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Oklahoma Department of Corrections

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Oklahoma Department of Corrections
Agency overview
FormedMay 8, 1967
Preceding agency
Headquarters3400 Martin Luther King Avenue
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Employees4,341 classified
367 unclassified
Annual budget$ 500 million
Ministers responsible
Agency executives
  • Steven Harpe, Director
  • Justin Farris, Chief of Staff
  • Jason Sparks, Chief of Operations
Parent agencyOklahoma State Board of Corrections
WebsiteOklahoma Department of Corrections

The Oklahoma Department of Corrections (DOC or ODOC) is an agency of the state of Oklahoma. DOC is responsible for the administration of the state prison system. It has its headquarters in Oklahoma City,[2] across the street from the headquarters of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety. The Board of Corrections are appointees: five members are appointed by the Governor; two members are appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate; and two members are appointed by the Speaker of the house of Representatives. The board is responsible for setting the policies of the Department, approving the annual budget request, and working with the Director of Corrections on material matters of the agency. T. Hastings Siegfried is the current chairman of the board. The director, who serves at the pleasure of the governor, is the chief executive of the department. The current director of Corrections is Steven Harpe, who was appointed in October 2022.

History

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Prior to 1908, Oklahoma sent prisoners to the Kansas Penitentiary in Lansing, Kansas. After a disputed report on the conditions in the Kansas Penitentiary, Oklahoma opened an institution in the former federal jail in McAlester.[3]

On January 10, 1967, Oklahoma created a new state Corrections Department, consisting of a State Board of Corrections, State Director of Corrections, and three divisions: a Division of Institutions, a Division of Probation and Parole, and a Division of Inspection.[3]

In 1973, a three-day riot resulted in the destruction of most of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester and the death of three inmates.[4]

In 1976, the first training academy was established in Oklahoma City.[3]

On 29 August 1983, the Dick Conner Correctional Center was hit by a riot that resulted in an inmate death.[5] On 17 December 1985 another riot occurred, this time at the McAlester prison. Five members of staff were taken hostage and three were seriously injured.[6]

On 4 November 2019, the state released more than four hundred inmates who had been convicted of nonviolent crimes. The commutations were expected to save the state over twelve million dollars.[7]

Facilities

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Oklahoma State Penitentiary

As of 2021, the Department of Corrections is responsible for the management, maintenance and security of 23 correctional institutions across the state. Of these facilities, only eight were built originally to serve as prisons.[8]

The execution chamber is located at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary.[9]

State prisons

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Community Corrections Centers

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  • Clara Waters Community Corrections Center (inmate capacity 304)
  • Enid Community Corrections Center (inmate capacity 98)
  • Lawton Community Corrections Center (inmate capacity 153)
  • Northeast Oklahoma Correctional Center (inmate capacity 585)
  • Oklahoma City Community Corrections Center (inmate capacity 262)
  • Union City Community Corrections Center (inmate capacity 224)

Private Prisons

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Halfway Houses

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  • Bridgeway, Inc.

Organization

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Leadership

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The Department of Corrections is under the supervision of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety.. Under current Governor of Oklahoma Kevin Stitt, Tricia Everest is serving as the secretary. The Director of the agency is Steven Harpe.

The Department of Corrections is governed by the Board of Corrections.[10] The board consists of five members appointed by the Governor, two members each appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives. Each board member is assigned to one or more of the following committees: Executive, Audit/Finance, Public Policy/Affairs/Criminal Justice, or Population/Security/Private Prisons.

