Arizona State Prison – Kingman

Coordinates: 35°01′44″N 114°10′48″W / 35.029°N 114.18°W / 35.029; -114.18

Arizona State Prison Complex – Kingman
Location Mohave County, Arizona
Status open
Security class mixed
Capacity 3,508
Opened 2004
Managed by GEO Group

Arizona State Prison – Kingman is a privately run minimum/medium security prison. It is located in unincorporated Mohave County, Arizona, near Golden Valley and Kingman.[1][2] It was constructed on land speculatively purchased before 2000 by the Dominion Correctional Services of Edmund, Oklahoma. It was proposed to hold 1,400 inmates convicted of drunken driving, but in January 2003, new Governor Janet Napolitano delayed approval of its construction. Dominion's proposal was supported in 2002 by a committee headed by then-state District 4 Representative, the late Jake Flake, and Mohave County Supervisor Buster Dennis Johnson.[3] It was operated by the Management and Training Corporation under contract to the Arizona Department of Corrections,[1] but the state began seeking an alternate provider after it found MTC failed to control the July 2015 riots. The state reissued the contract to the GEO Group of Boca Raton, Florida. As a result of the revenue loss as a consequence of over a thousand inmates being moved elsewhere by the state, the Mohave County Industrial Development Authority's bond rating was lowered by Standard and Poors to BBB+.[4]

2010 escapes

On July 30, 2010, three inmates, two incarcerated for murders, one for attempted homicides, escaped from the facility.[5] One was recaptured in western Colorado on August 1, after a shootout with a Garfield County deputy and city police in Rifle, Colorado. A second was recaptured by U.S. Marshals on August 9 in Meeteetse, Wyoming.[6] The third escapee and his accomplice cousin were spotted by a U.S. Forest Service employee, then captured, also by U.S. Marshals, in east-central Arizona near Springerville on August 19, 2010, in a White Mountains campground.[7][8]

July 2015 riots

From July 1 to July 4, riots broke out once again, first in the minimum security, then the medium security units at the prison in Golden Valley, which had "a long history of problems." Nine guards and seven inmates were injured. The state brought in 96 members of its special tactical unit (STU) to quell the disturbances.[9][10]

MTC Contract termination

In August 2015, Arizona governor Doug Ducey terminated the contract with MTC after an Arizona Department of Corrections investigative report revealed the company had "a culture of disorganization, disengagement, and disregard" of DOC policies.[11] Five competitor for-profit prison corporations indicated an interest in operating the facilities upon MTC's departure. It was ultimately awarded to GEO Group, effective December 1, 2015. GEO had contributed $2,000 to Ducey's 2014 campaign for Governor, plus $50,000 more to an Independent expenditure Superpac that exclusively supported Ducey's candidacy.[12][13]

References

  1. 1 2 "Arizona State Prison – Kingman (MTC)".
  2. ↑ "Golden Valley CDP, Arizona." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on August 13, 2010.
  3. ↑ Corrections officials mum on private prison issue, Kingman Daily Miner, January 29, 2003. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  4. ↑ Mohave County Industrial Development Authority, AZ Correctional Facilities Bond Rating Placed On CreditWatch Negative, Alacra Store, Aug 28, 2015.Retrieved Sep 19, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Ariz. police hunt for three escaped murderers". AP.
  6. ↑ "One Arizona escapee recaptured in Wyoming". CNN. August 9, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Arizona releases report on prison escapes". United Press International. September 21, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Police catch 'Bonnie and Clyde': Fugitive and fiancee who helped him escape from prison are caught after desperate manhunt". Daily Mail. August 21, 2010.
  9. ↑ Hundreds of Arizona inmates to be moved following riots , Associated Press, July 3, 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  10. ↑ State sends special forces to quell Kingman Prison Riot, Arizona Central, Craig Harris and Jerod MacDonald-Evoy, July 5, 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  11. ↑ Craig Harris (August 27, 2015). Arizona cuts ties with private-prison operator over Kingman riot. The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  12. ↑ Private prison company facing sex harassment suit wins state contract, The Arizona Republic, Craig Harris, October 27, 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  13. ↑ Five private prison companies interested in Kingman facility, KJZZ, Alexandra Olgin, September 8, 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2015.

External links

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