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- Indexed articles, last 90 days
- 5
- Latest publication
- Jul 28, 2026
- Outlet visibility, for The Santa Barbara Independent
- Top 500K sites
- Earliest in this view
- Jul 19, 2026
Latest articles
Millions paid to California prison staff as 'human fire alarms' (opens the original)
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The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has spent tens of millions of dollars paying staff to act as human fire alarms. Nearly 90% of California's prisons have fire alarms that are old or broken. The corrections department estimates a full fix would cost $1.5 billion. So, for now, officers are pulling "fire watch" shifts instead. Between 2020 and 2025, the state shelled out nearly $50 million to cover the cost of these shifts. Kristen Cowan is an assistant professor at the Un
Human fire alarms (opens the original)
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More details: California prisons are increasingly relying on an unusual fire alarm system: humans. Between 2020 and 2025, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spent nearly $50 million on “fire watch” staffing costs. In recent years, prison employees have spent roughly 270,000 hours monitoring for smoke or fire. The backstory: The department in June said it was on track to spend roughly $40 million for last year’s fire watch coverage, according to the Legislative Analyst’s
Why California prisons are using their own employees as human fire alarms (opens the original)
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One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today. This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. California prisons are increasingly relying on an unusual fire alarm system: humans. Between 2020 and 2025, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spent nearly $50 million on “fire watch” staffing costs. In recent years, prison employe
Perkins operations (opens the original)
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What are Perkins operations: They are a controversial law enforcement tactic in which a police officer or civilian poses as an incarcerated person to elicit incriminating statements from a suspect. A CalMatters analysis of cases in Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside and Santa Clara counties shows that Perkins operations include false evidence ploys, jail cells outfitted with recording devices, and cash payments of up to $3,000 per day to undercover operatives, also known as Perkins agents. The ag
'Psychological war': Inside California’s expanding use of jailhouse stings (opens the original)
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This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. When Jason Zapata was arrested for allegedly firing a gun into the air, he was thrown in a dimly lit holding cell with trash strewn across the floor and a broken pay phone on the wall. It had nothing more than a rusted toilet, sink and three wooden benches that looked as though they had never been cleaned. Two older men with shaved heads sat in the back, eyeing the 24-year-old’s wristband that the jail used to disp
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For The Santa Barbara Independent, the outlet · Measured Aug 1, 2026
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