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Prisons
Frank A. Eyman
ASPC-Eyman/ASPC-Florence
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ASP-Fort Grant -||-
ASPC-Safford
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ASPC-Tucson
ASPC-Phoenix
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ASPC-Perryville -||-
ASPC-Douglas
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ASPC-Lewis
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ASPC-Yuma
Milestones:
1968-1972
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1973-1977 -----
1978-1982
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1983-1987 -----
1988-1993 --
1994-2003
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2003-Present
Statistics
PRISONS
This article originally appeared
in the June 1993 issue of Directions
Frank A. Eyman
Warden, Florence Prison
 |
| Warden Eyman Celebrates Birthday - A.E. "Bud" Gomes
(center), Della Meadows (at right) and other staff join in
celebrating the Warden's birthday. |
January 1955 - August 1972
On his retirement in 1972 at age 74, Frank Eyman stated, "I have never
rehabilitated anybody in my life. They have to rehabilitate themselves. I've
tried to re-educate and retrain them." He maintained that philosophy
throughout his 17-plus years as head of the State prison at Florence and it
served him well in dealing with the inmates in his charge.
Mr. Eyman began his law enforcement career in Joliet, Illinois in 1921.
He moved to Tucson in 1926 and joined the Tucson police department, rising
to the rank of captain before resigning to enter federal service in World
War II. For a short time after the war, he worked for the Federal Bureau of
Prisons, but returned to Tucson in 1950 to seek election as Pima County
sheriff. He was beginning his third term as sheriff when Governor Ernest
McFarland appointed him superintendent of the prison in1955.
He was a Courageous and tough administrator, but a compassionate man as
well. " You never know whether a man is going to make it until you give him
an opportunity," he stated, when questioned whether too many convicts were
paroled.
Mr. Eyman retired to his home in Casa Grande; he died in 1984, and the
Eyman Complex has been named in his honor.
ASPC-Florence/ASPC-Eyman
When the deteriorating condition of the buildings and
overcrowding began to be serious problems at the Yuma Territorial Prison,
the State Legislature decided to build a new prison in a more central
location in the state. Florence was selected and 18 inmates were brought
from the Yuma prison in 1907 to clear brush and grade the site in
preparation for construction of the new facility. About 500 inmates worked
on the construction; the work was completed in1909 at a cost of $182,000.
Thomas Rynning, who had been one of Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders and a
Captain in the Arizona Rangers, was the last Superintendent of Yuma
Territorial Prison and the first Superintendent at Florence. (The Rynning
Unit in the Eyman Complex was named for him.) The first prisoner to be
transferred from the Yuma prison was Emmett James, on October 1, 1909.
Central Unit opened in 1912; the original Cell Block 2 was built in 1932.
One of the first major industrial activities at the Florence prison was
the inception of license plate manufacturing within the walls. In 1946,the
newly-installed platemaking equipment went into operation, "turning out the
first batch of an estimated 200,000 sets of plates needed to meet the demand
for 1947." Governor Sidney P. Osborn was given the honor of stamping out his
own license plates on the new equipment.
In its early years, the prison was nearly self-supporting through its
agricultural and livestock activities and inmate labor; today, some crops
are still being grown, cared for, and consumed by the inmate population.
Currently, the two complexes, ASPC-Florence/ASPC-Eyman together have a
designated capacity of 5,620 inmates. The 1986-87 building program added the
Special Management Unit (SMU), a 768-bed structure;100 Emergency Bed Units
(EBUs) were added to the East Unit; and 104 EBUs were added to the already
established 100 beds in a block dormitory building at Picacho. ASPC-Eyman
was designated as a separate complex in October 1992; it consists of Cook,
East, Shock incarceration, Rynning, and Special Management Units.
ASPC-Florence consists of Central, North, South, Women's Prison, Special
Programs, and Picacho Units.
