IDOC prisons south of Boise on secure status following second disturbance
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The following is a news release from the Idaho Department of Correction.
BOISE – As a precautionary measure, all prisons operated by the Idaho Department of Correction in the South Boise Correctional Complex are on secure status following a disturbance at a second prison in the complex.
The latest disturbance began at 7:21 p.m. Friday in a housing unit at Idaho State Correctional Center, a 2,170-bed men’s facility. Twenty-eight inmates were involved.
One inmate was taken to a Boise hospital for treatment. His injuries are not life threatening. At least one weapon, a broom handle, was used during the disturbance.
No ISCC staff members were seriously hurt.
The disturbance involved members of two security threat groups and several unaffiliated inmates.
Investigators are working to determine what connection, if any, the disturbance has to a similar incident Thursday at the nearby Idaho Maximum Security Institution.
Seventeen inmates were involved in that disturbance. Five of the inmates were taken to a local hospital for treatment. None of their injuries are life-threatening. No IMSI staff members were hurt.
As it does in the case of all serious assaults in the South Boise Correctional Complex, IDOC has asked the Ada County Sheriff’s Office to help investigate the disturbance.
Security staff has locked down portions of Idaho State Correctional Center and Idaho Maximum Security Institution while investigators examine the circumstances surrounding the disturbances. The other housing units in the facilities, as well as housing units at other IDOC prisons south of Boise, are on secure status.
Those other prisons are South Boise Women’s Correctional Center, Idaho State Correctional Institution and South Idaho Correctional Institution.
CAPP and the Treasure Valley Community Reentry Center are not on secure status.
Secure status is not a lockdown. Secure status generally means that inmates are restricted to their living units with the exception of controlled feeding, medical callouts and other necessary movement. Activities such as showers, access to the dayroom, and movement within the unit are all allowable while on a secure status.
“This is a measure to ensure we are keeping staff and inmates safe,” says Ashley Dowell, chief of IDOC Division of Prisons. “We will do everything we can to assess the situation and return to normal operations when it is safe to do so.”
Visiting has also been suspended through Sunday at the affected prisons — ISCC, IMSI, SBWCC, ISCI and SICI.
“We do not know at this time when the facilities will come off of secure status,” Dowell says. “The facilities will be continually assessed by facility and division leadership throughout the weekend.”