Climate Control for the Incarcerated
By Brian Lough
Rising Voices is a series of articles written by incarcerated journalism students at the California Institute for Men (CIM) in Chino, CA, in partnership with Chaffey College’s student paper, The Breeze. These students are working towards their AA-T degrees in Journalism through Chaffey College’s Rising Scholars Program. This series is dedicated to amplifying the voices of incarcerated reporters through accurate, ethical, and impactful journalism. Our mission is to illuminate lived experiences behind the walls and foster understanding across communities.
Most California state prisons do not have any form of climate control in the housing units. If the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) would invest in climate control, the money they would save in medical costs, write-ups, litigation and violence would far outweigh the money they would have to invest.
To start, the buildings being too hot in the summer time is linked to medical issues. These medical issues are both mental and physical.
“Extreme heat poses a distinct risk to the 2.1 million incarcerated people in the United States, who have disparately high rates of behavioral health conditions,” said a a study published by the Cloud research group at Emory University. People that are already taking some form of medication for mental health disorders are not supposed to be in temperatures over 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Heat agitates people and could lead to more physical violence, especially when they are in a masculine environment already. On a hot day, it is more likely that the incarcerated lose their patience and get into physical altercations.
It would also cut down on the staff assaults. If the incarcerated are already hot and agitated, the correctional officers (CO) are also hot and agitated with the 40 lbs of gear they wear. Then when the correctional officer gives a command that the incarcerated person (IP) does not want to listen to, it can lead to physical violence quickly.
In other words, when people feel cooler, they act cooler, and cooler heads always prevail. It also gives the CO less work to do. If people are in better moods, there are fewer fights to get into, fewer fights to break up and less paperwork to do. If the CO is happy, usually everyone else is a little happier.
Having climate control would also help the incarcerated students and teachers. When the ambient temperature is over 110 degrees Fahrenheit in the classroom, it makes it much harder to teach in and to learn in.
Justin Coats, an incarcerated person from the California Institute for Men, says, “When it’s that hot in the classroom, it becomes distracting. This makes it hard for me to concentrate on what’s being taught to me.” This is not conducive for a positive learning environment.
The instructors also would be less likely to rush through what they were teaching that day. If they were in a comfortable learning environment, they would be more likely to take their time to teach the lessons they had prepared.
The lack of climate control has also stopped some of the incarcerated from transferring to the yards that offer education. They are some of the lucky that are housed in a building with climate control. They refuse to go to the yards with access to college courses because it is too hot. They will throw away their chance at a higher education and time off of their sentence (sometimes up to 6 months off of their sentence per an AA degree) because they do not want to be in a building that gets to over 110 degrees Fahrenheit.
Prisons have multi-tier housing units. The top tiers, by default, will be the hottest. So, when installing the HVAC units, every tier should have their own thermostat. This would give each tier separate control of the temperature in their unit.
The tier officer and the incarcerated building reps can have access to the controls. The tier can vote on the temperature they would like to keep it at. This way there are less arguments and/or fights over the controls. The tier officer would have the final say on the matter.
The CDCR could also use the addition of the climate control systems to teach a trade in HVAC.
This would teach the incarcerated a trade they could do upon release, which would decrease recidivism. Learning the trade would also give the incarcerated milestone credits which, in turn, gives them credit off of their sentence. It would also be cheaper on the CDCR because the maintenance and repair would be in-house — instead of having to outsource an expensive HVAC service.
Making positive changes and continuing to go in the direction that the CDCR is heading in with their “California Model” is making it easier for incarcerated people to feel human and to strive towards being better people. Things like adding HVAC makes the incarcerated feel a little more human.
If you continue to treat people as sub-human, they will continue to act sub-human. If you can influence the people who make the rules in a positive way, you will change the mentality of the incarcerated as well.
About the Writer - Brian Lough
Brian Lough is currently enrolled in Chaffey College and is working on his Journalism degree. He is serving his time in the California Institution for Men in Chino, CA. Brian was born and raised in Modesto, CA and is now living in Greeley Hill, CA. He is a father of two boys and one girl. He is also a musician, and he loves living in the mountains. He looks forward to being released in the next year and reuniting with his fiancé and his children.