ASP-Fort Grant
|
Fort Grant: "The Commander's House", one of two
historically-preserved buildings on the grounds. Destroyed by
arson January 1, 1989. |
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Founded as Camp Oak, an army post, in1872, the facility
was renamed Ft. Grant in1879. In 1912, it was deeded to the State of Arizona
by the federal government and maintained as a juvenile facility, the Arizona
Industrial School for Boys (ASIS).
In 1973, Ft. Grant was converted to an adult male minimum security prison
and reopened in1971 It has a designated capacity of 588.
ASPC-Safford
Though it has only been recently designated as a prison
complex, Safford had its beginnings as a Department facility in 1970. Then
called the Safford Conservation Center, it was a minimum security work camp
that housed 185 adult male inmates in tents and Quonset huts before any
permanent buildings were erected, the first one a 48-man dormitory
constructed in 1976. Two 64-man dormitories were completed by 1983.
The 1986-87 building program added 100EBUs, in the form of Quonset huts,
to expand the capacity of the unit. Today, the prison has a designated
capacity of 730 and the Graham and Tonto units house adult male minimum
security inmates, the majority working in the community or for other
government agencies.
ASPC-Tucson
The prison had its beginnings as the Arizona Correctional
Training Facility its first phase opened in January 1978; it was fully open
by August 1979, housing 384 non-violent male first offenders, age 18-25 A
separate unit held juvenile males convicted as adults, as it does today. The
Santa Rita Unit was built in 1982, with the first inmates being received in
July1982.
The 1986-87 building program established the 744-bed Cimarron Unit,
creating the Tucson Complex, and added 200 beds to Echo Unit. The
Rincon/Santa Rita/Units form a hub, which has buildings for inmate records,
health services, maintenance and a 40-cell lockup. The complex in total has
a designated capacity of 2,328 adult male inmates.
ASPC-Phoenix
The Phoenix Complex is a unique facility within the
Department. Four of its units are on the grounds of the Arizona State
Hospital and leased through the Department of Health Services. They are
Alhambra Reception and Treatment Center, which opened in 1979, and handles
all incoming male inmates. Reception has a design capacity of 207; another
40 beds are in B-Ward, the Treatment Center; and there are30 beds designated
for resident workers. The other units are Aspen DWI, a 200-bed facility
which opened in 1983 for adult males incarcerated under the state Driving
While Intoxicated (DWI) law; Flamenco Mental Health Center, a licensed
105-bed psychiatric hospital for adult males which opened in 1985; and
Flamenco Health Center for Women, a licensed 20-bed behavioral hospital for
adult females which opened in 1990.
Two other units are separated geographically but considered part of the
Phoenix Complex. One, the Arizona Center for Women at 32nd Street and East
Van Buren, has a designated capacity of 250; it opened in 1979,originally
under a lease arrangement, and is now owned by the Department. The other is
ASP-Globe, a 150-bed prison for adult males which was originally Pinal
Mountain Juvenile Institution; it was legislatively transferred to ADC on
July 1, 1991.
ASPC-Perryville
Three units of the Perryville Complex, San Pedro, Santa
Cruz, and San Juan, opened over a period of several months in 1981 for
minimum and medium custody male inmates. Santa Maria Unit, for all custody
levels of female inmates, began admitting inmates in May 1982. The design
capacity for the four units is 2,208. In1990, double bunking in all four
units added 808 beds to the total, bringing the designated capacity for the
complex to 2,208.
ASP-Yuma, a 250-bed adult male prison which opened in 1987 as a part of
the $72 million 1986-87 building program, became a part of the Perryville
Complex in October 1992.
ASPC-Douglas
The Douglas Complex, adjacent to the Bisbee-Douglas
airport, first opened as the Cochise Correctional Training Facility early
in1984. It now consists of three units, Gila, Maricopa and Mohave. The
600-bed Gila Unit was created in 1986 with funds from the EBU program; these
modular housing units accounted for more than half of the EBUs erected
during that period. The three units, with a designated capacity of 1,634,
house adult male inmates.
