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05 DETAILING OUR INVESTIGATION
from HIDDEN HAZARDS: The Impacts of Climate Change on Incarcerated People in California State Prisons
"In 30-plus-years of incarceration, besides blackouts, I’ve endured earthquakes, heat waves, and flooding. I’ve made it through winters in which an extra blanket was the only thing that separated me from icy-cold air gushing into my small cramped cell. The world now recognizes that these weather extremes are the result of climate change. But, the effects of climate change on the millions [of] Americans behind bars often go unrecognized.”
- Juan Moreno Haines, Incarcerated Journalist at San Quentin State Prison (SQSP) 68
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Given the lack of research on climate hazard preparedness of incarcerated populations, we incorporated the following research methods to understand how climate hazards interact with California state prisons:
Literature review on climate change vulnerability, effects of climate change, relevant laws and regulations, case studies from other states, and emergency preparedness for prisons.
Interviews with 22 key actors on their understanding of preparedness and response to climate hazards in the State of California, both generally and within correctional facilities. Some of the key actors included currently and formerly incarcerated people, staff from related state agencies, and staff from environmental justice and criminal justice non-governmental agencies Appendix B lists our interview participants and their respective fields and the codebook used to identify themes and data.
Surveys sent to 2,233 currently incarcerated people on EBC’s mailing list, using both randomized selection and snowball sampling, to gather first-hand experiences and perceptions on emergency preparedness within each CDCR prison. We received a total of 563 surveys, a 25% response rate Appendix C provides an overview of our methodology, including our codebook used to identify themes and data from our free response questions. Appendix D includes a copy of the survey that was sent. Appendix E includes a summary of the surveys received including results by question.
Spatial analysis to evaluate each CDCR prison's risk for extreme temperatures, wildfires, and flooding. Appendix F includes additional maps with the flood analysis of each facility.
