CDCR - Calipatria State Prison (CAL)

State Prison

Last Updated: July 14, 2023
Address
7018 Blair Rd, Calipatria, CA 92233-5001
Beds
2208
County
Imperial
Phone
760-348-7000
Mailing Address
PO Box 5001, Calipatria, CA 92233-5002

Calipatria State Prison is for State Prison offenders sentenced up to twelve months.

All prisons and jails have Security or Custody levels depending on the inmate’s classification, sentence, and criminal history. Please review the rules and regulations for State - low facility.

The phone carrier is Global Tel Link (GTL) - ConnectNetwork, to see their rates and best-calling plans for your inmate to call you.

If you are unsure of your inmate's location, you can search and locate your inmate by typing in their last name, first name or first initial, and/or the offender ID number to get their accurate information immediately Registered Offenders

Satellite View of CDCR - Calipatria State Prison (CAL)

CDCR - Calipatria State Prison (CAL) basic information to help guide you through what you can do for your inmate while they are incarcerated. The facility's direct contact number: 760-348-7000

The inmates housed at Calipatria State Prison located at 7018 Blair Rd in Calipatria, CA are placed according to their custody level (determined by a number of factors including the past criminal history and the length of their sentence). There are ample educational and vocational training programs for all inmates, especially ones that show a willingness to learn new things that will prepare them for a better life when they are released. The mission is to promote and prepare the offender to leave in better shape than when they arrived, giving them the best chance to never come back and thus lower the state's recidivism rate.

Calipatria State Prison is a male-only state prison located in the city of Calipatria, in Imperial County, CA holding CDCR inmates from a minimum to a maximum custody level. This facility is also used by Immigration and Naturalization (ICE) to incarcerate immigrants who have been detained and are close to being released. Although originally designed to hold much less, the facility now holds over 4,100 inmates.

Although located about 3 miles from the center of Calipatria, the prison is within the city limits. Called the lowest prison in the Western Hemisphere, it lies 184 feet below sea level. The facility covers a total of 1,230 acres (with the prison on 300 acres). In September 2007, it had a design capacity of 2,308 but a total inmate population of 4,180, for an occupancy rate of 181%. As of March 1, 2018, the total population was 3,685, or an occupancy rate of 160%.

The primary mission of Calipatria State Prison (CAL) is to protect the public by providing safe custody, quality health care and the appropriate supervision of sentenced offenders. In conjunction with the Mission, the institution will promote viable work assignments, vocational training, and educational opportunities for offenders in order to foster an environment in which positive changes can occur. The secondary mission of CAL is to provide meaningful work programs for inmates who do not meet the criteria for assignment to a conservation camp. These assignments include facility maintenance jobs, food service positions and other facility support assignments.

Over 2,000 of its housing units are maximum-security Level IV ("Cells, fenced or walled perimeters, electronic security, more staff and unarmed officers both inside and outside the installation"); the remainder is minimum-security Level I ("Open dormitories without a secure perimeter").

CAL has many vocational studies that inmates can take advantage of. These skills taught for free to the inmates can give them a range of skills that they can use to earn an honest living once they are released. Some of the programs currently offered are auto body and paint, consumer electronics repair, carpentry, electrical, and masonry.

CDCR - Calipatria State Prison (CAL) - Visitation Guide
CDCR - Calipatria State Prison (CAL) - Inmate Packages
CDCR - Calipatria State Prison (CAL) - Parole Information

Inmate Locator

CDCR - Calipatria State Prison (CAL) is a facility in the California Department of Corrections. The DOC publishes the names of their current inmates and identifies which of their locations the inmate is being held. Your search should start with the first DOC locator to see if your loved one is there. Begin with the first three letters of the offender's first and last name, it does not have to be spelled exactly.

The second box is the InmateAid Inmate Search. This database of inmates is user-generated content for the purpose of accessing and utilizing any or all of the InmateAid services. If you need our assistance creating your own inmate profile to keep in touch, email us at aid@inmateaid.com and we will assist you in locating your inmate.

As a last resort, you might have to pay for that information if we do not have it. The Arrest Record Search will cost you a small amount, but their data is the freshest available and for that reason, they charge to access it.

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Covid Visitation Information

All 35 CDCR prisons will offer limited video visiting starting this month to allow friends and family a way to safely connect with incarcerated people. In order to reduce noise levels in video visiting areas, effective immediately incarcerated people are authorized to bring their personal earphones/headphones to their scheduled visit. They will be required to disinfect them prior to connecting them to the computer. Staff will direct individuals when and where to connect. Institutions have also been instructed to ensure canteens are well-stocked with earphones for purchase.

If a reservation request is successful, confirmation emails will arrive with the subject line “Webex meeting invitation.” Please do not delete – this email contains a link to join the video visit and details on time and day of the confirmed visit. Please check your spam or junk folder in your email account if you don’t immediately see the confirmation in your inbox.

Please note: Incarcerated people in isolation or quarantine will not be able to participate in video visiting.

CDCR recognizes visiting is an important way to maintain family and community ties. At the same time, our first priority is the health and safety of those who live in and work in our facilities.

CDCR will now begin to offer real-time video visiting as a safe way for incarcerated people to see and speak with their loved ones. We have developed a virtual process in cooperation with California Correctional Health Care Services and the California Department of Public Health.

Under the new system, each inmate will have the opportunity for a free 30-minute video visit every 30 days. This includes holiday visits. Visits will take place on weekends and holidays. Most facilities will schedule their visits between 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., but hours may vary.

Scheduling Video Visits

Prospective visitors must submit visiting requests directly to the institution where their loved one is housed, using the designated email addresses for each institution:

Only those individuals who have already been approved as a visitor may make an appointment. Step-by-step instructions can be found here. VPASS will no longer be used to schedule a visit.

Reservations will be taken weekly, beginning each Saturday at 8 a.m. through Monday at 8 a.m. for visits the following weekend. Please note, emails received outside the timeframe allowed will not be rolled over to the following weekend for review. Instead, a new request must be submitted during the following week reservation timeframe. Reservations are currently only available for the first five institutions. Not all reservations may be accepted because of space and equipment limitations.

Visitation Information

CDCR - Calipatria State Prison (CAL) - Visitation

Visiting a CDCR facility must be conducted in a manner that maintains order, safety, and security of the people and facility. Failure to comply with the established regulations and policies may result in a warning or termination, suspension, or revocation of your visiting privileges.

Recommended Steps Before Visiting:

  1. Read Visitation Guidelines to understand what you can expect and what is expected of you
  2. Find out in which facility your inmate is housed
  3. Schedule a visit online using the VPASS system
  4. The day of your scheduled visit, check the Visiting Status to ensure the institution is accepting visitors

Visitation Guidelines

Refer to the Department's current policies and regulations in Title 15and the Department Operations Manual if you want to know more.

Locate Inmate

Use the Inmate Locator to find an inmate and what facility they are housed in.

Schedule Visit

Sign-up or log into VPASS to schedule an inmate visit. VPASS stands for Visitor Processing Appointment Scheduling System. Note: this requires creating an online account.

Check Visiting Status

You can find out the visiting status of a CDCR facility in one of two ways:

  • Call the Visiting Status Hotline at 1-800-374-8474
  • Check the VPASS Visiting Status; locate the facility you plan to visit.

You should always do this the day you plan to visit, because visitation can sometimes be unexpectedly cancelled.

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Ask The Inmate

Ask a former inmate questions at no charge. The inmate answering has spent considerable time in the federal prison system, state and county jails, and in a prison that was run by the private prison entity CCA. Ask your question or browse previous questions in response to comments or further questions of members of the InmateAid community.

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