The Papago DWI Unit is also a part of the Douglas Complex. Papago is a
250-bed facility for adult males incarcerated under the state's DWI law.
Converted from two adjacent motels located in Douglas, it opened in March
1984.
ASPC-Winslow
The first prison built in
Northern Arizona, the Winslow Complex opened in 1986. The 400-bed Kaibab
North Unit and the 250-bed Coronado Unit were both established through the
$72 million appropriation that funded the1986-87 building program. Kaibab
South, a 400 bed unit, was constructed in 1988 with funds obtained through
an emergency appropriation.
Adult male inmates are housed
at Winslow which has a designated capacity of 1,292
ASPC-Lewis
The
construction of Arizona state prisons has come a long way since the building
of Yuma Territorial Prison. Operational just a mere 100 years ago, it was
built out of stones, mortar and flat strap iron. In 1906, construction of a
territorial prison in Florence began due to the severe overcrowding in the
Yuma Prison. Time hasn’t changes the trend to build new prisons in order to
meet overcrowding; however, the construction technology, and safety and
security features of Arizona’s prisons most certainly have changed.
On a vast
span of desert about 40 miles southwest of Phoenix, the State of Arizona is
putting construction technology, safety and security designs to practical
use in a massive prison construction project known as the Arizona State
Prison Complex-Lewis. Based on numerous comments by corrections officials
from around the country who have toured the facility, the Arizona Department
of Corrections (ADC) has been described as a leader in the field of prison
construction. Other states are interested in learning how ADC builds at
such a reduced cost rate. According to (then) Corrections Director Terry L.
Stewart, the reason for its prison construction success is attributable to
the continuing use of a prototypical concept.
“The
concept includes using a system of parts or designs which have proven
effective in building a new facility. This process, in turn, makes the
planning process quicker and more efficient, and cost is significantly
reduced by eliminating special building preferences,” Stewart says.
Other
savings ideas included the careful selection of geographical location to
maximize cost efficiency and enhance safety considerations. Construction
design included consolidating all prison units into a smaller land area,
thereby reducing the need for additional utilities, site lighting, and
roads. All units are housed under one complex operation, but maintain the
autonomy to respond to unit alarms.
The Arizona
State Prison Complex – Lewis is one of the largest single correctional
facility construction endeavors in the United States. The behemoth of
prison, costing $157 million, includes two 800-bed level 3 male units, two
800-bed level 4 male units, one 600-bed female unit, and one 350-bed maximum
security minors unit, with a total inmate population of 4,150, making
ASPC-Lewis larger than over 30,000 towns across the United States. The
complex contains 294 acres inside the perimeter patrol road. This acreage
supports 23 miles of road, 22 miles of fence, 44 acres of agriculture fields
and six 24-acre stand alone prison facilities.
“City” is
an appropriate term for this self-sufficient complex. The site supports its
own wells, water and wastewater treatment plants. Two 500,000-gallon water
tanks tore the one million gallons of water that will be used by the site
every 24 hours. The sewage treatment plant was designed to process 750,000
gallons of raw sewage per day. The brine pond alone is one-half mile long,
holds 60 million gallons of liquid and took 2,400 man-hours to install its
800,000 square foot liner.
The complex
maintains six kitchens that can produce 12,450 inmate meals per day and a
laundry capable of washing 53,000 pounds of clothes and linen each week.
The estimated 1,500 visitors per week are shuttled from the main entrance by
trams to the six prison sites. ASPC-Lewis contains its own vehicle
maintenance facility to maintain and fuel the shuttle buses, patrol
vehicles, fire fighting equipment, and other support vehicles.
New
structural designs were implemented, allowing fewer staff to monitor more
inmates than ever before. The realized savings will be $2.7 million
annually.
