The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog

Idaho's prisons have long been overcrowded, forcing officials to house more than 600 inmates in a private prison in Oklahoma. It costs more to keep inmates in out-of-state prisons then it does to incarcerate them at home, so when Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter ordered all state agencies to cut their budgets because of the poor economy, the Idaho Department of Corrections began looking for ways to bring 300 out-of-state inmates back to Boise.

Reinke said they had to think creatively, but found room for some prisoners in a building on the ISCI campus that had formerly been used as an upholstery shop as part of an inmate work program.

The building is essentially a metal warehouse, but it's well-insulated, well-lit and fairly nice, Reinke said. The department quickly installed two wing-style walls to separate two day rooms from the larger, dormitory-style sleeping area. Old bunks, once used when Idaho still had prisoners living in tents, were moved to the building and 199 inmates were brought in.

Unlike traditional cell blocks, the warehouse unit does not have individual rooms or electrical outlets for every inmate. That meant that the inmates had to do without their personal property — televisions, radios, fans and other items belonging to the inmates were sent to storage, Hardison said.

"That's a very significant issue for inmates," Reinke said. "We did have dayroom areas with television, but it's quite a shift."

Department officials purposely chose inmates who had been brought in on parole violations and were still awaiting parole hearings for the temporary unit, on the belief that those inmates would have less personal property and so would adjust better to the more austere setting. Still, many of the inmates in the unit had to give up their electrical equipment as part of the move, prompting some complaints.

Officially, the department isn't saying what prompted last week's disturbance until its own incident review investigation and the investigation by the Ada County Sheriff's Department is complete. But Hardison said he has his own theory.

"A few of that group of inmates probably should not have been put there because of past behaviors, and there were several privileges that they were not going to have for some time," he said. "They began voicing that, and that got a mob mentality going."

The violence began at about 11:30 p.m. on Jan. 2, Reinke said. Fewer than 50 of the inmates were involved, with many of the rest sitting down and interlacing their fingers over their heads to show they weren't participating.

"Beds were turned over, tables were turned over. Inmate property was strung all over the place. A couple microwaves were destroyed, one television set was destroyed, a couple of the wing walls had some damage," Reinke said.

The two guards staffing the unit locked themselves in a secure office area when the inmates became boisterous, Hardison said. When inmates began throwing microwaves at the office window in an effort to break in, the guards climbed out another window, Hardison said.

Inmates broke into the office by climbing through the ceiling and lit a fire that triggered the sprinkler system. The smoke helped corrections officials quell the disturbance without force.

"Offenders wanted out of the building once it started filling with smoke," Hardison said.

Some inmates had minor injuries, but all were treated at the local medical clinic and none had to be hospitalized, officials said.

"We're taking this as a lot of lessons learned here," Reinke said. "I know command staff and wardens are going to take (the lessons) very seriously."
http://www.2news.tv/news/local/37336459.html