Nevada corrections director tells Assembly Judiciary staffing improved, tablets will roll out April 1 and solitary confinement reform is a goal

Director James Zurenda of the Nevada Department of Corrections told the Assembly Judiciary Committee that the agency has made measurable staffing gains since early 2023 and is moving to expand programming and safety measures statewide. He said the company chosen to provide in-cell tablets took over communications Jan. 5 and that the first facility implementation is expected April 1.

Zurenda framed staffing and security as prerequisites to restoring rehabilitative programming: “You can't have good programs if you don't have good safety and security,” he said. He told lawmakers vacancies that were as high as 34% statewide in early 2023 have declined and that recruitment contracts and academy classes are increasing officer numbers, particularly for remote facilities such as Lovelock and Ely.

The committee heard specific details about staffing, programming and infrastructure. Zurenda said the department contracted with a national recruiting firm and now has academies sending officers to Lovelock and Ely (14 officers to Lovelock and eight to Ely, per his remarks). He told the committee Southern Nevada was essentially at 0% correction‑officer vacancy and that Carson City area vacancies were under 10%.

Zurenda described a number of operational changes and investments: prioritizing tablet-based programming for education and reentry services, expanding vocational “village” training with community partners (welding, HVAC, plumbing, masonry), using volunteers and trained formerly incarcerated mentors, testing body scanners and mail scanners at High Desert State Prison to detect concealed contraband, and contracting outside medical and mental‑health staff where hiring has been difficult.

On tablets and education, Zurenda cited last session's AB35 as the statutory authorization for issuing tablets to offenders. He said the selected vendor (identified in the hearing as the company chosen via the procurement process) is wiring facilities now and the first facility implementation is expected April 1, with statewide roll‑out thereafter. He said tablets will host programming, vocational and higher‑education courses, and that Pell‑eligible college courses will be made available through the device.

Zurenda described operational moves to reduce risk and improve staffing at Ely State Prison by transferring higher‑security offenders and increasing the medium/low population there; he said that change doubled Ely's population to about 1,120 while reducing certain staff needs by roughly 66–69 positions, a change he called necessary to stabilize emergency response and reduce incidents.

On contraband and medical treatment, Zurenda said the department has expanded access to medication‑assisted treatment (MAT) and other opioid‑use disorder interventions, arguing these therapies reduce demand for illicit drugs inside facilities and undercut gangs who profit from contraband. He told the committee the department is trialing body scanners and mail scanners to detect hidden phones and other items and cited an example where a cell phone was found hidden inside legal mail during training for the mail scanner.

Zurenda also addressed long‑standing infrastructure issues: kitchen failures that led to repeated health deficiencies, and perimeter vulnerabilities that permitted a serious escape in 2022. He said work is under way to replace doors and windows, construct a higher‑security perimeter fence with below‑grade footings, and to use ARPA and other allocated funds to renovate culinary facilities.

On solitary confinement, Zurenda said abolishing solitary is his goal but that it must be done “safely.” He said the department has requested capital and program funding to expand recreation yards and out‑of‑cell time and to increase mental‑health services, and he cited Senate Bill 307 (2024) as the statutory language that defined solitary confinement in Nevada law. “It is my goal to abolish solitary confinement in the state,” Zurenda said, adding that doing so requires alternatives and resources for mental‑health care.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about programs already in place (including dog training, which Zurenda said is expanding at Northern Nevada Correctional Center and Lovelock) and about the source of commissary funding. Zurenda said 49 full‑time positions are still paid from commissary revenue and that fact drives markups for commissary items; he said tablets may generate separate revenue streams but final costs and pricing have not been established.

The department described a decline in the conservation camp population (from roughly 1,100 offenders historically to about 220 today), which staff attributed in part to sentencing changes in prior sessions that reduced the pool of camp‑eligible inmates. Zurenda said the department is examining camp closures or repurposing where populations no longer support operations.

The presentation closed with Zurenda reiterating operational priorities — staffing, programming, infrastructure, and safer alternatives to solitary confinement — and offering to return for further briefings. He answered multiple member questions and acknowledged that medical and mental‑health hiring remains a significant challenge.

Ending: The department's presentation established a timetable for near‑term technical changes (tablet vendor takeover Jan. 5; phased implementation beginning April 1) and outlined capital and program requests the department will pursue in the budget process to expand out‑of‑cell time, improve kitchens and perimeter security, scale MAT and mail/body scanning, and increase programming statewide.