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Metropolitan Detention Center, Los Angeles
Federal prison in Los Angeles, California From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Metropolitan Detention Center, Los Angeles (MDC Los Angeles) is a prison in downtown Los Angeles, California which holds male and female inmates prior to and during court proceedings, as well as inmates serving short sentences. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice.[1]
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History
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The 272,000-square-foot (25,300 m2) prison opened in December 1988 with a cost of $36 million (equivalent to $96 million in 2024), making Los Angeles the fifth U.S. city with a downtown federal prison. MDC Los Angeles had a distinct design, referring to housing areas as rooms rather than cells and not using iron bars on its cell doors. It had a special design using plate glass windows, balconies, and atriums. Kim Murphy of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the building has "more the look of a downtown office building than a prison."[2] It was the first BOP prison to completely ban smoking.[2]
Prior to the opening of MDC Los Angeles, Federal Correctional Institution, Terminal Island housed the Los Angeles area pretrial inmates. This situation caused overcrowding at FCI Terminal Island.[2]
The opening of MDC Los Angeles allowed prisoners whose trials are pending to be housed near Federal Court, ending the time-consuming process of transporting hundreds of prisoners a week back and forth down the Harbor Freeway each day court is in session.[2]
When the facility first opened, federal court proceedings took place at the nearby Spring Street Courthouse, located two blocks away.[2] In 1992, a second federal courthouse opened inside the Roybal Building built adjacent to MDC Los Angeles. In 2016, the federal courts at Spring Street relocated to the new First Street Courthouse, located six blocks away.
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Programs
Various services are available to inmates at MDC Los Angeles, including drug treatment and education programs, Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings, GED and ESL classes, and correspondence classes. Inmates may meet with a chaplain or a priest upon request.[3]
Notable inmates (current and former)
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References
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