Stephan Moore Chairman
Daniel Snead Vice Chair
Rhonda Bear Secretary
Randy Chandler Member
T. Hastings Siegfried Member
Joseph Brantley Member
Alex Gerszewski Member
Member
Member

Internal structure

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The internal structure of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections is as follows:[11]

  • Governor of Oklahoma
  • Cabinet Secretary of Public Safety
    • Director
      • Chief of Staff
      • Chief of Operations
      • Chief of Public Relations
      • Chief of Programs & Classification
        • Classification & Population
      • Chief Financial Officer
      • Chief Administrator of Health Services
      • General Counsel
      • Inspector General
      • Chief of Offender Advocacy
      • Chief of OCI/Agri Services

Divisions

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The Department of Corrections is governed by the nine-member Board of Corrections, responsible for establishing and reviewing policies, and confirming the appointment of wardens. The director is appointed by the governor of Oklahoma. As the head of the Department of Corrections, the director supervises, directs, and controls the department.

  • Administrative Services Division - responsible for all financial, budgeting, personnel, purchasing, information technology and administrative management needs of the Department
  • Inspector General Division - responsible for conducting and monitoring all international criminal investigations of inmates and Department employees, including fugitive apprehension
  • Health and Offender Services Division - responsible for offender programs, offender medical services, offender mental health, offender education, and Departmental staff training
  • Community Corrections and Contract Services Division - responsible for the operation of community corrections centers, statewide probation and parole operations, and monitoring private prisons
  • Community Sentencing - responsible for the Community Service Sentencing Program and thirty-six statewide planning councils
  • Division of Institutions
    • Facilities - responsible for seventeen prisons across the state which house male and female prisoners

Hiring

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Oklahoma state and United States federal law both place limitations on who can be employed as a correctional officer with the Department. They include any of the following:[12]

  • No person who is a registered sex offender
  • No person who has been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude, unless they have received a full pardon for such crime
  • No person who has been convicted of any form of felony, unless they have received a full pardon for such felony
  • No person who has been convicted of any form of domestic violence, unless they have received a full pardon for such crime
  • No person who has been dishonorably discharged from any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States

Budget

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The Department of Corrections has annual budget over $500 million.[8] That budget is derived primarily from yearly appropriations, Departmental fees and funds generated by the Prison Industries activities.[13] For Fiscal Year 2014, 88% of the Department's budget comes from yearly appropriations, 6% from the Prison Industries Fund, 4% from the Department's Revolving Fund, and 3% from all other sources.

In late 2017, the department requested more than 1.5 billion dollars, triple its usual budget to make long-delayed improvements.[8]

Fallen Employees

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Since the establishment of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, 22 employees have died in the line of duty.[14]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Oklahoma Department of Corrections - Board of Corrections". Archived from the original on 2017-03-23. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
  2. ^ "Oklahoma Department of Corrections Director's Office". Archived from the original on 2017-03-23. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
  3. ^ a b c "The 20th Century History" (PDF). Oklahoma Department of Corrections. 2002-12-13. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 February 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  4. ^ Botkin, Ben (26 December 2017). "Oklahoma Watch: Weighing the odds of a federal takeover of state prisons". Tulsa World.
  5. ^ On the Other Side of the Bars: Lessons Learned As a Prison Warden/Administrator, by Dan M. Reynolds, pages 43-45
  6. ^ "Chapter VI: Disturbances" (PDF). The 20th Century History. Oklahoma Department of Corrections. 2002-12-13. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 February 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  7. ^ "More than 400 Oklahoma inmates to be released from prison Monday". KOCO. 4 November 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  8. ^ a b c The Oklahoman Editorial Board • (3 December 2017). "Oklahoma corrections budget request sends clear message". The Oklahoman. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  9. ^ "Death Row Archived 2009-04-29 at the Wayback Machine." Oklahoma Department of Corrections. Retrieved on September 2, 2010.
  10. ^ "Board Members". Oklahoma Department of Corrections. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  11. ^ Official Organization Chart - Oklahoma Department of Corrections, Oklahoma Department of Corrections, issued 2021-02-17
  12. ^ Correctional Security Office Job Family, Oklahoma Office of Personnel Management
  13. ^ FY 2014 State Budget, Oklahoma Office of State Finance
  14. ^ "In the Line of Duty Memoriam". Oklahoma.gov/doc.
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