Due to a shortage of beds in Idaho’s prisons and jails, the Idaho Department of Correction will soon move up to 250 male inmates to the Karnes County Correctional Center in Karnes City, Texas. The inmates will be held at the facility temporarily -- while the department seeks a long-term agreement with a prison-bed provider.
“We wish we didn’t have to send inmates out of state; we know it creates challenges for the inmates, their families, and our staff,” said Idaho Department of Correction Director Henry Atencio. “But as Idaho grows, so does the size of our prison population -- and we simply have no more room here at home.”
The Karnes County Correctional Center is a 550-bed facility operated by the GEO Group. During the time Idaho inmates are at the facility, the Idaho Department of Correction’s Contract Oversight Unit will closely monitor the facility’s operation in person and on-site to assure it meets the standards the Department sets for its contract-bed providers.
“The inmates will remain at the Karnes County Correctional Center until the Idaho Department of Correction executes a long-term contract for the incarceration of up to 1,000 inmates at an out-of-state facility and the facility’s beds become available. The department’s contract request is for up to 1,000 beds for up six years. The department expects to have a contract finalized by March 17, 2018,” said Idaho Department of Correction spokesman Jeff Ray.
“The inmates selected for out-of-state incarceration are all classified as medium custody and, until recently, were held at Idaho State Correctional Institution, Idaho Maximum Security Institution, South Idaho Correctional Institution and Idaho State Correctional Center,” he added.
To assure the secure transport of the inmates from Idaho to Texas, the date and time of their scheduled movement will not be announced publicly. The inmates will be able to call their families immediately upon their arrival at the Karnes County Correctional Center.
Family members who have questions about any inmate incarcerated by the Idaho Department of Correction can contact the department’s Office of Constituent Services at 208-658-2134 or online at: http://forms.idoc.idaho.gov/Forms/ConstituentServices [forms.idoc.idaho.gov]
