WDOC returns some inmates from out-of-state facilities; 135 remain in Mississippi
CHEYENNE — As staffing at the Wyoming Department of Corrections has increased, 30 more Wyoming inmates housed at the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility (TCCF) in Tallahatchie, Mississippi, have been moved back to the Cowboy State.
WDOC sent 240 Wyoming inmates to TCCF in November 2023 because of staff vacancies. Since then, WDOC has anticipated maintaining inmates at TCCF until staffing increases within the agency.
'A great number of recruiting efforts have been undertaken, including a contract with a professional staffing and recruiting firm, higher starting wages, and training and development for staff,' WDOC Public Information Officer Stephanie Dack wrote in email correspondence with the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. 'This has resulted in an increase in the number of correctional officers hired for all of our facilities, including the Wyoming State Penitentiary in Rawlins and the Wyoming Women's Center in Lusk.'
Last November, WDOC returned 60 inmates to WDOC-operated facilities, and 30 more inmates were returned on May 20. Fifteen more inmates were returned to WDOC facilities for additional reasons on single or smaller transports, according to Dack.
While Wyoming's staffing has increased, TCCF continues to house 135 of the state's inmates, as recruitment and retention efforts continue.
The number of staff required to allow the remaining inmates to be transferred back to Wyoming is not public information.
'We evaluate staffing and operations regularly,' Dack wrote when asked how much staff has to increase to transfer the remaining inmates back to the state. 'Staffing has improved, and we are optimistic about returning all of our inmates to Wyoming. We do not share specific staffing numbers.'
Though WDOC officials say they can't currently share the staffing levels required to return the remaining inmates, department officials have shared those numbers in the past.
In 2023, after the department initially sent the 240 inmates to Mississippi, WDOC Director Dan Shannon told members of the Legislature's Joint Appropriations Committee that the department had a little over 130 vacancies.
At the time, there was a 33% vacancy rate at the Wyoming State Penitentiary in Rawlins and a 43% vacancy rate at the Wyoming Women's Center in Lusk, according to previous reporting by the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.
Shannon told the Legislature that the department needed to fill 43 to 47 positions before it could safely consider bringing back those 240 inmates. Shannon added that, in 2023, the main issue was recruitment, as opposed to retention.
'We clearly are retaining staff, but we're not receiving applications,' Shannon said. 'We continue to significantly be challenged in staff recruitment.'
WDOC did not share how many positions have been filled since.
Dack wrote that staffing information is subject to Wyoming Statute 16-4-203(b)(vi), and cannot be released because it would jeopardize the safety and security of the state's correctional facilities.
WDOC has inmates housed under contract in several Wyoming county jails and in Tallahatchie while they work toward full staffing.
As staffing increases, many factors determine which inmates are moved back into the state, but how those decisions are made is not public information, either.
Dack again cited Wyoming Statute 16-4-203(b)(vi) as a reason to not disclose what determines which inmates are transferred back into the state. Doing so would jeopardize the safety and security of the facilities, according to Dack.
Being housed out of state means that inmates are subject to visitation privileges based on the facility where they are housed. The visitation procedures at TCCF are very similar to WDOC procedures, according to Dack. However, the distance creates a barrier for family members of Wyoming inmates held in Mississippi.
'We recognize it is more challenging for families when their loved ones are housed out of state,' Dack wrote.
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