Corrections warns Utah could run out of male prison beds by 2028; Bear 3 readiness and funding discussed

Spencer Turley, deputy executive director for the Department of Corrections, briefed the committee on facility capacity, extortion investigations, assault trends and supervision models.

Turley said the Bear 3 unit at the Utah State Prison is operationally prepared to open and would house 384 inmates, but the department has deferred opening because of budget limits and has kept approximately 50 officer positions vacant to conserve funds. DOC has submitted an operations and maintenance request in the governor’s budget process for roughly $4.3–$4.6 million to staff and operate Bear 3. "We are preparing to open that, but we don't have a date yet... we are literally on a teeter totter each week," Turley said, advising that even with Bear 3 the male bed supply could be exhausted by 2028–2029 based on current intake trends.

DOC reported 13 extortion investigations; investigators said many cases are hard to substantiate because victims in custody or family members may not cooperate or may have been misled by inmates seeking money. DOC also reported that staff assaults and inmate assaults have decreased slightly overall since the opening of the Utah State Correctional Facility, though some units have seen increases. The department is piloting changes to direct supervision in certain units, shifting to "secure contact" supervision in parts of the Antelope facility, requiring two-officer presence in some areas and retaining direct supervision in newer or female facilities where appropriate.

DOC said it is developing a tiered housing plan intended to separate higher-behavior, privilege-earning inmates from lower‑privilege, higher‑risk inmates and expand programming in better-behaved housing units. Committee members asked for more detailed bed-planning and fiscal timelines; DOC agreed to return with a master plan and additional analyses.