Deuel Vocational Institution
Deuel Vocational Institution (DVI) is a state prison located in unincorporated San Joaquin County, California, near Tracy.[2][3]
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| Location | San Joaquin County, California |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 37.7479°N 121.3302°W |
| Status | Operational |
| Capacity | 1,681 |
| Population | 2,047 (121.8% capacity) (as of April 30, 2020[1]) |
| Opened | 1953 |
| Managed by | California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation |
| Warden | Robert Burton |
Facilities
DVI opened in 1953 and named for the late California state senator Charles H. Deuel, who sponsored legislation establishing the institution. The facility has been expanded and reorganized several times, in 1959, 1981 and 1993. Its current head warden is J. Price.
As of April 30, 2020, DVI was incarcerating people at 121.8% of its design capacity, with 2,047 occupants.[1]
In 1956 the Mexican Mafia was established at Deuel.[4]
One purpose of DVI is to serve as a reception center for newly committed prisoners to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from northern California county jails. The facility also houses "mainline" inmates classified by CDCR as levels II and III. There is also a minimum security "ranch" that supports a dairy. As of January 2006, the total count of prisoners at DVI was 3,748, with 3,162 of that number assigned to the reception center.
As a result of DVI's primary function as a reception center, in which a large number of felons of different propensities for violence, disciplinary and security issues pass through before being classified and transferred to other facilities, DVI has a long-standing reputation for being violent and dangerous. The facility used to be referred to as "gladiator school" by inmates and staff, because the DVI was widely known for the fights and homicides that took place within the prison walls.
As recently as June 2010, an inmate murder in the facility has been recorded.[5]
DVI also has a 110-inmate farm and operate a 1200-cow dairy. They grow cattle grain and supply milk to other state prisons and tax-supported public agencies. Due to declining prison population and prison reform measures, DVI will close September 30th 2021.
See also
References
- "California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation: Monthly Report of Population As of Midnight April 30, 2020" (PDF). California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Internal Oversight and Research. April 30, 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 3, 2020. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
- "Deuel Vocational Institution." California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Retrieved on June 6, 2011. "23500 Kasson Road Tracy, CA 95376"
- "Tracy city, California Archived 2008-02-03 at the Wayback Machine." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on June 6, 2011.
- Wood, Graeme. "How Gangs Took Over Prisons." The Atlantic. October 2014. Retrieved on August 8, 2016.
- "Cellmate to be charged with murder – for a second time". RecordNet. 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-09.