Another
design feature of ASPC-Lewis was to integrate the entire medical and support
service in one centralized area. Building one consolidated medical unit and
one mail and property building created savings of $3 million. The health
facility provides a pharmacy, hospital, laboratory, x-ray facility, nurses,
dentists and psychologists. A telemedicine program implemented by the ADC
in 1997 is being utilized in the medical unit at Lewis. This program has
reduced the number of inmates moved from prison sites to health care service
centers, thus reducing the possibility of escapes by inmates while being
transported. Importantly, it has also reduced the physical presence of
inmates in the general civilian population served by hospital-based
clinics. In addition to these security measures, telemedicine has reduced
transportation expenses and security staffing overtime. A significant
reduction in administrative and logistical efforts on the prison site for
scheduling and moving inmates has been recognized. The inmates also benefit
from telemedicine as they receive medical intervention prior to conditions
developing into possibly more serious situations.
Operational
improvements at ASPC-Lewis include a new design for controlling the
higher-level custody units. Touch-screen computers are used to
electronically open cell doors and record the movement of inmates within the
facility, reducing the need for officers to do manual logging. Water control
devices have been installed to prevent inmates from over flushing toilets
and causing floor flooding. The complex installed a highly sophisticated
Electrodialysis Reversal (EDR) water purification system, which
electronically charge particles and impurities, allowing them to be easily
filtered out. Additionally, this system provides a significant increase in
the longevity and efficiency of all on-site equipment that utilizes or
carries water, such as evaporative coolers, kitchen equipment and air
conditioning units.
Staff
security and accountability are of the utmost importance in every prison
system. ASPC-Lewis installed a HandNet Plus hand reader which provides them
with the capability to network up to 120 hand readers into a controlled
access system and alarm-monitoring system with distributed database. The
system provides proof-positive identification of people, not just cards or
PIN codes. The term “centrally controlled” means that from a single central
location they can add and remove users from the system; assign the times
that individual users are allowed access to any of the system readers;
display and record to computer disk all transactions; lock and unlock doors
from the central location, and so on. It has the capacity for 62 time zones
and 64 access levels. In essence, the program ensures complete security is
maintained even if communication with the central computer is lost.
With
communication being the most important tool of any business or operation,
Lewis Complex decided to install the state of the art Meridian 81C
AC-powered telephone switch. This is a dual-CPU stored program control
system with standby processing capabilities, fully redundant memory, and up
to five full-network groups offering 160 loops. Option 81C is equipped with
two redundant input/output processor and disk drive unit combination packs.
The system is equipped to supply voice mail, an automated attendant,
conferencing calling, hospitality features, call accounting and call
trafficking to name a few. With advances in electronics technology and
incorporation of modern computers into the control of telecommunication
equipment, the Meridian 81C makes it possible to time-share equipment and
still maintain efficient transmission of information.
Lewis
Complex was also concerned with the environment, and what could be done to
enhance the area surrounding the prison site. The concept of a wetland on
each side of the highway was suggested and later approved by the Bureau of
Land Management for the restoration and ecological enhancement of the site.
Open water areas will constitute approximately 15 acres, and ideally have
depths of 4 feet to preclude emergent vegetation. These areas would provide
sufficient landing and take off surface for waterfowl. The wetland habitat
will include emergent vegetable borders providing cover and habitat for a
wide variety of wildlife and insects. Cottonwood and willow trees will be
planted to act as a buffer zone to adjacent wetlands and provide habitat
diversity. A water hole will also be created to benefit wildlife and to
discourage the movement of larger animals in search of water to cross the
highway.
Substantial
savings in construction come from the use of inmate labor in construction of
part of each facility. An analysis by the Arizona Department of
Administration has concluded that the Inmate Construction Program has saved
taxpayers 20% of the cost of private contract labor. Staff management is
also improved by using inmate labor to tend to 22-acre vegetable and fruit
gardens for prison consumption within the secure perimeter.
