Lawmakers press DOC on rising violence; DOC cites training, locks, tablets and parole body cameras
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
Committee members highlighted a doubling of reported violent incidents and asked what DOC is doing to protect staff and incarcerated people. DOC described a violence‑reduction task force, de‑escalation training, lock policy changes, an inmate‑tablet procurement and a new body‑camera contract for parole agents.
Members pressed the Department of Corrections about a reported rise in facility violence and staff assaults and sought specific remedies the department is implementing.
Representative Mako and others pointed to data showing in‑institution violence rose from about 35 incidents per 1,000 to around 71 per 1,000. DOC witnesses said the largest category is inmate‑on‑inmate fights, followed by inmate assaults, with staff assaults a smaller subset. The department said it assembled a violence‑reduction task force and rolled out several initiatives: expanded de‑escalation training (academy and field staff), peer‑mentor programs using older inmates, changes to hardware (lighter locks that are less likely to be used as weapons) and targeted intelligence‑led searches.
DOC also told the committee it is procuring vendor‑funded tablets for incarcerated people and said states that implemented tablets saw reductions in serious incidents. On the parole side, the department announced a fully executed contract for body cameras this month with an expected office rollout in spring and a contract price around $2.1 million; annual field costs were estimated at roughly $66,000 for the initial parole rollout, with a full officer rollout inside facilities estimated at about $5.6 million.
Why it matters: Committee members said protecting staff and incarcerated people is an urgent operational priority and pressed DOC for data linking initiatives to outcomes. DOC acknowledged that many reforms are recent and that some indicators have not yet fallen; it also said long‑term reductions will require sustained staffing, training and investment.
What’s next: DOC agreed to provide the committee with a breakdown of violent incidents (inmate‑on‑inmate vs. inmate‑on‑staff) and additional cost estimates for scaling body cameras and tablet monitoring.