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Interim DOC commissioner warns of rising population, urges action on women’s facility and staffing
Summary
Interim Department of Corrections Commissioner John Murad told the Corrections & Institutions committee the state is nearing a six‑year high in incarcerated population, is over optimal capacity in several facilities and needs space, staff and investments—including a new Chittenden women’s facility—to maintain custody and care.
Interim Department of Corrections Commissioner John Murad told the Corrections & Institutions committee on the first day of the legislative session that Vermont’s incarcerated population has climbed to levels not seen in six to seven years and that the department faces simultaneous staffing and space pressures.
"We are currently just below 1,650," Murad said, including about 150 people housed out of state. He said the department’s vacancy rate improved under his predecessor, "from about 35% to about 12%," but that retention remains a challenge because staff work frequent overtime and recruitment alone will not solve career‑path and workload issues.
Murad flagged the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility (CRCF) women’s unit as the most pressing facilities issue. He said the state is authorized to build a new women’s facility, initial funds have been appropriated and an RFP is under way; he expects clearer timing by February–March as planning progresses. In the meantime, ongoing ADA‑driven construction at CRCF has forced some people into the gymnasium and compressed classroom, library and counseling spaces, he said, which reduces capacity for programming and reentry work.
Murad said programming—education, counseling and treatment—is central to the department’s goal of reducing returns to custody. He highlighted partnerships with the Community College of Vermont, Lund and local employers as examples of interventions the department wants to preserve in any relocation or construction plan. Moving people to distant facilities, he warned, would disrupt those local partnerships and reduce chances for job training and in‑state reentry supports.
Committee members pressed Murad on contingency planning. He described operational thresholds the department uses rather than a single automatic trigger and said that sustained occupancy—for example, CRCF staying above about 180 for multiple weeks—would prompt more intensive contingency steps. Murad said the department prefers in‑state solutions where possible but acknowledged some out‑of‑state contracts exist for men.
The committee asked for detailed facility and population slides and follow‑up testimony; Murad and staff agreed to provide the underlying data and to return to the committee for additional meetings on recruitment, retention and the women’s facility planning.
