With the impact of COVID-19 and an increase of COVID cases throughout California's prison system, California's Governor Newsom and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) plan to release approximately 8,000 inmates from the state prison systems under Executive Order contracted to Project Hope.

Under this Executive Order issued by our state Governor, inmates who meet a specific set of criteria can be let out of high risk prisons early under parole. In order to be eligible, inmates must meet the following criteria:

• Have 180 days or less to serve on their sentence
• Are not currently serving time for domestic violence or a violent crime as defined by law
• Have no current or prior sentences that require them to register as a sex offender
• Not have an assessment score that indicates a high risk for violence

The institutions include: San Quentin State Prison (SQ), Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF), California Health Care Facility (CHCF), California Institution for Men (CIM), California Institution for Women (CIW), California Medical Facility (CMF), Folsom State Prison (FOL) and Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility (RJD).

The Division of Adult Parole Operations (DAPO) is not authorized to mandate a quarantine as a special condition of parole because it does not relate to criminal conduct or future criminality (People v. Lent, 1975). All parolees are expected and encouraged to abide by the requirements in their county of release. 

Residents of Gardena and surrounding neighborhoods were neither notified nor asked to weigh in on the Travelodge Inn & Suites by Wyndham's (located at 1390 186th St, Gardena, CA 90248) involvement with the state-run program, Project Hope, which has been housing released inmates since May of 2020. The local residents, local police departments, sheriffs, city council, mayor, and state assembly had no idea the Travelodge at Normandie Ave and 186th St was participating in the program. 

The Gardena Harbor Gateway area is home to over 42,000 residents(1), with over 5,800 residential homes in the Harbor Gateway South area alone(2). The Harbor Gateway South is also home to several elementary schools, a high school, several churches, preschools, and daycare facilities.

Worried residents met with local leaders, the police department, and the Travelodge Manager on 12 Aug 2020 and learned that some of the parolees have tested positive for COVID-19 during their stay at the hotel. Given the lack of oversight from parole officers, a large population of at-risk elderly people in the surrounding neighborhoods, and the parolees' patronage to the same local stores as residents, this presents grave concerns for our community. 

There has also been an increase in crime across the Harbor Gateway South and neighboring communities. Police radio calls to the Travelodge have increased compared to 2018 and 2019. Given the increase in criminal activity in the area and the potential risks associated with housing newly released parolees with minimal oversight, residents expressed their interest for the hotel to invest in security cameras throughout the exterior of the hotel, as well as hired security. Residents also requested transparency on the number of parolees housed, their whereabouts/tracking system implementation, and assurance that the Travelodge will not house violent criminals. However, all of our requests were rejected by the hotel's Manager and any requests for collaboration were not met. 

As a result of the events that transpired in our neighborhood due to COVID-19 and Project Hope, we are demanding our local and state officials to discontinue the Travelodge's participation in Project Hope due to potential dangers of community spread and public nuisance related to increased crime rates for thousands of residents who live right around the corner of this hotel.

1. http://maps.latimes.com/neighborhoods/neighborhood/harbor-gateway/
2. https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/CA/Torrance/Harbor-Gateway-South-Demographics.html