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March 23, 2009
OK: Major overhaul needed at 17 percent of DOC facilities
Major overhaul needed at 17 percent of DOC facilities
By BARBARA HOBEROCK World Capitol Bureau
Published: 3/18/2009 8:21 PM
OKLAHOMA CITY — Seventeen percent of the buildings at the state’s correctional facilities need major work or need to be torn down, according to a summary of an assessment obtained by the Tulsa World.
The preliminary architectural and engineering study of the buildings that make up the state’s 17 prisons found “no surprises,” said Rep. Randy Terrill, chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety and the Judiciary.
A final version of the report will be used to determine if the state repairs crumbling infrastructure or shifts more inmates to private facilities.
The initial facility assessment ranked the 402 buildings at the state’s prisons on a scale of one to four.
A one ranking meant a building was new or minimal repairs were needed, while a four meant a building needed major renovation, replacement or to be torn down.
Terrill said 17 percent of the buildings earned a three or four rating, while more than 80 percent ranked one or two.
“I think the report mostly confirms what we suspected,” said Terrill, R-Moore. “Department of Corrections facilities are not in the best or absolute worst of shape.”
He said the final report will be a compass for lawmakers as they decide how to proceed.
Options include making minimal repairs, tearing down buildings, adding public beds to existing facilities, building a new, state-owned facility or contracting with private prisons for more beds, Terrill said.
Senate Democrats are concerned that
inmates could be pushed into private prisons when state facilities are capable of doing the job, said Senate Minority Leader Charlie Laster, D-Shawnee.
“Our concern is that there may be a desire on behalf of (Senate Republican) leadership to close some state facilities in favor of private prisons,” said Laster, who has not seen the report.
Senate President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee, R-Oklahoma City, declined to comment, saying through a spokesman that the preliminary report is incomplete.
Department of Corrections Director Justin Jones declined to comment.
Oklahoma has six private prisons that have 2,510 empty beds, said Renee Watkins, Department of Corrections administrator of private prisons and jails. Some states recently removed their inmates from private prisons here, Watkins said.
Oklahoma has 4,324 inmates in private prisons, which is about 19 percent of the population, Watkins said.
The study, done by The Durrant Group Inc., cost $415,000, said Jennifer Monies, as spokeswoman for House Speaker Chris Benge, R-Tulsa. The state received bids on the project, she said.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=298&articleid=20090318_298_0_OKLAHO830404
Posted by lois at March 23, 2009 01:09 PM