We Provide Transparency
To safeguard the integrity of the State’s correctional system, we work to provide oversight and transparency concerning the policies and practices of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. We achieve this by monitoring the department’s activities, reporting on them, and making recommendations to the department.
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If you have witnessed or know of any misconduct within the operations of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, please report the information to us below.
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Our Latest Reports
We summarize our monitoring activities as they concern the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and its operations. Our reports highlight significant issues occurring within the State's prison system, as well as our recommendations to the department.
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LATEST REPORTS

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2023 OIG Annual Report

This annual report summarizes the work the Office of the Inspector General completed during 2023, including the 16 public reports we issued. The report also details the work the OIG performed that was not highlighted in other reports issued during the year.

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13th Blueprint Monitoring Report

This report evaluates the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s progress meeting the components of its 2012 Blueprint plan that it had not previously met, focusing on a review of standardized staffing of rehabilitative programs. This 13th report presents data collected between November and December 2023, with the exception of departmental population figures, which extend through June 30, 2023.

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Valley State Prison Cycle 7 Medical Inspection Report

This report contains our assessment of the medical care provided to incarcerated persons at Valley State Prison between June 2022 and November 2022. We rated the overall quality of health care provided at Valley State Prison during this time period as inadequate.

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Special Review: The Department Violated Its Regulations by Redirecting Backlogged Allegations of Staff Misconduct to Be Processed as Routine Grievances

In this special review, we shed light on the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s decision to address a backlog of incarcerated persons’ allegations of staff misconduct by converting them into routine grievances and sending them to local prison staff for handling instead of performing an investigation or inquiry. The decision violated both the department’s regulations and its policy for screening and investigating grievances received from incarcerated people who alleged staff misconduct. Our review found that the department’s decision to redirect these grievances to its prisons circumvented control measures that were put in place to prevent prison authorities from making potentially biased decisions when responding to allegations of staff misconduct.

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This report examines the inquiries completed by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s Allegation Inquiry Management Section (AIMS) from January 1, 2021, through December 31, 2021. According to the department’s data, during 2021, AIMS received 3,434 staff complaint inquiries referred by wardens and completed 1,445 inquiries. OIG inspectors monitored 28 inquiry cases. We assessed the overall inquiry processes performed by the department as poor in 17 cases, or 60 percent. For the remaining 11 cases, or 39 percent, we determined the department performed satisfactory work in completing the cases.

This report summarizes the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s performance in conducting internal investigations and handling employee discipline cases we monitored and closed from January 1, 2022, through June 30, 2022. We concluded that the department’s overall performance…
This report contains our assessment of the medical care provided to incarcerated persons at the Correctional Training Facility between February 2021 and July 2021. We rated the overall quality of health care provided at the Correctional Training Facility during this time period as inadequate.
This report contains our assessment of the medical care provided to incarcerated persons at Calipatria State Prison between April 2021 and September 2021. We rated the overall quality of health care provided at Calipatria State Prison during this time period as adequate.
This report contains our assessment of the medical care provided to incarcerated persons at High Desert State Prison between December 2020 and May 2021. We rated the overall quality of health care provided at High Desert State Prison during this time period as inadequate.

Providing Transparency

The Office of the Inspector General safeguards the integrity of the State’s correctional system by providing oversight and transparency regarding the policies and practices of California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. We carry out this mission through diligent monitoring, honest assessment, and dedication to improving the correctional system of our State. 

Our Promise

We promise to do our best to assist in safeguarding the integrity of the State’s correctional system. If you have witnessed or know of any misconduct within the operations of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, please report the information to us, below.

Interested in receiving our latest reports? Subscribe to our mailing list here.

Audits

The OIG conducts audits of the policies, practices, and procedures of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (the department). Our audits provide objective analysis, findings, and conclusions to assist the department with, among other things, improving its operations, reducing costs, initiating corrective action, and contributing to public accountability. An audit may focus on operational activities throughout the department and might examine the department as a whole or be limited to specific institutions, divisions, or offices. If we identify areas for improvement, we make recommendations such as training or policy changes or additions. Those recommendations, as well as our findings are included in public reports posted on this website.

