Nevada may ship 200 prisoners to Arizona
CARSON CITY — Two hundred Nevada inmates will likely be sent to an Arizona prison.
The state got one response from a vendor after putting out a request for proposals to house inmates, Nevada Department of Corrections Director James Dzurenda told the state board of prison commissioners Wednesday.
The Legislature approved Gov. Brian Sandoval’s request for $12.4 million to send 200 inmates out of state to ease overcrowding and allow repairs and maintenance on a building at Southern Desert Correctional Center, which will temporarily close 212 beds.
Dzurenda said the inmates shipped to Arizona will not be from Nevada. Also, the plans will allow the department to send inmates out of state if they are involved in gang activities and trying to extort others.
“I want to make it a point to those inmates that are doing this, that are trying to build up their gangs, that we do not tolerate this,” he said.
The state and CoreCivic are finalizing a contract, he said. Once the contract is in place, the inmates could be sent to Arizona in December, coinciding with the renovation project’s start. The High Desert project is expected to take 12 to 18 months.
State officials do not know where in Arizona the inmates would go because CoreCivic has seven Arizona facilities, according to its website. Those facilities have a combined capacity of 12,272 inmates, serving agencies that include Hawaii, Arizona, California and federal agencies.
Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-0661. Follow @BenBotkin1 on Twitter.
New guidelines
The State Board of Prison Commissioners approved the first transgender policy for inmates in the Nevada Department of Corrections.
Corrections officials said the policy came after getting feedback from community organizations and advocates.
Its provisions include:
— Staff assess inmates on a case-by-case basis.
— Inmates identified as presenting a non-conforming shall shower separately from other inmates.
— They will be assigned a single cell in the infirmary or other space as determined by the warden.
— A review committee will make recommendations about an inmate's placement and medical care. Corrections and medical staff make final decisions.
