RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) – The Virginia Department of Corrections says it’s closing four facilities, including three state prisons, in July to address safety concerns and staffing challenges.
The department announced Friday that Augusta Correctional Center, Sussex II State Prison, Haynesville Correctional Unit #17 and Stafford Community Corrections Alternative Program (CCAP) will close on July 1, 2024.
“These decisions were made to enhance employee, inmate, and probationer safety, to address longstanding staffing challenges, and in consideration of significant ongoing maintenance costs,” the department said in a release.
Several correctional facilities in Virginia have struggled with staffing and safety issues for years, including deaths and overdoses, facing accusations of unsafe conditions and other concerns.
The department did not share plans on where those incarcerated at the facilities will move once they close. A spokesperson for the department said it was processing 8News’ request for an interview on how people housed at the facilities would be impacted.
According to the department’s latest population report from October, more than 2,000 people were housed in the facilities.
Here’s a look at how many:
- Augusta Correctional Center: 570
- Sussex II State Prison: 503
- Haynesville Correctional Unit #17: 879
- Stafford Community Corrections Alternative Program: 57
The department also plans on taking control of Lawrenceville Correctional Center, the state’s only privately-run prison, when its contract with the GEO Group ends on Aug. 1, 2024. The GEO Group, a Florida-based private prison contractor, has run Lawrenceville since 2003.
“GEO has been a long-standing partner to the Commonwealth of Virginia, and we are proud of our record of managing the Lawrenceville Correctional Center on behalf of the Virginia Department of Corrections for more than two decades,” a GEO Group spokesperson said in a statement.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin plans on proposing funding in his upcoming budget plan to allow the state to take over the prison next year, the corrections department said. According to the state, 1,260 people were incarcerated at Lawrenceville as of the agency’s October report.
“We are grateful for our front line employees who have provided high-quality services, including enhanced rehabilitation programs, to those in our care,” GEO Group’s spokesperson added. “We look forward to working with the Virginia Department of Corrections to ensure a seamless transition.”
Previous efforts from state lawmakers to cut ties with private prison contractors and boost oversight of the corrections department failed in the General Assembly. But the state’s latest budget deal includes funding for independent oversight of the agency.
Virginia’s corrections department said it has already started to work with the staff at the facilities to find job opportunities within the agency and will work to make sure workers who want to stay will be able to.
The department said workers from Sussex II State Prison and Haynesville Correctional Unit #17 have been temporarily assigned to other facilities, primarily to nearby Sussex I State Prison and Haynesville Correctional Center.
The agency said it plans on working with the GEO Group to allow current Lawrenceville employees a chance to apply for state jobs.
