Nevada corrections director asks Legislature for staff transfers, tech upgrades as inmate population rises

Director James Dzurenda told a joint session of the Public Safety, Natural Resources and Transportation Joint Subcommittee with the Assembly Ways and Means and the Senate Finance Committee that the Department of Corrections needs position transfers, new technology and facility repairs to handle a rising inmate population and reduce litigation.

Dzurenda said the governor—s recommended appropriations include $490,250,145 for fiscal 2026 and $487,123,233 for fiscal 2027, with a biennium total he cited at about $977 million. He told the panel the department—s population is currently about 10,550 inmates, up roughly 600 since January 2023, and cited the most recent Justice Planners/JFA forecast projecting continued growth that could require additional prison capacity by 2030 if trends continue.

Those numbers inform a package of requests Dzurenda described as aimed at addressing staffing gaps, reducing overtime costs, improving reentry planning and shoring up facilities that may be needed again if inmate population increases.

Dzurenda said the department has made steady gains on hiring after contracting All Star Talent to manage recruiting and onboarding. He said vacancy rates that were as high as 49–51% at some camps have trended down to about 12% statewide and that 86 recruits were currently in the academy. He told the committee, "When someone took an application in within 48 hours, someone was contacting the employee physically and going over the whole process," as part of explaining the recruitment changes.

Staffing and position transfers: Dzurenda described multiple requests to move existing positions from closed or mothballed conservation camps into operating facilities or the director—s office to reduce overtime and avoid pulling senior officers off housing-unit posts. Examples he cited included moving staff from Wells Conservation Camp into Carlin and High Desert State Prison, transfers from Warm Springs to several institutions, and moving commissary/store positions out of the offender store fund into the director—s office.

- Offender-store/inmate-welfare: The department seeks to move 20 positions out of the offender store fund so commissary revenue can be used to lower prices for incarcerated people and their families; other positions currently funded by the inmate welfare fund would continue to support programming. Dzurenda said the change is intended to avoid using commissary markups to pay staff and to reduce burdens on families.

- Conservation camps and Warm Springs: Dzurenda said Warm Springs Correctional Center will not open this biennium but will require repairs and maintenance so it can be ready if bed needs increase. He described switching some firefighting and trustee populations between Wells and Carlin so Carlin can remain open for wildland firefighter training and local public works, and said some camps (Humboldt, Tonopah) are closed and staff are being reallocated.

Emergency response teams and facility security: The department asked for an emergency response team at Southern Desert Correctional Facility. Dzurenda said an initial request for 49 positions was reduced to 34 after removing overnight posts because inmates are locked down at that hour. He argued Southern Desert needs its own emergency-response capability rather than relying on staff from the adjacent High Desert facility, noting that moving high-security inmates from Ely to High Desert reduced helicopter medical transports and serious incidents at Ely. "We have not had one [helicopter trip] since we made the move," Dzurenda said.

Case management and technology: The department is requesting funding for an automated case management system (named Recidiviz in the presentation) to support transparent sentence calculations following Senate Bill 413 and to share assessments and programming needs with community providers, parole and probation. Program staff indicated the department would need to run an RFP unless a vendor is on a cooperative contract; program leadership said a flat vendor fee of about $500,000 was being discussed but timing and contract details depend on procurement.

Program, grievance and litigation work: Dzurenda asked for grievance- and case-management positions, saying the department has seen an increase in civil litigation and more than 800 pending civil cases. He told the committee the lack of timely resolution of grievances drives litigation and that new grievance coordinator positions in Southern Desert and other facilities should reduce costlier court cases. He said current caseworkers spend roughly half their time on grievance follow-up.

Forecasting and contractor work: Committee members pressed the Governor—s Finance Office about population forecasts. Curtis Palmer, deputy director at the Governor—s Finance Office, said the state is updating the JFA (Justice Planners/JFA) forecast and has engaged JFA to provide updated projections for corrections and parole and probation by mid-April; the office also discussed a short contract to bridge forecasting work. The committee discussed costs for short-term work to update forecasts, with $50,000 cited as a combined estimate for certain updates.

Commissary, tablets and SCAP funds: Dzurenda said the department plans to invest commissary and tablet revenues to expand free phone access and reduce commissary costs for families. He also provided the department—s figure for incarcerated people born outside the U.S.: 1,108, which the department reports for SCAP (State Criminal Alien Assistance Program) reimbursement. He said SCAP provides reporting-based funding (the department cited roughly $2.7 million a year on average) but does not supply per-diem payments for state-sentenced inmates.

Open items and approvals: Dzurenda told the committee many of the technical transfers and enhancements remain under discussion with the Governor—s Finance Office and could appear as budget amendments. Committee members requested follow-up documentation: updated post charts, current vacancy counts by unit, details of specific transfers (including whether positions were filled without authority in prior years), and timing/cost estimates for case management and forecasting work.

The panel closed the Department of Corrections hearing after members asked for staff to provide the requested reports and clarifications to the committee secretary.

Ending: Committee members said they would continue follow-up with the department and GFO on contingency plans for SCAP timing, the case management procurement, and position transfers; Dzurenda and department staff pledged to provide requested details and supporting materials.