Timothy Lang outlines drug interdiction, staffing and solitary-reduction priorities as DOC secretary nominee

Timothy Lang, nominee for Secretary of the Department of Corrections, testified under oath Feb. 11 before the Senate Human Services Committee and told senators his immediate priorities include stopping dangerous drugs entering prisons, better use of the Incarcerated Individual Betterment Fund to support family visitation, bolstering community corrections staffing and continuing a project to sharply reduce solitary confinement.

Lang opened his remarks by describing his background and values. “Honesty and integrity” and “professionalism,” he said, are his “North Star,” and he described a leadership style he called servant leadership. He told the committee he gained most of his corrections experience as chief counsel to the Department of Corrections while serving in the Attorney General’s Office.

Why it matters: Lang framed his priorities around staff and public safety and reentry outcomes. He described drugs smuggled into facilities as a near-term threat that increases violence and undermines programming intended to reduce recidivism, and he asked for legislative support…