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After staff shooting, Idaho DOC seeks digital mail scanning, drone detection and transport upgrades
Summary
Following a spring ambush that left three DOC staff shot, the agency asked the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee for a package of security measures — mail digitization, drone detection, phone‑call transcription/analysis and expanded transport capacity — to reduce contraband and improve safety during high‑risk inmate transports.
The Idaho Department of Correction requested supplemental and ongoing funding to deploy advanced surveillance and transport safety measures after a spring incident in which DOC staff were shot while escorting an inmate to and from a hospital.
Noah Peterson, budget and policy analyst, told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee that the agency's supplemental requests were driven by vulnerabilities revealed when a transported inmate and a third party ambushed staff. "These supplementals and enhancements are proposed by the agency to address vulnerabilities that were discovered within the agency," Peterson said.
Major requests and the agency rationale: The DOC proposed three related security technology investments: - Digital mail scanning and off‑site mail digitization to remove paper mail as a routine vector for contraband; - Drone detection systems to identify and help interdict small unmanned aerial systems approaching facilities; -…
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