Nevada prisons director points to 4-mile fence, better staffing; inmate food issues persist

Yahoo

05-02-2025

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A high-profile inmate escape, the resignation of the prisons director, and reports that fences, doors and windows were vulnerable. It all added up to a spotlight on the Nevada Department of Corrections (NDOC) in 2022.
NDOC Director James Dzurenda took as 2023 started, his second stint leading the state's prison system (previously, 2016-2019), and told 8 News Now then that the biggest problems boiled down to one thing: staffing.
Dzurenda gave Nevada lawmakers an update on Tuesday morning, telling the Assembly Judiciary Committee that construction has started on a new four-mile-long fence around the High Desert State Prison, about 40 miles northwest of Las Vegas on U.S. 95. The new fence extends four feet underground and will shore up security that was scrutinized after convicted killer Porfirio Duarte-Herrera's escape in September 2022.
The 'lethal/nonlethal fence' wasn't identified as the reason Duarte-Herrera escaped. In fact, he climbed three fences, including two topped with razor wire, before walking to Las Vegas, eluding capture for five days before he was arrested trying to board a bus for Mexico.
But the discovery of holes carved under a fence by water running off the mountains became a focus.
'If you could have the groundhogs and the squirrels get underneath it I'll guarantee you the offenders can, too,' Dzurenda said.
20 inmates have escaped from NDOC custody over last 4 decades
In September 2024, NDOC made a major change in where the most dangerous inmates are housed, moving them from Ely State Prison to High Desert. Within the first two weeks, two inmates were stabbed at High Desert. In November, a High Desert inmate was stabbed to death.
But Dzurenda said the move came for a good reason: staffing. NDOC couldn't hire enough guards and other personnel so far away from a big city.
'What I found out at the Ely State Prison, which was really the catalyst, was that we had with those vacancy numbers that we were talking about — over 50% — we had very little staff response when an emergency happened,' he said.
'We had three significant back-to-back emergencies that happened at Ely. Staff were already working over 16 hours, going to outside hospital trips at 18 and 20 hours. Should never happen,' he said.
While he didn't disclose staffing levels at Ely or Lovelock Correctional Center, where the staffing problems were the worst coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said Southern Nevada prisons are now fully staffed. He said there are 5,000 applications for jobs that are no longer available. That includes NDOC facilities in Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Indian Springs, Jean and Pioche in Lincoln County.
With the improvements in staffing, NDOC is now starting to make headway on a program that will eventually give inmates access to computer tablets, with the first facility starting on April 1. That will bring opportunities for college courses. It's an example of progress that the public can see, Dzurenda said, and it will help to lower recidivism.
He's also big on using more volunteers and community resources, which he called a big change of direction from past NDOC policies.
'Vocational Village,' a HOPE for prisoners program, is giving inmates job training in tech fields, carpentry, welding, plumbing, electric, HVAC and masonry. Inmates have jobs when they leave. The program is farther along in Southern Nevada, and still lacking in Lovelock, Ely and some of the camps around the state, Dzurenda said.
But there are still problems to work through in a prison system that had 10,858 inmates (933 women and 9,925 men) at the end of 2024, according to a state document.
'To be honest with you, food in prison is something I had never thought about. I'm ashamed to say I didn't care. I was one of those 'lock 'em up, let 'em eat whatever,' Nancy Farrey said during the public comment section of Tuesday's session.
'But then, my son went to prison,' she said. Her son is in Northern Nevada Correctional Center in Carson City.
Food, 'It's the key to good health,' Farrey said. 'It's the key to chronic bad health, too. And it comes with an expensive price tag.' Now she said she views food 'part of the punishment' and she was speaking out to draw attention to the problem.
'Not steak, not lobster, hold the cherries jubilee, but nutritional food in adequate amounts. That is all we're asking for,' Farrey said.
Dzurenda said NDOC is aware that some inmates aren't getting enough food.
'We weren't monitoring close enough. So, when you have offenders serving offenders and you're only giving out three-quarters of a spoonful and you're supposed to give out one, that means more food left over for those that are serving, I think was our problem,' he said. Now, NDOC is monitoring the situation.
He said inmates can now select their meals, and they can have something removed if they don't like it. The menu follows a 90-day schedule.
Lawmakers asked Dzurenda for updates on kitchen commissary issues, including replacement of some ovens. He said NDOC found funding through COVID-era ARPA funding.
'Disturbances usually happen over visiting issues, lockdown issues or food,' Dzurenda said. 'Very significant problems we could have if we don't address this, and we're finally addressing it in the state.' He said before he returned to NDOC, kitchens were regularly failing health inspections.
'Failing' prisons: Nevada prison director returns to fix staffing, re-entry problems
Freshman Assemblymember Erica Roth asked about costs that are billed to inmates.
'A lot of families are really struggling right now, and I think a hidden cost that a lot of people don't think about is the cost of communication and commissary with their family members who are incarcerated,' she said.
Dzurenda pointed to a problem in how funding for kitchens is structured, saying 49 full-time employee positions are being paid for out of commissary funds. As a result, there have been mark-ups in order to maintain staffing.
He also discussed efforts to keep contraband out of prisons. He said past policies actually contributed to gangs' power inside the walls. Policies that counted on addictions disappearing because drugs weren't available only made it worse for inmates.
'They become more desperate, and without treatment they become even more desperate,' he said.
He said mail scanners are currently being tested at High Desert State Prison. One of the targets: paper laced with 'K2 spice' a man-made chemical on the paper that causes a high. Dzurenda said overdoses and brain damage have been linked to the drug. NDOC is also using body scanners to detect contraband inside inmates' bodies.
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