11/10/08

BOISE, Idaho (AP) _ Idaho's only in-state private prison, the
Idaho Correctional Center, has a violence rate that is three times
higher than other Idaho prisons, and state officials say gangs are
to blame.

Documents from the Idaho Department of Correction obtained by
The Associated Press through a public records request show that
between September 2007 and September 2008, there were 123
offender-on-offender assaults at the Correction Corp. of
America-run prison near Boise. That compares to 42 assaults during the same period at the Idaho State Correctional Institute and 31 assaults at the Idaho Maximum Security Institute.

Put another way, half all inmate assaults at prisons statewide
last year occurred at ICC.

ICC Warden Phillip Valdez says the private facility has taken
steps to reduce the violence. Staff assignments have been shifted
to allow more guards to work in the most violent units, and the
center is upgrading its camera system by the end of the year.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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