After ambush that injured staff, Idaho DOC seeks mail‑scanning, drone detection, phone transcription and transport expansion

Following a violent attack last spring that injured three Idaho Department of Correction employees, agency leaders told the Joint Finance Preparatory Committee they have identified security weaknesses and proposed technology and staffing changes aimed at reducing similar risks.

Noah Peterson, budget analyst with the Legislative Services Office, said the agency’s supplemental requests stem from an incident in which an inmate being transported was ambushed; the transcript states the suspect and the inmate were later suspected of carrying out two murders before their apprehension. The department proposed a suite of measures it says would reduce vulnerabilities exposed by that event.

Key elements proposed by the department: - Digital mail scanning and diversion (proposal: ongoing cost listed as part of an advanced surveillance technology package). The department said digital scanning would reroute incoming mail to an off‑site facility, where it is opened, scanned, digitized and delivered to residents electronically; DOC officials said that would eliminate one of the most porous points of entry for contraband. - Drone detection systems to identify attempts to deliver contraband by…