Correctional Training Facility (CTF)

Highway 101 North, Soledad, CA 93960, (831) 678-3951

Also known at simply “Soledad,” CTF is just off the 101 Freeway south of Monterrey. It is a solid five hours north of Los Angeles, heading up the 5 through Bakersfield and then heading west to Paso Robles, before joining up with the 101 to head north again.

Soledad is well-known for its brutality, as Sirhan Sirhan, the assassin of Robert F. Kennedy was housed at Soledad, and Juan Carona, the Mexican serial killer of at least 25 farm workers was also housed there.

In December, 2012, it had over 5,600 inmates, even after AB109 took full effect. The prison is supposed to be for minimum (Level I) and medium-security (Level II) prisoners. It has a design capacity of just over 3,300 prisoners. The facility itself is separated into three areas, a North Facility, Central Facility and South Facility. The South Facility was opened in 1946, so it is very old. The Central Facility was opened in 1951; the North in 1958.

Three prison guards were killed at the Central Facility in 1970 and 1971, which is many years ago, but the facility still has a reputation for being a tense place. In 2012, there was a riot at the prison, for example, and 18 prisoners were injured although over 160 inmates participated in the brawl. This is a tough place to serve time.

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