[7] In 1989, RJDCF opened a reception center which accepted newly sentenced inmates from across Southern California.

However, in 2012, the institution changed from its previous reception center mission, and completed the conversion of three of its five facilities to sensitive needs yards.

In 2010, the monthly salary for an employee was between $90 and $100, so the shoe factory positions are prized in Donovan.

The transfer to Donovan occurred, coincidentally, on the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Robert Kennedy's brother, John F.

[10] Each week, "Level 4" (maximum security) prisoners may have 15 hours of yard time.

[5] A court order requiring guards to wear body cameras when dealing with inmates began in 2021 due to a culture of retaliation.

[11] Various documented uses of excessive force included tipping over the wheelchairs of disabled prisoners, punching a hard-of-hearing inmate in the face when he asked for written communication from the guard because he couldn't hear what the guard had said and using pepper spray on mentally ill convicts.