Oklahoma Department of Corrections


The Oklahoma Department of Corrections 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, 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.
WWW doc.ok.gov𝕏 okladocYT okladocIG okladoc

History

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.
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.
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.
In 1976, the first training academy was established in Oklahoma City.
On 29 August 1983, the Dick Conner Correctional Center was hit by a riot that resulted in an inmate death. 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.
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.

Facilities

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.
The execution chamber is located at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary.

State prisons

Community Corrections Centers

  • Clara Waters Community Corrections Center
  • Enid Community Corrections Center
  • Lawton Community Corrections Center
  • Northeast Oklahoma Correctional Center
  • Oklahoma City Community Corrections Center
  • Union City Community Corrections Center

Halfway Houses

  • Bridgeway, Inc.

Organization

Leadership

The Department of Corrections is under the supervision of the . 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. 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 MooreChairman
Daniel SneadVice Chair
Rhonda BearSecretary
Randy ChandlerMember
T. Hastings SiegfriedMember
Joseph BrantleyMember
Alex GerszewskiMember
Member
Member

Internal structure

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

Divisions

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 DepartmentInspector General Division - responsible for conducting and monitoring all international criminal investigations of inmates and Department employees, including fugitive apprehensionHealth and Offender Services Division - responsible for offender programs, offender medical services, offender mental health, offender education, and Departmental staff trainingCommunity Corrections and Contract Services Division - responsible for the operation of community corrections centers, statewide probation and parole operations, and monitoring private prisonsCommunity Sentencing - responsible for the Community Service Sentencing Program and thirty-six statewide planning councilsDivision of Institutions
  • * Facilities - responsible for seventeen prisons across the state which house male and female prisoners

Hiring

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:

Budget

The Department of Corrections has annual budget over $500 million. That budget is derived primarily from yearly appropriations, Departmental fees and funds generated by the Prison Industries activities. 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.

Fallen Employees

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