The Idaho Statesman
BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho Department of Correction has appointed its most experienced warden to take the helm of the Idaho Correctional Center when the department takes over its operations, Idaho Board of Correction Chairwoman Robin Sandy announced. The state’s largest prison has been privately run since it was built.
Randy Blades, currently warden at the medium-security Idaho State Correctional Institution, will take over daily operations at the 2,080-bed Idaho Correctional Center on July 1 and spend the next six months helping plan the prison’s transition from a privately run facility to one run by the state. The transition process will be directed by Department of Correction Deputy Director Kevin Kempf with the assistance of Jeff Zmuda, chief of IDOC’s Prisons Division.
Part of a national trend toward privatizing prisons, Tennessee-based Corrections Corp. of America has contracted with Idaho to run the correctional center since it was built in 1997 along Pleasant Valley Road in Kuna.
Idaho’s privately run prison has been the subject of multiple lawsuits alleging rampant violence, understaffing, gang activity and contract fraud, and some of the lawsuits have resulted in federal court orders to improve conditions. On Jan. 4 Gov. Butch Otter announced plans for the state to take over the prison when the $29 million-a-year contract with CCA expires on June 30.
Blades started with the Idaho Department of Correction as a correctional officer in 1988 and rose through the ranks, holding varied jobs including commander of the Correctional Emergency Response Team. He created and led the department’s Office of Professional Standards and Virtual Prisons teams.
Blades has been a warden for 11 years. With Blades moving to ICC, ISCI Deputy Warden Keith Yordy will serve as acting warden of ISCI.