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After staff shooting, Idaho DOC seeks mail scanning, drone detection, transport expansion and body‑worn camera pilot
Summary
Following a spring attack on staff during an emergency medical transport, the Department of Correction proposed a package of security investments — digital mail scanning, drone detection, phone transcription (LEO), a transport bureau expansion and a federal body‑worn camera pilot — aimed at preventing contraband and protecting staff.
The Idaho Department of Correction asked the Joint Finance Preparations Committee on Feb. 4 for supplemental and ongoing funding to address vulnerabilities exposed by a spring incident in which staff were shot while returning an inmate from medical care.
Noah Peterson, budget and policy analyst, summarized a cluster of supplemental requests the agency presented as responses to that incident. The package includes one‑time and ongoing amounts for three technology lines — digital mail scanning, drone detection and a phone‑call transcription and analysis system identified in testimony as “LEO” intelligence software — plus personnel and equipment to expand the transport bureau and a federal body‑worn camera pilot.
Peterson said the one‑year cost to implement the surveillance technologies in full would be about $795,000 for the remainder of FY2025, and the ongoing annual cost was projected at $2,397,000. He gave a break‑out: digital mail scanning $1,011,000 annual, drone detection $385,500 annual and LEO phone transcription/analysis $1,000,000 annual (general fund amounts).
Director Josh Tewalt told the committee the mail scanning program would “completely eliminate our most porous point of entry for contraband” by diverting physical mail to an off‑site unit where items are opened, scanned and delivered digitally to residents. He also described an increase in drone attempts to deliver contraband and said the layered detection system would let the agency identify and attempt to intercept drones and work with law enforcement.
Peterson described the transport bureau expansion as a $1,148,000 one‑time supplemental for remainder of FY2025 that would add 12 positions and equip seven vehicles (six SUVs and a wheelchair van) for high‑risk emergency transports. Tewalt said the state’s transport team receives specialized training — tactical medical proficiency, enhanced firearms training and higher firearm certifications including low‑light shooting — and that using the transport bureau for high‑risk emergency transports avoids pulling specialized staff off posts inside facilities.
The department also requested federal body‑worn camera grant funding to pilot cameras in three locations: Idaho Maximum Security Institution, District 3 probation and parole and the Department’s special investigations units. Peterson said FY2025 supplemental support would be primarily federal funds with a small general‑fund component for initial costs; the state would be responsible for part of the ongoing state match in FY2026 and FY2027.
Peterson and the director also described other items tied to operations at prisons: replacement items and vehicle requests, general inflation adjustments across facilities, and a request to purchase a skid‑steer for snow removal at St. Anthony’s work camp; the governor recommended contracting snow removal instead of a one‑time purchase for the equipment.
Committee members pressed the agency about the transport expansion’s net staffing effect; Senator Cook asked why the proposal added 12 FTP rather than reassigning existing posts. Tewalt explained the workload and relief‑factor calculation for a 24/7 transport capability and said the agency had generated tens of thousands of overtime hours at high‑security facilities after the incident, making the additional positions necessary to avoid chronically over‑relying on overtime. No appropriation votes were held at the hearing.
