Oklahoma Department of Corrections

Updated on Jan 07, 2024

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Formed May 8, 1967 Annual budget 618 million USD		Agency executive Joe Allbaugh, Director Founded 8 May 1967

Preceding agency Oklahoma Commissioner of Charities and Corrections Employees 4,341 classified 367 unclassified Ministers responsible Michael C. Thompson, Secretary of Safety and Security David C. Henneke, Chair of the Board Parent agency Oklahoma State Board of Corrections Headquarters Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States Profiles Facebook Twitter

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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, across the street from the headquarters of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety.

The Department of Corrections is governed by the seven-member Board of Corrections. All members are appointed by the Governor of Oklahoma, with the approval of the Oklahoma Senate, to serve six-year terms. Each of Oklahoma's five Congressional districts is represented by at least one member on the Board, with the remaining two members being appointed from the State at-large. No more than four members of the Board may be from any one political party. The Board is responsible for setting the policies of the Department, approve the annual budget request, and for appointing the Director of Corrections. The Director, who serves at the pleasure of the Board, is the chief executive of the Department. The current Director of Corrections is Joe Allbaugh.

The Department of Corrections was established in 1967 during the term of Governor Henry Bellmon.

History

Prior to 1908, Oklahoma would send 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 1976, the first Training Academy was established in Oklahoma City.

Facilities

As of 2010, the Department of Corrections is responsible for the management, maintenance and security of 39 correctional institutes across the State.

Leadership

The Department of Corrections is under the supervision of the Oklahoma Secretary of Safety and Security. Under current Governor of Oklahoma Mary Fallin, Michael C. Thompson is serving as the Secretary.

Internal Structure

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

Cabinet Secretary of Safety and Security

Board of Corrections

Director

Associate Director - Field Operations

Division Manager - Field Support

Division Manager - West Institutions

Division Manager - East Institutions

Division Manager - Community Corrections

Associate Director - Administrative Operations

Division Manager - Health Services

Chief Administrator - Business Services

Chief Administrator - Analytics and Systems Quality Services

Chief Administrator - Employee Services

Chief Administrator - Program Services

Administrator - General Services

Administrator - Community Sentencing

General Counsel

Inspector General

Director - Internal/External Communications

Divisions

The Department of Corrections is governed by the seven-member Board of Corrections, who appoints the Director of Corrections. As the head of the Department of Corrections, the Director supervises, directs, and controls the Department. The Director is assisted in managing the Department by an Associate Director, six Deputy Directors and a General Counsel (with the rank of Deputy Director).

Administrative Services Division - responsible for all financial, budgeting, personnel, purchasing, information technology and administrative management needs of the Department

Internal Affairs Division - responsible for conducting and monitoring all international criminal investigations of inmates and Department employees, including fugitive apprehension

Employee Development and Offender Services Division - responsible for offender programs, offender medical services, offender mental health, offender education, and Departmental staff training

Community Corrections Division - responsible for the operation of five male community corrections centers, fifteen offender work centers, and statewide probation and parole operations

Community Sentencing and Offender Information Services Division - responsible for the Community Service Sentencing Program, thirty-six statewide planning councils, and Departmental grant administration

Field Operations Division

Division II (Minimum Facilities) and Division III (Medium and Maximum Facilities) are responsible for fifteen prisons across the state which house male prisoners, manages all contracts for private prisons and county jails, and supervises all prison industries programs

Division I (Female Operations) is responsible for two prisons across the state which house female prisoners and two female community correction centers

Staffing

The Department of Corrections, with an annual budget of over $500 million, is one of the largest employers of the State. For fiscal year 2012, the Department was authorized 4,113 employees.

Requirements

As provided by Oklahoma state law, in order to be employed as a correctional officer for the Department of Corrections, an individual must meet the following requirements:

At least 20 years old

Have completed one of the following educational components:

at least 30 semester hours from a college or university; or

a high school diploma and a certification by the Oklahoma Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training

Be a person of "good moral character"

Completion of a correctional officer training program, as approved by the State Board of Corrections

Completion of minimum testing or professional evaluation conducted by the Oklahoma Office of Personnel Management

Completion, on an annual basis, of physical testing as required for the position, as approved by the State Board of Corrections

Promotions

All promotions from Corrections Officer into the supervisory ranks are based on tests administered by the Director of the Department, in consultation with the Administrator of the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services's Human Capital Management Division. These tests determine the physical and mental qualifications and all potential test-takers must satisfactorily complete a course of training in operations and procedures related to the rank desired.

In general, the following minimum requirements are needed to obtain the following ranks:

Corporal - eighteen months of experience in correctional or security work

Sergeant - two years of experience in correctional or security work

Lieutenant - three years of experience in correctional or security work

Captain - four years of experience in correctional or security work with one year of supervisory experience

Chief of Security -

Community Correctional Facility - four years of experience in correctional or security work with one year of supervisory experience or two years of college, two years of correctional experience with one year of supervisory experience

Minimum Security Facility - five years of experience in correctional or security work with one year of supervisory experience or two years of college, three years of correctional experience with one year of supervisory experience

Medium or Maximum Security Facility - five years of experience in correctional or security work with one year of supervisory experience or two years of college, three years of correctional experience with two years of supervisory experience

Pay Structure

The annual salaries of the ODOC correctional officers are set by the classification standards established by the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services's Human Capital Management Division, the state government's central personnel office. Each classification is assigned by OMES a salary band based upon the uniform Salary Schedule for State Employees. As of 2014, the followings for such employees are as follows:

The executive and administrative staff of the Department are unclassified employees of the State, and as such, their salaries are determined either by the Legislature or by the Director of the Department. As of October, 2010, the following are the annual salaries of the senior staff of the Department:

Prohibitions

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:

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

The Department of Corrections has annual budget of 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.

Death row

The execution chamber is located at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary.

Fallen officers

Since the establishment of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, 16 officers have died in the line of duty.

References

Oklahoma Department of Corrections Wikipedia

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