By Graham Lee Brewer
The Oklahoman
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Board of Corrections on Friday appointed Robert Patton from the Arizona Department of Corrections as the new executive director of the state Corrections Department at a special meeting.
The department has been headed by Interim Director Ed Evans since Justin Jones stepped down from the position in August.
After a nationwide search for a successor, Patton was chosen from a group of candidates that included both current state Corrections Department staff and out-of-state applicants.
Patton has a long work history in corrections, including more than 25 years with the Arizona Department of Corrections. In Arizona, Patton worked as a correctional officer, unit supervisor, deputy warden, and assistant director of operations, among other positions.
While there are fewer facilities in the Arizona prison system than in Oklahoma, it is considerably larger in terms of population. Arizona currently has more than 41,000 inmates, compared to more than 26,000 serving time in Oklahoma.
Arizona also uses private prisons, housing more than 6,000 offenders in its four private prisons, including ones operated by GEO and Corrections Corporation of America, both of which have facilities in Oklahoma.
Many problems
The Arizona prison system is awash with problems, ranging from high rates of solitary confinement and protective custody to being forced to turn over inmate health care to a private company, said Donna Hamm, executive director of Middle Ground Prison Reform, an Arizona nonprofit.
Hamm said she did not know Patton well, but said the largest problem the department’s administration faces is their inability to control gang activity.
“Something is out of control,” Hamm said.
“The directors so far have been completely ineffective in dealing with gangs, and gangs have been allowed to proliferate, affecting security at every level.”
Patton said he met Thursday with Gov. Mary Fallin to discuss his new job and the department’s relationship with her office. He said no discussions on private prison expansion took place.
He said Fallin told him she wanted an open working relationship with the state Corrections Department and shared his concerns about whether the system was safe for both offenders and staff.
Patton acknowledged that understaffing is among those concerns, and he said he will advocate for higher officer pay. He said his first priority as director will be to tour the state’s facilities and speak with staff at all levels within the system.
“I want to see it, I want to touch it, I want to feel it myself. I want to talk to the staff that are doing the job everyday. I started in corrections as that correctional officer that’s walking that prison yard right now, that’s how I started. I came up through the ranks. I’ve been there. I’ve been there at two o’clock in the morning having to supervisor 200 offenders by myself. I’ve been that sergeant on shift. I’ve been that lieutenant. I’ve been that captain. That’s who I want to hear from. I want to hear how their job’s going,” he said.
At a Friday news conference, Fallin expressed confidence in Patton and noted his commitment to safety.
Fallin called the status quo within the state Corrections Department unacceptable and said she asked Patton to work with her administration by focusing on four key corrections issues: safety, increasing employee compensation, greater oversight of private prison contracts, and reforms in efficiency and policy.