Virginia has officially taken control of the only privately operated prison in the state — the Lawrenceville Correctional Center. Virginia Department of Corrections officials are planning to test a number of prison reforms there.
“We believe we can run Lawrenceville safer, more efficiently and provide some things that maybe weren’t available there,” Chad Dotson, director of the department, told Radio IQ about his hopes for Lawrenceville Correctional Center – which is south of Richmond near the North Carolina line.
Once owned by a private company, the state assumed control of the facility this week. It’s something prison reform advocates like Delegate Irene Shin have long been waiting for.
“I’m excited about seeing what he might be able to do as he thinks about what it means to be forward thinking and forward looking,” Shin said.
Shin was talking about promised reforms from Dotson, and while the director wasn’t able to divulge much of his plans yet, he did offer some insights.
“What we’re trying to do is create a community where the inmates will take control for the safety and security of the facility and in exchange, they get opportunities,” Dotson said.
Among those who are glad to hear about the transfer is Shawn Weneta. He’s an advocate with the Humanization Project and himself a former inmate at Lawrenceville. He said drugs and violence were commonplace at the facility, claims backed up by Shin in her own research, but Weneta was excited about what reforms Dotson has in store.
“There’s some things that need to be done to accommodate for the soft skills you lose when you're incarcerated,” Weneta told Radio IQ.
The prison reform advocate hopes future plans include more job training and readiness programs that can help people acclimate better. But such programs aren’t cheap. That’s where Senator Adam Ebbin comes in. He’s been asking the state to assume control of Lawrenceville for about seven years. And while he’s pleased it’s happening, he said it’s time for elected officials to step up.
“There’s a lot of needs but there’s limited financial resources, so we’ve got to be smart and see if we can’t allocate some more,” Ebbin told Radio IQ.
Dotson said some work, like prisoner transfers, was already underway. More details about future reforms are expected in the fall.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
