Header Ads

ad

California receives 261 transgender prisoners transfer requests under new law – including 255 to women’s prison

April 08, 2021


Article by Scott A. Davis in Law Enforcement Today
 

California receives 261 transgender prisoners transfer requests under new law – including 255 to women’s prison

 CALIFORNIA – 261 California inmates have requested transfers to prisons aligning with their claimed gender identity since Gov. Gavin Newsom signed S.B. 132 into law in September allowing prisoners to choose their gender for prison placement.

S.B. 132 requires California correctional facilities to house prisoners in a “correctional facility designated for men or women based on the individual’s preference.”

255 of the 261 inmates requested to transfer from a male to a female correctional facility. Some officials and women’s rights groups are concerned that such transfers are being made “under false pretenses,” according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.

 

 The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) said only six prisoners requested a transfer to a male institution. Deputy Press Secretary Terry Thornton said:

 “255 are from transgender women and non-binary incarcerated people who are requesting to be housed in a female institution and six are from transgender men and non-binary incarcerated people who are requesting to be housed in a male institution.”

 

 

CDCR reported that no transfer requests based on gender identity have been denied. The agency said that 21 requests have been approved since the signing of the new law and that four have been transferred to the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla.

Thornton said that two of the prisoners changed their minds about the transfer request.

Prisoners at Central California Women’s Facility warned that prisoners should expect violence over the transfers. 41-year-old Tomiekia Johnson to the Times that she overheard inmates discussing the transfers:

“That if we think it’s bad now, be prepared for the worst. That it’s going to be off the hook, it’s going to be jumping. They say we’re going to need a facility that’s going to be like a maternity ward. 

 They say we’re going to have an inmate program where inmates become nannies.”

 

 

 

Prison inmates and staff are concerned over the potential for male inmates to falsely claim to identify as female in order to get into female prisons. Thornton responded to the concerns by pointing to CDCR policy which states:

“CDCR’s classification process includes a thorough review of the incarcerated person’s history prior to and during incarceration, their crime, arrest and criminal history, trial and sentencing documentation, medical and mental health needs, custody level, time to serve, safety concerns, and other factors including security and program needs.

Medical and mental health care staff members are part of this process.

“Information documented includes their age, disabilities, gender identity, personal and criminal history, prior incarcerations, prior incidents of victimization either in custody or in the community, and convictions for sex offenses.

Based on the information gathered in the PREA Screening Tool, an inmate will be given one of three designations: at risk as a victim, at risk as an abuser, or not identified as being at risk.

Inmates at risk as a victim cannot be housed in a cell with an inmate identified as being at risk as an abuser.”

 

  The law was passed with the intention of reducing sexual offenses against transgender inmates. However, the policy is not likely to calm the nerves of female prisoners concerned about violence generated from allowing men into female prisons.

 

 

A similar policy in Canada allows trans-identifying male prisoners to be housed in female prisons and women’s rights groups have been protesting the practice.

 Heather Mason, head of the Canadian chapter of the international “Keep Prisons Single Sex” campaign, said women are the victims of such policies:

“Female offenders from indigenous communities make up 42 percent of the Canadian prison population. Many of them already come from abusive situations but are afraid to speak up and suffer the consequences.”

 

 

https://www.lawenforcementtoday.com/california-receives-261-transgender-prisoners-transfer-requests-under-new-law/ 

 


 


Don't Forget to Recommend
 and Follow us at our

W3P Homepage


Post a Comment