My fiancee is thinking about trying to get transferred from VSPW to CCWF for a variety of reasons. She's been at VSPW since 2001. I'm afraid the grass looks greener on the other side.

I could really use some of the pros and cons from anyone who's been in CCWF or has a loved one there.

I appreciate the help very much.

Hi
My name is Jim, My wife is at CCWF she has been there for the last 4.5 yrs. of a 6 year sentence. Her out date is early May 08. She has told me several times that she wanted to transfer to V>S>P>W. The reason she gave was C.C.W.F. is run by the inmates. The CO's let the inmates run the place. So there is a sense of watch your back. Both prisons are way overcrowded and alot of the services are almost non-exsistant. But for the most part from what I have learned the prisons at Chowchilla are not
a good place to be. Im sure one is as bad as the other. But C.C.W.F. does have Death Row so things could be stricter at times. I do know they have alot of lock-downs Hope this helps. J

I have heard that the inmates run the prison there too. I know VSPW is bad too, but CCWF really worries me.

I really appreciate the input, thank you

Hi. I'm an Inmate Family Council volunteer at VSPW, and am mostly familiar with VSPW. I hear from inmates who have been at CCWF that the inmates have more power at CCWF, but I have no way of verifying that. Both prisons are Level 4, so they're both pretty bad. VSPW is 5 years newer, but that hardly makes any difference. They are mirror images of each other, in terms of how they're built.

Although I've heard of inmates wanting to move from CCWF to VSPW, I haven't heard of a lot of inmates wanting to go the other direction.
Nancy Rubinstein
VSPW IFC volunteer

thank you Nancy, I appreciate the help

From what I've been told, the A and B yard at CCWF is a place you don't want to hang out at if you're in prison.

Then again, this is like comparing apples to oranges. Both prisons are not a picnic. I think the best way to look at it is how does a woman do their own time? How do they program?

I betcha that either prison is all about how you work with it.

She stays in her room all the time except when she's working. It's been bothering her lately that there has been an influx of people at VSPW who know who she is being local to the area. There were a lot of lies and rumors about her case at the time and she worries that she could end up with problems because of it. The way she sees it, most of the women at CCWF are from Southern California and she wouldn't see people from the central valley.

I hear ya. Let's face it-those girls at VSPW who are doing this crap were a little late getting on line when they handed out brains.

When my friend comes through the yard to see me, she is escorted by 2 CO's and they usually call her a baby killer. They don't even know her and she is not on DR for that. It pisses her off, but she just has to try to let it go in one ear and out the other.

Well mine had to be in solitary in county for nine months, and in the SHU for 5 months when she got to VSPW because the guy who died in her case was a gangbanger and they wanted to get her for it. So I understand her point in wanting to move, but I'm not so sure moving over there is a good move.

I made a looooong post on the topic of possible sexual liasons by male COs at CCWF. I have a penpal in Shu, who was transferred from CCWF to VSPW across the street. Reading over all the past postings, I'm guessing the 5-star facility between all female prisons is CIW Chino, which I think is a medium security facility. I drove over to CIW, and it didn't look like a prison from the outside. You know how prisons have the constantine razor-sharp wires running along the top ?? This is the wire Caltran had installed on some overpass signs to discourage graffiti taggers. CIW didn't have it :hmm: along the front entrance. Only along the sides and rear perimeter fence are the constantine razors installed. Drove over to CIM (you know how we guys can be soooo violent) nearby, and the constantine razors were all around the intire perimeter.

When my ♥♥ was at CCFW, I sent her a letter with 2 books of stamps, and she wrote back to me, asking "why didn't you include a letter ??" I suspect the mailroom trashed my letter, because I mentioned there were 2 books of stamps enclosed, and the mailroom decided to keep one. I ordered her 3 paperback novels from Amazon-com, which arrived at CCFW's PO Box 92 on July 8, and none of my letters were getting through, where I asked whether she had gotten my books. After I emailed the Ombudsperson, Sara Malone, my ♥♥ finally received her books on Sept 12, 2 months after they arrived at CCFW. By now, she had transferred to VSPW across the street.