Idaho Prison Blog

In yet another nonsensical solution to the introduction of contraband into Idaho prisons, Chad Page, Chief of Prisons distributed a memorandum (reprinted below) on or about April 30, 2021 which prohibits prisoners, their family, friends - even their lawyers from ordering books to be sent into facilities across the state from the most popular outlets such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble. According to some IDOC staff who wish to remain unidentified, the restrictions on books have less to do with contraband, and more to do with the fact that most mailroom duties, the majority of which have traditionally been performed by the South Boise Complex Mailroom (serving the ISCI, SICI, IMSI SWBCC and ISCC) have been shifted to the property staff at the individual facilities. Under a recently implemented mail processing model, much of the incoming inmate mail which includes photos and the like are sent directly to property officers at the institution where the prisoner is housed for determination o...

On the closed-circuit (call out) channel at the ISCC there is a slide promoting the IDOC One Stop Reentry Center. Since the public cannot see this channel, the information is being provided here. While I have no direct knowledge of what goes on there (thus, cannot really vouch for it), it seems that the Center is designed to assist recently released IDOC prisoners - possibly even those prisoners who were released some time ago. There are no hours of operation listed on the slide, so maybe a phone call to the Center might be in order if you're planning on popping in. If you or your loved one needs some help, just ask - you might be surprised. The information on the slide states that Center can help with the following: > Food Assistance > Hygiene items > Computer/Internet Access > Housing Referrals > Employment Assistance > Resume Assistance > Connecting with a Mentor > Substance Use Treatment and Support Group Referrals > Connecting with the Department of ...

In April, 2020, Idaho prisoner Dale Shackelford filed a 2 count lawsuit in state district court (Ada County [Idaho] Case No. CV01-20-06757) petitioning the Court to compel the Idaho Department of Correction to produce a number of public records which the IDOC said did not exist. On January 27, 2020, Shackelford requested a copy of the Request for Proposal (RFP) - or contract - between the IDOC and CoreCivic (formerly CCA) for the planned housing of Idaho inmates (again) at the Kit Carson facility near Burlington, Colorado. After failing to respond in the first instance, Shackelford made a second request via Certified Mail. In response to that second request, the IDOC denied the record requested, stating no such RFP, Contract or collateral information existed. A couple weeks after the denial, a non-incarcerated friend of Shackelford filed an identical request. In response, the IDOC emailed her 88 pages of records within days, with a note that the state was using a new term - Invitation ...