Sierra Conservation Center Integration Put On Hold By State

Jamestown, Ca — State officials have decided to halt a new housing integration program that was initiated this week at the Sierra Conservation Center.

?We just received word from headquarters that we are to put the integration housing policy on hold,? says Lt. Jimmy Hurtado. ?They are going to temporarily suspend it until further evaluation. I am not sure what prompted this decision.?

A court ruling had decided that it is unlawful to use ethnicity as a factor in where prisoners are housed at state correctional facilities. The Sierra Conservation Center and the Mule Creek State Prison in Ione were the first two institutions selected to integrate the new policies.

?We have had around 20 or so that have been integrated up to this time,? adds Hurtado. ?I think we will keep those the way they are, for now, unless some type of problem arises.?

Prison officials say that the new integration policies had caused some protests among the inmates. 25 new inmates protested the policy and have been confined to Administrative Segregation which is a lockdown unit.

Written by BJ Hansen