ST. CROIX — In an interview with The Consortium on Monday discussing renovations to the Golden Grove Correctional Facility (full story goes live Tuesday morning), Bureau of Corrections Director Rick Mullgrav said B.O.C. has been looking into bringing back to the territory some inmates that have been shipped to mainland facilities.
But those hoping to return must have a history of being hard and skilled workers, Mr. Mullgrav said, “not people that’s going to sit around in the dormitory.”
On March 8, 105 convicted inmates were shipped out of the territory to facilities on the U.S. mainland. A total of 67 inmates were sent to the Saguaro Correctional Center in Arizona, which holds a total of 1,926 inmates, and is accredited with the American Camp Association (A.C.A.). Another 38 inmates were shipped to the Citrus County Detention Facility in Florida. Unlike Saguaro, the Citrus County prison houses only 760 inmates, however it’s also accredited with A.C.A.
Mr. Mullgrav said the decision to return some of the inmates was based on upcoming projects that the director said will require additional manpower. “We’re looking for the skilled ones,” he added, noting that some prisoners being considered were shipped to facilities outside the territory before the March 8 group of inmates. These inmates are housed in facilities located in Arizona and Virginia, with Mr. Mullgrav confirming that he recently returned from a trip touring the aforementioned facilities, as well as Florida.
“I saw everyone of the inmates that are up there [in Virginia],” Mr. Mullgrav said, revealing the number as roughly 68. He said many of the inmates expressed their desire to return to the territory, and if that was not an option, “they would like to go to a less secure facility,” he said.
But the director said those requests would not be granted because a lot of the inmates are hardcore criminals who have murdered people. And coming back home would not be beneficial to them either, he contended, because his ultimate goal — aside from building a new facility — is to assure that B.O.C. becomes a stringent correctional facility with tough rules and regulations as well.
The full interview with Mr. Mullgrav goes live tomorrow. In it, the director talks about initiatives being implemented at the prison and changes being made for better security.
Feature Image: World Atlantic, the airliner that transported the inmates to the U.S. detention centers. (Ernice Gilbert, VIC)
Tags: golden grove correctional facility, rick mullgrav
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