North Kern State Prison

North Kern State Prison is a medium-security prison located in Delano, Kern County, California. Opened in April 1993, this state prison houses over 5,000 inmates. North Kern serves as a reception center for incoming inmates. Inmates usually serve two to three months at North Kern while staff processes their criminal and health records and assesses their physiological and social needs before assigning them to another prison. While at North Kern, inmates can engage in educational programs. With North Kern State Prison and Kern Valley State Prison, which is located one mile away and houses close to 4,800 inmates, Kern County has one of the largest prison populations of any county in America.HistoryIn the early 1990s, California experienced a significant growth in the number of inmates. Many rural counties lobbied to house a prison because of the health care and job opportunities that a prison provides for its employees. Delano was one of the cities in the counties. Since North Kern State Penitentiary opened in 1993, the city has grown immensely. Before the two prisons were built, Delano was a rural city with a large migrant farm-worker population. The construction of the two prisons helped the small city develop into a more urban society. Delano benefited from the new sewage system being built as well as new electrical infrastructure, and spurred retail and housing development.FacilitiesNorth Kern is an all-male facility, housing 4,171 inmates, or 170.0 percent of its design capacity of 2,447. Of these, a majority are housed in the Reception Center (RC) waiting to be transferred to another state prison and approximately 1,400 inmates live in the mainline part of the prison. Inmates are separated by security and custody levels upon arriving at North Kern.