Prison organizational changes take effect

Several prison organizational changes went into effect with the beginning of the new fiscal year on July 1.

The Female Command, announced earlier in 2010, is formally established. It shifts the management structure for all of the Division of Prisons’ facilities housing women.

All facilities housing the female inmate population are under the Female Command, and are no longer under the DOP’s five regional operations. This management model brings female units into one centralized supervision structure, similar to the existing five regions.

When the re-established command was announced earlier, DOP Director Bob Lewis said, “This concept will enhance our efforts to be more consistent operationally and improve our efforts to stay current nationally as it relates to female issues and best practices on the state and national level.”

Lewis noted that the number of female offenders the entering prison system continues to increase, presenting a variety of unique and complex population management challenges.

“The re-establishment of the Female Command structure will be of major assistance as we continue to deal with these challenges,” Lewis said.

Region changes

With the re-establishment of the Female Command, DOP adjusted the five male facility regions to balance inmate population numbers and mission within the five regions.

Wayne Correctional Center and Neuse Correctional Institution have been moved organizationally from the Eastern Region to the Central Region, and Harnett Correctional Institution has been moved from the South Central Region to the Piedmont Region.

Additionally, because of recent prison consolidations, Anson and Rowan correctional centers are no longer considered as individual minimum custody facilities. Anson is a satellite unit of Brown Creek Correctional Institution, and Rowan is a satellite of Piedmont Correctional Institution.