By Aidan McGloin, CalMatters

Correctional officers at the California Rehabilitation Center (CRC) in Norco have started writing Attorney General Rob Bonta to to keep the prison open, presenting it as an option to alleviate the overpopulation in county jails.

California began placing some convicted felons in county jails in 2011, after the Supreme Court ruled that the overcrowding in state prisons resulted in cruel and unusual punishment. Now, according to the lawsuit Attorney General Rob Bonta brought against Los Angeles County on Sept. 8, the county’s jails are overcrowded and uninhabitable.

In March, 878 inmates held at Los Angeles County jail were felon convicts, according to a Sheriff’s Department report. That’s 7% of the population.

“They’re causing the issue by keeping them in counties, so they say their numbers are down, so they’re closing prisons,” said Correctional Officer Jeremiah Rohbock, who wrote the initial letter.

The Norco prison has open beds, low costs per inmate and more rehabilitation and certification programs than most prisons, Rohbock added.

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The CDCR’s weekly report says that the prison currently has 2,460 inmates, and was designed for 1,822. Rohbock said the facility has enough beds to add additional inmates.

There are eight criteria the CDCR uses to identify which prisons close. Those include population trends, operational costs, facility condition, geographic considerations, impact on staff, program availability, legislative directives and public safety considerations.

The CDCR did not respond to multiple requests for comment on why the Norco prison was chosen to be closed, the prison’s cost-per-inmate or the potential impact of convicts being held in county jails.

Their Aug. 4 announcement that the CRC will close by fall 2026 cited projections of lower prison populations and the importance of cost savings. It did not specifically say why the Norco prison was chosen out of the 31 prisons currently operated by the state. A short description of the facility mentioned its origins as a luxury hotel and a Naval hospital.

“As someone who’s worked here at CRC for 15 years, we knew that CRC has this aura about it, that they feel this is some old naval base that has been converted in the 1950’s, and it’s been falling apart,” said Rohbock.

The old hotel, he said, isn’t part of the prison’s operations. The majority of buildings are modular, and maintained as part of the inmates’ rehabilitation programs, he said. As far as the cost, he said the prison is the fifth-most cost effective per inmate.

The letters also invited Bonta to visit the prison.

The Attorney General’s Office declined to comment on the letters. “We are seeking to compel much-needed, comprehensive reform to Los Angeles County jails through our lawsuit, and our complaint includes all we are able to share at this time,” they wrote.