High Desert State Prison (California)

High Desert State Prison (HDSP)

Aerial View
Interactive map of High Desert State Prison (HDSP)
LocationSusanville, California
Coordinates40°24′30″N 120°30′50″W / 40.4084°N 120.5139°W / 40.4084; -120.5139
StatusOperational
Security classMaximum-Supermax
Capacity2,324
Population2,083 (89.6% capacity) (as of January 31, 2023)
OpenedAugust 1995
Managed byCalifornia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
WardenFred Foulk

High Desert State Prison (HDSP) is a high-security state prison that houses level IV inmates located in Leavitt in Lassen County, California. Opened in 1995, it has a capacity of 2,324 persons.

As of January 31, 2023, High Desert was incarcerating people at 101.6% of its design capacity, with 2,362 occupants.https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/research/wp-content/uploads/sites/174/2023/02/Tpop1_d2301.pdf

A second prison facility, the Federal Correctional Institution, Herlong, is also located within Lassen County, California. The prisons and their effects on the community, including as a source of much needed jobs, were explored in the documentary Prison Town, USA (2007), aired on PBS.