North Dakota prisons find extra inmate beds in county facilities amid overcrowding

Entrance sign at the gate of the Missouri River Correctional Center in Bismarck on June 6, 2024. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

The North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Tuesday it will withdraw a request for $1.2 million in state funding to address overcrowding, instead shifting more inmates to county jails.

The department said it has partnered with the Heart of America Correctional and Treatment Center in Rugby, the Burleigh/Morton Detention Center and the Williams County Correctional Center in Williston, in addition to its current partner, the McKenzie County Correctional Facility in Watford City, to increase the number of beds for male inmates, according to a news release.

The partnership is expected to add 40 beds for male inmates across the county facilities, a department spokesperson said.

North Dakota state prisons reached their capacity of 1,624 male inmates last July. It had been housing additional inmates in McKenzie County, but that county jail reached its capacity in May. Today, North Dakota is housing 1,723 male inmates, about 100 more than the state’s capacity.

On June 6, Corrections officials asked the state’ s Emergency Commission for $1.2 million to convert a dining hall at Bismarck’s Missouri River Correctional Center into a 40-person dormitory to house additional inmates. That request was tabled to discuss conflicting language in the century code about the request.

North Dakota prisons running out of room; more state money requested

Senate Majority Leader David Hogue, R-Minot, a member of the Emergency Commission, said Tuesday the commission lawyers informed legislators that century code would not permit renovations or additions to state correctional facilities without a vote from the full Legislature.

“We understand that we cannot approve a building modification request like that because the statute is quite explicit,” Hogue said.

He said he thinks sharing capacity with county correctional facilities is a good temporary step to address the bed shortage until next year’s legislative session.

“I think it’s a good short-term solution and I hope the counties will step up and help the state because it’s clear they need some help,” Hogue said.

Hogue added the temporary solution may cost taxpayers more to house inmates due to differing labor and housing costs at the county facilities.

The Tuesday news release said Corrections plans to work with the cooperating county jails on providing remote access to rehabilitation programs for inmates.

“The DOCR recognizes this is a multifaceted issue that will take support not only from our correctional partners, but also from community partners and stakeholders,” Colby Braun, director of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said in the news release.

The arrangement with county jails is a temporary solution, the news release noted.

“Although many jails and correctional facilities are experiencing their own capacity and staffing issues, it’s important we keep public safety the number one priority for the communities in North Dakota,” Maj. Trent Wangen, assistant administrator for the Burleigh/Morton County Detention Center, said in a statement.

The department also said the overcrowding problem could have been a lot worse without the help of transition programs to help inmates find adequate employment, housing and transportation. Additionally, DOCR contracted with the Ward County Jail and Southwest Multi-County Correction Center for re-entry housing and other rehabilitation programming.

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