Oklahoma Department of Corrections

Oklahoma Department of Corrections
Agency overview
Formed	May 8, 1967
Preceding agency	Oklahoma Commissioner of Charities and Corrections
Headquarters	3400 Martin Luther King Avenue Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Employees	4,341 classified 367 unclassified
Annual budget	$ 618 million
Ministers responsible	Kevin Ward, Secretary of Safety and Security David C. Henneke, Chair of the Board
Agency executive	Justin Jones, Director
Parent agency	Oklahoma State Board of Corrections
Website
Oklahoma Department of Corrections

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, in the former Mabel Bassett Correctional Center building.

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 Justin Jones.

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

History

Prior to 1908, Oklahoma was sent prisoners to the Kansas Penitentiary at Lansing, Kansas. After a disputed report on the conditions in the Kansas Penitentiary, Oklahoma opened an institution in the former federal jail at McAlester.

On January 10, 1967 Oklahoma created a new state Corrections Department, consisting of a state Board of Corrections, and 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

Oklahoma State Penitentiary

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

Organization

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.

Office	Incumbent	Since
Cabinet Secretary	Mike Thompson	2011
Director	Justin Jones	?

Internal Structure

• Board of Corrections
  • Director
    • Associate Director - Field Services
      • Female Offender Operations Division
      • Institutions Division
    • Administrative Services Division
    • Treatment and Rehabilitation Services Division
    • Community Corrections Division
    • Community Sentencing and Offender Information Services Division
    • Legal Affairs Division
    • Internal Affairs Unit
    • Internal Auditing Unit

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). The Department is organizated into seven Divisions, each headed by a Deputy Director. Each Division is subdivided into Units, with each headed by an Administrator.

• Administrative Services Division - responsible for all financial, budgeting, personnel, purchasing, information technology and administrative management needs of the Department
• Treatment and Rehabiliation Services Division - responsible for overseeing offender educational programs and offender medical and mental health services
• Institutional Services Division - responsible for the operations of fifteen prisons in the State, the management of offender classification and information, manages all constracts for private prisons and county jails in support of the Department, and supervises all prison industries programs
• Female Offender Operations Division - responsible for overseeing all female correctional facilities in the State
• Community Corrections Division - responsible for the operation of eight community correction center, fifteen inmate work center and state-wide probation and parole operations
• Community Sentencing and Offender Information Services Division - responsible for the state-wide Community Service Sentencing Program and thirty-six state-wide planning councils

Rank Structure

Title	Insignia	Description
Director of the Department		Appointed by the Board of Corrections to serve as the overall head of the Department
Associate Director Field Operations		Appointed by the Director to oversee all correctional services in the Department and second-in-command for the Department
Deputy Director Institutions Division		Oversees all correctional institutions in the State
Warden		Responsible for all operations of an institution
Deputy Warden		Second-in-command of an institution
Chief of Security		Responsible for overseeing all security opertions of an institution
Captain		Responsible for overseeing all operations of an assigned shift within a medium or maximum security facility or serving as an assistant to a superior officer in a large institution
Lieutenant		First managerial rank, responsible for overseeing all operations on an assigned shift or unit within a minimum security facility or supervising specialized unit in a medium to maximum security facility
Sergeant		First supervisory rank, responsible for serving as a team leader or a lead officer or independently performing a specialized function requiring a high degree of judgment
Corporal		Responsible for assisting lower ranked Officer in the performance of their duties
Corrections Officer		Rank attained upon successful completion of the training academy, responsible for security and custody of inmates
Corrections Officer Cadet		A CSO I is a new recruit, and is the rank held by all personnel while assigned as a student at the training academy.

Personnel

Staffing

The Department of Corrections, with an annual budget of just under $500 million, is one of the largest employers of the State. For fiscal year 2011, the Department is authorized 4,598 employees.

Division	Number of Employees
Probation and Parole Services	389
Community Corrections	338
Prison Industries	133
Offender Programs	184
Community Sentencing Services	29
Contracting Services	11
Central Office Administration	283
Regional Office Administration	89
Health Service	343
Institutional Staff	2,799
Total	4,598

4,341 classified 367 unclassified

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 Personnel Management. 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

According to the Oklahoma Office of Personnel Management, the annual salaries for ODOC correctional employees are as follows:

Title	Minimum Salary	Mid-point Salary	Maximum Salary
Chief - Medium or Maximum Security	$41,906	$55,874	$69,843
Chief - Minimum Security	$37,752	$50,336	$62,920
Chief - Community Corrections	$34,012	$45,349	$56,686
Captain	$34,012	$45,349	$56,686
Lieutenant	$30,920	$41,227	$51,534
Sergeant	$25,730	$34,307	$42,884
Corporal	$23,234	$30,979	$38,724
Correctional Officer	$21,122	$28,163	$35,204
Officer Cadet	$19,202	$25,602	$32,003

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:

Title	Salary
Director, Department of Corrections	$132,309.00
Associate Director, Field Services	$116,256.60
Deputy Director, Institutions Division	$103,736.76
Deputy Director, Treatment and Rehabiliation Services Division	$99,746.88
Deputy Director, Community Corrections Division	$99,746.88
Deputy Director, Female Offenders Division	$95,000.00
General Counsel, Department of Corrections	$93,999.96
Deputy Director, Community Sentencing Services Division	$91,350.00
Deputy Director, Administrative Services Division	$66,045.00

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.

Division	Funding (in millions)
Probation and Parole Services	$29
Community Corrections	$28.4
Prison Industries	$35.8
Offender Programs	$19
Community Sentencing Services	$7.8
Contracting Services	$116.9
Central Office Administration	$43.8
Regional Office Administration	$14
Health Service	$61
Institutional Staff	$202
Total	$556.7

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.

See also

• List of United States state correction agencies
• List of law enforcement agencies in Oklahoma

External links

• Oklahoma Department of Corrections website