- State Prison
- California
- PO Box 731, Imperial, CA 92251-0731
- 760-337-7900
- Official Website
- Featured
CDCR – California State Prison – Centinela (CEN) basic information to help guide you through what you can do for your inmate while they are incarcerated. The facility's direct contact number: 760-337-7900
This facility is for adult inmates.
The inmates housed at California State Prison-Centinela located at 2302 Brown Rd in Imperial, 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.
California State Prison – Centinela (CEN) is an adult male state prison run by the CDCR located in Imperial County, California, approximately 20 miles from El Centro and Imperial. The facility is sometimes referred to as the Centinela State Prison. CEN is situated on 2,000 acres. Of its housing units, 2 Level IV, 1 Level III, 1 Level III SNY yards ("5 two-tier buildings on each yard, 100 Double occupancy cells per building, razor wire cinder block/ chain link fenced perimeters and armed coverage") all surrounded by an additional electrified fence protected by two razor wire atop chain link fences and 1 Level I yard (2 buildings, open dormitory, maximum capacity of 200 inmates each, with secure chain link fence perimeter). The facility also includes a "CTC" (Correctional Treatment Center), treating medical, dental, and mental health issues with an integrated hospital type area/ department)."ADSEG" (administrative segregation) has a maximum occupancy of 175, and a Firehouse (Centinela Fire Department, CEP is the three letter identifier) that houses 8 Level I inmates actively trained as structural/ wildland firefighters. Centinela Fire Department is part of the institution's rehabilitation program. It provides rigorous and accelerated training meeting state fire certification, equivalent to a volunteer structural/ wildland firefighter. A library facility was established in 2016.
Notable inmates that did time at Centinela were former Glendale Fire Chief and Arson Investigator John Leonard Orr was sentenced to life in prison in 1998 of serial arson and four counts of murder; Loi Khac Nguyen sentenced to 41 consecutive life terms in prison. He was convicted of three counts of murder – those of Kris Edward Sohne, John Fritz, and Fernando Gutierrez – and 38 counts of kidnapping.; Sanyika Shakur was paroled, August 2012 imprisonment for carjacking six years, served two-thirds of his sentence at Pelican Bay State Prison and was released. On July 10, 2017, Shakur was sent back to prison for an assault conviction out of San Diego County. He is currently incarcerated at Centinela State Prison; Damian Williams was released from prison in 1997 early for good behavior, but in 2003, he was sentenced to 46 years to life in prison for the 2000 murder of drug dealer Grover Tinner.
CDCR – California State Prison – Centinela (CEN) – Visitation Guide
CDCR – California State Prison – Centinela (CEN) – Inmate Packages
CDCR – California State Prison – Centinela (CEN) – Parole Information
The mission of Centinela State Prison is to provide long term confinement to men who have been convicted of felonious crimes and remanded to the State of California for incarceration Inmate productivity and self-improvement are considered integral components to Centinela's overall objective to reduce recidivism among those inmates incarcerated at our institution.
Institution Details
Centinela State Prison attempts to achieve inmate productivity and self-improvement by providing legally mandated work and study opportunities for all inmates (AB 1403 – Chapter One Statues of 1982). This goal is accomplished through the development of support services, academic education, vocation instruction, spiritual programs, work assignments, substance abuse programs and the availability of self-help programming.
Centinela State Prison provides for the confinement of General Population, Level I, Level III inmates, Level III sensitive needs and maximum security (Level IV) inmates.
Centinela also has an Institutional Hearing Program (IHP) which prepares inmates who are illegal immigrants for release back to their native lands through the US Immigration and Naturalization Services.
visitation Info
CDCR – California State Prison – Centinela (CEN) – 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:
- Read Visitation Guidelines to understand what you can expect and what is expected of you
- Find out in which facility your inmate is housed
- Schedule a visit online using the VPASS system
- 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 Manualif 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.
