disastrous Federal Republican budget cuts, this prison closure is precisely the spending reprioritization the state needs.”…