Staff Complaint Monitoring

The OIG provides contemporaneous oversight and evaluation of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s process for reviewing and conducting inquiries of incarcerated persons’ allegations of staff misconduct and other grievances.

Rehabilitation Oversight
(C-ROB)

The Inspector General acts as Chair to the California Rehabilitation Oversight Board (C-ROB), which examines the department’s rehabilitation and treatment programs.

Complaint Intake Review

The OIG maintains a statewide complaint intake process to address concerns from any individual regarding allegations of improper activity within the department. We maintain a toll-free telephone number for inmates, wards, and the public to communicate with our office. If you have witnessed or know of any misconduct within the operations of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, please report the information to us below.

Sexual Abuse Monitoring

The OIG receives complaints related to the Sexual Abuse in Detention Elimination Act (SADEA) and the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), and reviews allegations of mishandled sexual abuse inquiries or investigations within correctional institutions.

Warden & Superintendent Vetting

The OIG evaluates the qualifications of every candidate whom the Governor nominates for appointment as a warden at an adult correctional institution or as a superintendent at a juvenile facility and the Inspector General reports the recommendation regarding each candidate’s qualifications in confidence to the Governor. 

Retaliation Claims Review

The OIG reviews complaints that departmental employees submit alleging that they have been retaliated against because they reported improper governmental activity.

Critical Incidents Monitoring

The OIG monitors critical incidents at California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation institutions and facilities or involving its staff, such as uses of deadly force, unexpected inmate deaths, hunger strikes, and large-scale riots. We evaluate how the department responds to and handles the incidents, and also identify potential staff misconduct and recommend policy implementation or improvement relative to the incidents.

Employee Discipline Monitoring

The OIG evaluates the department’s internal investigations regarding alleged employee misconduct, assesses the legal advice provided by department attorneys to investigators and hiring authorities, and evaluates the departmental attorneys’ performances in representing the department at disciplinary hearings. The OIG advises the public regarding the adequacy of each investigation and whether the discipline is warranted.

Use-of-Force Monitoring

The OIG monitors the department’s handling of use-of-force incidents and inmate allegations of unreasonable force by attending the department’s review committee meetings at every adult institution and juvenile facility, as well as northern and southern parole regions. Our inspectors independently determine whether the department’s staff actions were reasonable under the circumstances and were within the bounds of the department’s policy and training. Although our inspectors are “nonvoting” attendees at the review committee meetings, we regularly provide real-time feedback and recommendations on compliance-related matters.

Authorized Special Reviews

At the request of the Governor, the Assembly, or the Senate, the OIG conducts special reviews of California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation policies, practices, or procedures.

Blueprint Monitoring

The OIG reviews reforms identified by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s 2012 plan, The Future of California Corrections: A Blueprint to Save Billions of Dollars, End Federal Court Oversight, and Improve the Prison System (which was revised in 2016), and reports on the department’s progress in implementing key goals, including the percentage of inmates served in rehabilitative programs.

Medical Inspections

The OIG uses a unique combination of quantitative and qualitative data analysis methods to ensure a thorough assessment of medical care for those individuals within the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation who have the greatest need for medical services. The OIG performs medical inspections in cycles. During each cycle, the OIG inspects the medical care at each California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation adult institution. After each inspection, the OIG publishes a report of each California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation institution’s medical inspection results to the public OIG website. The OIG also submits copies of these reports to the entities involved in the assessment or provision of medical care within the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

The OIG medical inspections are mandated by California Penal Code section 6126. The OIG does not assess the constitutionality of medical care in the prison setting; that determination is made by the federal court and the federal receiver. The OIG medical inspections represent one of several factors the federal court and the federal receiver consider when they decide if the medical care in California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation institutions meets constitutional standards.

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To view our most recent reports, see blow.