''Prison Town, USA'' is a 2007 documentary film about

Susanville, California Susanville (formerly known as Rooptown) is a town in and the county seat of Lassen County, California, United States. Susanville is located on the Susan River in the southern part of the county, at an elevation of . Its population is 16,72 ...

, a small, rural town in the northeastern part of the state that tries to resuscitate its economy by accepting construction of a state prison. The economy had formerly depended on agriculture, mining and timber, but since the late 20th century has been increasingly dependent on prisons. The city now has two state prisons and a federal prison has opened nearby in Herlong, also in Lassen County. Half of the adults in Susanville work in these facilities, and 11,000 people are incarcerated in the rural county.Taylor, Robert. "'Prison Town' a view from outside"
''Contra Costa Times'', 28 July 2007; hosted at ''The Mercury News''. The film follows four men, their families, and how they react to the new institution: Lonnie Tyler, a prisoner; Dawayne Brasher and Gabe Jones, guards; and Mike O'Kelly, a dairyman threatened by how the prison could affect the community's buy-local policy. ''Prison Town, USA'' was written, produced, and directed by Katie Galloway and Po Kutchins. It was aired in 2007 as part of the '' P.O.V.'' series on PBS.

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* * 2007 films POV (TV series) films Documentary films about incarceration in the United States Documentary films about California Lassen County, California Penal system in California 2000s English-language films 2000s American films {{2000s-documentary-film-stub