About Oklahoma Department of Corrections
This Oklahoma Department of Corrections has an overall mission of protecting the public, employees, offenders, and inmates. It provides correctional services to more than 25,000 offenders in its custody. Moreover, it operates 17 separate institutions and six community-based facilities across the state. More than 8,500 employees work for the DOC.
The Department has a Board of Corrections whose members are appointees. The senate's president appoints two members, the House Speaker appoints two members, and the state's governor appoints five members.
This board establishes the Department's policies, approves the yearly budget proposal, and collaborates with the Director of Corrections on important issues affecting the agency's operations. T. Hastings Siegfried serves as the board's chairman at present. The Director, an appointee of the governor and serves at the governor's discretion, is the Department's central executive. Scott Crow is the current Director of corrections, having been appointed to the position in 2019. The Department has its headquarters in Oklahoma City.
ODOC has a website with comprehensive details regarding the states and their in-depth explanation. Individuals can access this site through this link.
Security Levels at the Oklahoma DOC
There are four levels of security at the ODOC. These include maximum, medium, minimum, and community. Most of the state's facilities house inmates of one security level each. However, there are a few of them that house inmates of several levels of security.
Most offenders confined to a maximum or medium security have either committed crimes that make them a danger to the community or have proved to be a management challenge. Minimum-security and community-based detainees are often convicts of crimes involving drugs and alcohol.
The Department's Divisions
The Board of Corrections oversees the formulation and evaluation of policies and approves the appointment of Wardens. The Director is in charge of supervising, directing, and controlling the Department.
The ODOC has the following Divisions:
- Administrative Service Division- This Division is responsible for the Department's financial and budgetary needs. It also manages its human resource, purchasing, information technology, and administrative requirements.
- The Division of Health and Offender Services-Ensures the administration of offender programs, medical care, mental health services, offender education, and staff training.
- Community Correctional and Contract Services Division - This Division is in charge of running community corrections facilities. Additionally, it runs statewide probation and parole operations and supervises private prisons across the state.
- Community Sentencing - This Division is in charge of the Community Service Sentencing Program and the thirty-six statewide planning committees.
The Office of the Inspector General
The purpose of establishing this Office was to encourage professionalism, rehabilitation, and integrity within the DOC. The Office also promotes diversity and quality inside the Department of Corrections. The Inspector General's responsibility is to serve as the Department of Corrections' principal law enforcement officer. He or she reports directly to the Director of the Department of Corrections. The Office has six (6) investigation and information collection sections:
The Criminal Interdiction Division (CID)
This Division conducts investigations on affairs relating to the distribution of contrabands in the state's correctional facilities. Contrabands include drugs, any acts of financial crimes, including money laundering, and investigations of the parties involved.
Employee Rights and Relations Unit (ERRU)
The Employee Rights and Relations Unit (ERRU) plays a role in serving employees. It does so by assisting them in adhering to employment-related regulations, policies, processes, and laws. Additionally, ERRU examines discrimination complaints that fall are part of:
Fugitive Apprehension
It is the responsibility of Fugitive Apprehension to apprehend ODOC escapees and halfway house prisoner walkaways. Additionally, the Division arrests offenders who evade parole surveillance. The Fugitive Apprehension agents also help Probation and Parole Officers in the capture of convicts with a violent past. Further, the agents assist the US Marshal's Violent Crime Task Forces in investigating violent crimes.
Intelligence Unit
ODOC's Intelligence Unit is in charge of gathering information about:
- Internal threats.
- Threats projected from facilities to the surrounding community.
- Severe staff incidents.
- Gang activities within the facilities.
The agents make an in-depth analysis of any information they receive and inform the staff members to launch a full investigation or take other appropriate actions.
Investigation Unit
Investigative inquiries, both procedural and criminal, are the responsibility of the Investigation Unit. It deals with investigations into convicts, probation and parole offenders, personnel, and any detected criminal conduct that negatively influences correctional operations.
Law Enforcement Communications Unit
This Unit delivers an efficient and effective communications solution for the express purpose of facilitating the interchange of criminal justice-related information across the state, between states, and between agencies.
Inmate Health Services under the Oklahoma DOC
More than 20,000 offenders get direct medical treatment from the Medical Services Unit. This Unit also manages the medical care of ODOC detainees in private prisons. It also has a contract with the Lindsay Memorial Hospital to offer more acute care when it is impossible to provide such care on-site. Patients may also get specialized treatment via the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center as well as local hospitals and medical professionals if the need arises.
Mental Health Services
The Department has a team of professional psychiatrists to offer Mental Health Services. Additionally, there are advanced practice psychiatric nurses and psychologists who work together in a collaborative environment. Furthermore, the Division of Mental Health administers specific housing units for the critically mentally ill. The Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington and the Mabel Bassett Correctional Center in McLoud house these units.
A collaboration between the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Programs and Mental Health Services Division is in place. It manages reintegration services for critically mentally ill convicts in Oklahoma. This relationship results in good outcomes in effectively reintegrating this group back into the community while also reducing the recidivism rate among this demographic.
Oklahoma DOC Correctional Industries
This is a vital component of ODC. It is a self-supporting organization that hires convicts without employment skills. It intends to help these persons to gain the skills for their own benefits upon release. Inmates acquire the skills via our well-managed correctional industry programs, which prepare inmates for successful reentry to society after incarceration. Records indicate that the industries have an average employee base of 1200 inmates.
All goods and services from the OCI are of high quality. Additionally, these goods are available at a competitive price, and they do not use the taxpayer's assistance for production.
Offender involvement in the production of these goods helps in lowering the convict's idle time. The Department sells these goods to:
- State and local government agencies.
- Nonprofit and charity organizations.
- Current and former state workers.
Inmate's Pay and Remuneration
Inmates with institutional jobs get a compensation of up to $20 per month. Additionally, those with particular abilities and who maintain good conduct while working for Oklahoma Correctional Industries may be eligible for higher compensation. The payment acts as an incentive for good results. The money is helpful for inmates' survival, including spending it at the canteen.
Probation and Parole Services
These services are the responsibility of the Probation and Parole Unit. It is responsible for the supervision and evaluation of:
- Offenders serving a suspended sentence.
- Parolees.
- Prisoners on Global Positioning System (GPS) and electronic monitoring.
- Out-of-state prisoners residing in Oklahoma.
Further, the Unit also conducts court-ordered investigations and investigations for the Pardon and Parole Board.
Oklahoma has a Community Sentencing Act which prompted the establishment of Community Sentencing. This is a unique program that combines evaluation, supervision, and therapy to promote public safety. The ultimate goal is to lower any chance of recidivism.
The supervision process entails the use of evidence-based practices (EBP). It combines research, public policy, and practice acts that contribute to quantifiable results in supervision.
Oklahoma DOC Inmate Search
The Oklahoma DOC provides an online service where individuals can look for prisoners in the state's facilities and those on parole. The DOC offender locator process entails visiting the official website as an initial step. Searchers can either use the inmate's DOC number, name option, or date of the birth option.
A search using the name will result in a list of all inmates with that name. Additionally, it appears with a statement of whether they are in prison or discharged. A search using both the date of birth and DOC number will provide more detailed information about the individual's criminal history, including arrests, convictions, court case details, and prison sentence. An inmate who's out of custody will have results appearing as "Not in Custody." The search will also indicate their release date.
The Department also has a violent state prisoner lookup website that enables access to delinquent and transient offenders. It has further search type divisions where people can locate violent offenders based on appearance, basic, offense, or map search. Individuals can access this site through this link.
The layout for the sex offender search website is similar to the above website on violent offenders. Sex offender online search is accessible through this link.