Construction statistics for ASPC-Lewis are intimidating. The complex poured
50,000 cubic yards of concrete (enough to fill 35 Olympic sized swimming
pools), enough masonry block laid en-to-end to reach from Phoenix to San
Francisco; enough PVC conduit to create an electrical super highway between
the site and Los Angeles, enough ceramic tile to place a path from Phoenix
to the California border, and enough concrete reinforcing rebar to reach
from Phoenix to Philadelphia.
Technology
in correctional industry is rapidly growing; every year, technologies expand
and improve and manufacturers produce better and less expensive products.
The State of Arizona and the Arizona Department of Corrections are
maximizing benefits to Arizona citizens by continuing to implement the
newest technology and prototypical construction.
ASPC - Yuma
he Arizona State Prison Complex in Yuma has come a long
way since the Yuma Territorial Prison that was operational just a mere 100
years ago paving the way for the Arizona Department of Corrections as we
know it today.
This complex presently consists of two different levels
of custody facilities, and is building it's third unit and a complex
administration building.
The Arizona State Prison, Cocopah Unit, built in 1986,
began as a 250 bed minimum security facility on 33 acres. It's status, upon
completion of construction, was unique - particularly in a prison system
that was overcrowded. After all activation processes were developed and
readied for occupation, the Warden put the prison in mothballs and locked
the door.
At the time, consideration was being given to selling
Arizona State Prison to the Federal government. In 1987, it reopened, and
has continued to expand ever since. Cocopah Unit is a level two (low
custody) unit and employs 75 staff.
November 1995, stand-alone Arizona State Prison became
Arizona State Prison Complex - Yuma.
Construction of the Cheyenne Unit began on June 5, 1995.
The construction of the unit took approximately sixteen months, utilizing
both commercial construction workers and some inmate labor.
The unit was built on 39.5 acres. The first inmates were
received at this level three (medium custody) unit on September 3, 1996.
The Cheyenne Unit employs 255 staff members.
Dakota Unit began construction June 3, 1997. This unit
will be occupying 39.5 acres. The construction of this unit is anticipated
to take sixteen months and expects to receive inmates the first part of
September of 1998. Only commercial contractors will be used for this unit.
The Dakota Unit will employ 293 staff members.
The 13,776 square foot complex administration building
also began it's origination June 3, 1997 and will employ approximately 87
staff members.
MILESTONES
1968 - 1972:
Arizona State Industrial School (ASIS) staff and juveniles
had to travel to the town of Safford for medical care that their one-cot
dispensary could not handle; in 1969, Phelps Dodge donated the Morenci
Hospital building, a company-owned facility, to ASIS and "a crew of Ft.
Grant boys moved it 80 miles, piece by piece," to the industrial school's
grounds ...Alpine Conservation Center opened in 1964 housing 80 juvenile
males (closed in 1980)... Highland House at 538 West Highland, an adult
community treatment center, opened in1971 . . . in 1972, Diamond House and
Wilson House, juvenile halfway houses opened; they closed in 1974.
1973 - 1977:
Spruce House, 1801 West Spruce, a halfway house/community
treatment center, opened in 1975 ... in 1974, North Campus opened at Arizona
Girls' School, it was renamed Adobe Mountain School and converted to mate
and female juvenile population . . . The last of the original (1909)
construction was torn down in 1974.
1978 - 1982:
In 1979-80, there were approximately2,000 parolees and five
parole offices: three in Phoenix, one in Tucson, one for outlying areas ...
In 1979, ADC was one of 12 states to receive a Law Enforcement Assistance
Administration grant ($220,000) to become accredited by the American
Correctional Association ... A new 40,000sq. ft. warehouse, exclusively for
the use of ARCOR (correctional industries program), was dedicated at
ASP-Florence in January 1982. . . Graduation ceremonies Or the first Phoenix
College/ Correctional Training Academy took place November 2, 1979... First
Fort Grant Training Center graduation held February 19, 1982 ...First Tucson
Training Academy graduation held May 24, 1982 ... In February 1982, the Work
Furlough Program, which had begun in1978, was revised.
