California inmates transfers data

This dataset is based on a California Public Records Act request by CalMatters reporter Byrhonda Lyons to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

There are two files available:

• overall_transfers_2016-2021.csv: Each row contains the number of Transfers the person with that ID had in that Year, regardless of the person’s mental health designation.
• eop_transfers_2016-2021.csv: Each row contains the number of Transfers the person with that de-identified ID had in that Year while they were in the enhanced mental health program. The number of Transfers here is a subset of the transfers for that person and year in the first dataset.

About the data

• The enhanced mental health program (EOP) provides outpatient mental health care for incarcerated people.
• Transfers include moves to county jail for court appearances, out-to-hospital for medical appointments, among other reasons. Each movement represents one transfer. For example, if an incarcerated person is ordered to appear in court and return to the institution, that is counted as two transfers.
• The de-identified ID represents the same person across both datasets.

Full request

The original request was for the story Inmate shuffle: How California bounces around its mentally ill prisoners by CalMatters reporters Byrhonda Lyons and Jocelyn Wiener, published June 2, 2022. Findings from the data appear in Mentally ill prisoners in California are three times likelier to get shuffled around, published November 21, 2022.

March 31, 2022 request:

1. On average how often were California inmates transferred each year between 2016 and 2021?
2. On average how often were California inmates who were classified as seriously mentally ill transferred each year between 2016 and 2021?
3. Reports on suicides completed for 2019 and 2021
4. Data on how many inmates were in enhanced outpatient housing each year for every year between 2016 and 2021?
5. Detailed data about how often inmates in enhanced outpatient housing transferred between facilities each year between 2016 and 2021, including total number of transfers for each inmate? The length of waitlists and wait times for inmates who were deemed eligible for a state hospital bed, but were waiting to be transferred, each year between 2016 and 2021.
6. How long are inmates currently waiting before they are transferred to a state hospital bed, and how many inmates are waiting for transfer to a state hospital?

On August 1, 2022, CDCR provided spreadsheets with responses to questions one and five.

Data use

If you use this dataset, please mention it was collected and cleaned by CalMatters. If you have any questions about this dataset, feel free to contact us.

CalMatters is a nonpartisan, nonprofit journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters.