DOC tells Senate panel staffing and budget cuts concentrated high‑risk inmates at Spring Creek, straining capacity

The Alaska Department of Corrections told the Senate State Affairs Committee on Feb. 24 that the system is operating near capacity and that a house closure at Spring Creek Correctional Center, combined with funding reductions, left staff short-handed and concentrated higher‑risk inmates in fewer housing units.

Commissioner Jen Winkelman said the "intent language also came with a huge reduction in funding," and that the department’s efforts to meet that language without corresponding staff levels has "bottlenecked" classification and population movement. "Cutting a third of the budget makes sense on paper," she said, "the reality is we still need the staff to oversee and respond to other incidents."

Zane Niswonger, director of institutions, told the committee the division oversees 13 adult facilities and seven community residential centers. He gave a snapshot of general capacity at 91.7 percent statewide and identified Spring Creek as an exception after the closure of one house (a living unit). "There is nowhere else for that population to go right now," Niswonger said, describing Spring Creek’s mix of custody levels and the department’s daily population‑movement challenges.

Senators pressed DOC for details about a recent large disturbance at Spring Creek. Niswonger said the internal investigation found the incident had roots in money owed between prisoners, rising tensions and “two race‑based” gangs settling a dispute group‑to‑group. He said the department had some information about brewing conflict but did not expect the scale of the event.

Health services and inmate acuity were emphasized as contributors to operational strain. Travis Walsh, director of Health and Rehabilitation Services, said DOC conducts health screenings on intake and noted large detox and behavioral‑health workloads: "In FY25 our nurses conducted 52,843 detox assessments," Walsh said, citing roughly 26,180 opioid and 26,663 alcohol assessments, with 6,323 people placed on full detox protocols. He added DOC operates three infirmaries and a four‑bed dialysis clinic at Goose Creek; three people currently receive dialysis there, and Walsh noted outpatient dialysis costs (which he cited at about $11,000 per treatment) as a budgetary pressure.

On pretrial and sentenced composition, Niswonger reported a current split of about 43 percent unsentenced and 57 percent sentenced statewide, a trend he described as improving from the COVID backlog but still affected by court continuances. He did caution that some ad‑libbed estimates mentioned in Q&A (for example, a wait‑list number discussed by staff) were approximate and should not be treated as exact counts.

Recruitment and retention remain a constraint. Kevin Worley, DOC’s director for administrative services, said the department filled 128 positions over a five‑month span but lost 178, yielding a net loss of 50 positions; Spring Creek’s recruitment vacancy rate was cited at roughly 26.77 percent. Worley described process improvements that cut average time‑to‑hire to 99 days (shortest: 34 days) and outreach efforts targeting experienced applicants from groups such as the Coast Guard.

DOC also outlined repairs, maintenance and capital priorities: Point McKenzie Correctional Farm’s vegetable production (used both for department facilities and some charitable distribution), replacement housing units sourced from Elmendorf Air Force Base, and a radio/repeater upgrade at Wildwood to address end‑of‑life communications equipment. Worrying infrastructure issues cited included a sloughing rock wall at the Ketchikan facility that risks falling onto fuel tanks and generators.

The committee did not take action at the hearing. Committee members thanked DOC presenters and indicated follow‑up questions would be submitted to DOC legislative liaison Richard Turner for written responses or a future appearance. The committee reconvened later the same day for its hearing on SB 237.