This story was co-published with Truthout.
For decades, the California Rehabilitation Center (CRC) in Norco has been known for its deplorable conditions: extreme heat, pest infestations, unreliable programming, and water so unsafe that guards refuse to drink it. As residents of CRC, we experienced these conditions firsthand. So we celebrated when the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) announced in August 2025 that CRC had been named for closure. Almost one year later, as of July 29, 2026, CRC has officially been emptied. Today, the empty prison remains in “warm shutdown” mode, costing the state hundreds of millions of dollars.
The announcement of CRC Norco’s closure was a testament to years of community advocacy to reduce the imprisoned population, expose systemic issues in CRC that are reflective of those throughout the prison system, and highlight possibilities for non-carceral reinvestment in California’s Riverside County. Imprisoned people, loved ones, and advocates had exposed the toxicity in CRC for decades — leading to the prison being marked for closure in 2012 by the CDCR under then-Gov. Jerry Brown. In 2021, Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB) named CRC Norco as the top state prison to close based on a survey of more than 2,000 imprisoned people. We connected with CURB in 2024 to share testimony about CRC’s horrific conditions and failing infrastructure.
Read the full story from Truthout here.