1983 - 1987:
Della Meadows, who began working at the Florence prison
March 1, 1948, retired December 31, 1983; the Meadows Unit in the Eyman
Complex, which is scheduled for ground breaking early in 1994, is named in
her honor... The Aspen DWI facility began receiving inmates in September
1983 ...Picacho Correctional Work Center received firs t25 inmates January
1984 ... Central Arizona Work Center (CAWC) closed November30, 1984 ...
First COTA class at ALETA facility in Tucson graduated February15, 1985 ...
Central Office move to1601 West Jefferson completed January1986 . . .
Recruitment Unit for Selection and Hiring (RUSH) created in January 1986 . .
.ARCOR prison industries program changes its monogram to ACI, Arizona
Correctional Industries, effective July 1, 1986.
1988 - 1993:
Three-day Symposium on Corrections held November 1988 in
Scottsdale ... New Dawn, originally opened as halfway house for juvenile
females, converted to ADC's first DWI facility for female inmates; during FY
1990-91, New Dawn converted to a Community Correctional Center for female
inmates ... Shock Incarceration Unit (SIU), for first-time offenders age
18-25, opened at ASPC-Florence in October 1988 with five male inmates; first
female SIU inmates received December 1991... In June 1991, Parole/Field
Services supervised 4,031 offenders; parole officers' average caseload was
74 offenders . . .Effective May 1, 1992, Southern Arizona Correctional
Release Center (SACRC) is converted from male to female inmate release
center ... Due to budget constraints, both New Dawn and Northern Arizona
Correctional Release Center (NACRC) were closed on June30, 1992 . . . During
FY 1992-93, Health Services changed from a bureau of Human
Resources/Development Division to separate Division ... Terry L. Stewart
assigned as ADC Deputy Director in September 1992.
1994 - 2003:
In 1994 two notable bills were signed -Truth in sentencing
and Private Prisons legislation… In 1995, Director Samuel Lewis retires,
Terry Stewart succeeds…In 1997, Opening of SMU II, one of the most secure
facilities in the country … Arizona Death Row population moved to SMU II…
Arizona State Prison (ASP) - Florence West was activated…Two Hundred-bed
minors unit dedicated in Tucson… As a result of the Casey vs. Lewis decision
by U.S. Supreme Court, all law libraries were closed and converted into
smaller resource centers…In October 1998, Opening of Arizona State Prison
Complex-Lewis, the state’s newest prison complex near Buckeye… In 1998, New
prison gang intelligence efforts begin in conjunction with other law
enforcement agencies as a result of an assassination attempt on Director
Stewart by the New Mexican Mafia, an ADC prison gang… Launched a national
correctional discussion on the issue of CO safety, stressing the importance
of construction, equipment and training to keep COs safe…. The establishment
of the Staff Safety Hotline…Development of Telemedicine technology…In 2000,
the conversion of ASPC-Perryville to an all female facility…In 2001, the
creation of the Four-Legged Stool, an ADC doctrine focusing on inmate work,
education, religion and treatment programs that will give inmates the best
opportunity for a successful release into the community…The legislature
passes the 20-year retirement benefit for employees in the Correctional
Officers Retirement Plan… The establishment of the Total Quality Management
(TQM) model….Launching of the QWL-21study to deal with complex employee
issues and enhance the culture of the ADC workplace … In 2002, Charles L.
Ryan succeeds Stewart as Acting Director of ADC… Stewart served as Director
from 1995 to 2002.
2003 - Present:
In July 2003,
Dora Schriro was appointed by Governor Janet Napolitano. Schriro is the
first woman to lead the department. Under Schriro, the department’s Parallel
Universe approach to Re-Entry preparation has yielded a number of positive
outcomes in its first two years of operation including marked reductions in
inmate-on-inmate, inmate-on-staff assault and inmate grievances in the
prisons and cutting by 45% technical revocations in community supervision.
STATISTICS
Two Year Prison Population Trends
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