COVID-19 @ Corrections, BoP(s), Correctional Facilities/Institutions (North Carolina Department of Corrections)

Dear Ms. Best,

We received the attached request in the mail yesterday and will process it as promptly as possible.

Some of the items listed in your request can be found on the North Carolina Department of Public Safety website (ncdps.gov). A list of actions taken by the Division of Prisons in response to this pandemic can be found here: https://www.ncdps.gov/our-organization/adult-correction/prisons/prisons-info-covid-19

This page also includes data on COVID-19 testing in the prisons and information on Extending the Limits of Confinement (ELC) where offenders may serve part of their active sentence outside the confines of a correctional facility based on the criteria specified.

Please be aware that the fulfillment of the additional items on your request may be delayed due to the unprecedented workload associated with ensuring the health, safety and security of staff members and individuals who are incarcerated during this time of pandemic.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us.

Regards
Wendy Estes
Public Records Assistant, Communications
North Carolina Department of Public Safety
512 N. Salisbury Street, MSC 4202
Raleigh, NC 27699-4202
Phone: (919) 436-3038
wendy.estes@ncdps.gov<mailto:wendy.estes@ncdps.gov>

________________________________

Email correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties by an authorized state official.

Dear Ms. Best.

In response to MuckRock News's public records request of April 23, 2020, we provide the following, in the order of items requested and numbered for the sake of convenience:

1. Copays.

Policy AD-III-1: https://files.nc.gov/ncdps/documents/files/AD%20III-1%20Offender%20Co-Pay.pdf

Prisons waived co-pays for offenders with fever or flu-like symptoms at beginning of pandemic: https://www.ncdps.gov/our-organization/adult-correction/adult-correction-actions-covid-19#march--20

2. Number of offenders reporting to infirmary since Sept. 2019.

No responsive records exist in the form requested.

Please note that North Carolina's public records law does not "require a public agency to respond to a request for a copy of a public record by creating or compiling a record that does not exist." G.S. 132-6.2(e)<https://www.ncleg.net/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bychapter/chapter_132.html>

3. Number of offenders reporting respiratory/breathing issues, flulike or pneumonialike symptoms since Sept. 2019 .

No responsive records exist in the form requested.

Again, North Carolina's public records law does not "require a public agency to respond to a request for a copy of a public record by creating or compiling a record that does not exist." G.S. 132-6.2(e)<https://www.ncleg.net/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bychapter/chapter_132.html>

4. Since Sept. 2019:

a. Number of offenders referred to a higher level of care.

No responsive records exist in the form requested. G.S. 132-6.2(e)<https://www.ncleg.net/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bychapter/chapter_132.html>

NOTE: Prisons healthcare makes routine (multiple times daily) transfers of offenders to "higher level of care" within the Prisons healthcare system and outside it.

b. Number of offenders sent to outside facilities.

No responsive records exist in the form requested. G.S. 132-6.2(e)<https://www.ncleg.net/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bychapter/chapter_132.html>

NOTE: This occurs literally hundreds of times daily, whether for routine specialty appointments, acute issues, emergencies, etc.

c. Number of "outside medical personnel visited each prison/facility".

No responsive records exist in the form requested. G.S. 132-6.2(e)<https://www.ncleg.net/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bychapter/chapter_132.html>

NOTE: This is a common occurrence, regardless of interpretation of the question,, whether reference is to:

* medical personnel physically setting foot inside a prison to treat/consult (either offender or staff)
* staff/offenders at each facility who visited outside medical for treatment
* appointments/consultations via telehealth.

5. Since Sept. 2019:

a. Number of COVID-19 tests performed at each facility.

Available online:

https://www.ncdps.gov/our-organization/adult-correction/prisons/prisons-info-covid-19

Scroll down to map of facilities. Click on individual facility for tests administered.

b. Number of tests ordered.

ibid

c. Describe testing process.

STAFF:

* Prisons instituted an aggressive staff plan 12-14-2020<https://www.ncdps.gov/our-organization/adult-correction/adult-correction-actions-covid-19#nov-dec--20> testing all staff who work inside prisons. Per Governor's Executive Order No. 224, Section 4.1 (a) (1.) and (2.), issued July 29, 2021, employees of Cabinet agencies are required either to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination, or be tested for COVID-19 weekly, beginning Sept. 1, 2001.
* Prisons staff may continue to be tested on their own.

OFFENDERS:

* Are tested on arrival to prison, on release from prison and on transfer to another prison within the system.
* Are tested when exhibiting symptoms of the virus, or when may have been exposed to viral transmission.
* Are tested at random, and sometimes entire housing units or entire prison populations are tested if needed.

6. Since Sept. 2019:

For all items #6, no responsive records exist in the form requested. G.S. 132-6.2(e)<https://www.ncleg.net/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bychapter/chapter_132.html>

a. # units distributed:

i. soap

ii. shampoo

iii. other personal hygiene, sanitary and sanitizing or cleaning products

b. # units sold in commissary:

i. soap

ii. shampoo

iii. other personal hygiene, sanitary and sanitizing or cleaning products

c. # distributed normally:

i. soap

Ii. shampoo

iii. other personal hygiene, sanitary and sanitizing or cleaning products

d. # requested by prisoners:

i. soap

ii. shampoo

iii. other personal hygiene, sanitary and sanitizing or cleaning products

7. Since Sept. 2019:

For all items #7, no responsive records exist in the form requested. G.S. 132-6.2(e)<https://www.ncleg.net/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bychapter/chapter_132.html>

a. # units sold in commissary

i. clothing

ii. sanitary pads

iii. coffee filters

8. Since Sept 2019 for each prison:

a. transfers in

b. transfers out

No responsive records exist in the form requested. G.S. 132-6.2(e)<https://www.ncleg.net/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bychapter/chapter_132.html>

9. Since Sept 2019:

a. Offenders in jail backlog

b. "Not in ... custody"

Answer is the same for both.

The attached pdf file labelled "Jail Backlog" provides cumulative figures for offenders in each North Carolina county's jail who, due to the pandemic, Prisons was unable to accept due to distancing/density and staffing restrictions.

Please note that Prisons, due to extraordinary efforts to reduce the offender population, was able to clear the jail backlog in March 2021. Since then, Prisons has not declined to accept a single jail detainee who was adjudicated guilty and sentenced to state prison.

Also note that the dollar figure in the fifth column is the result of a $40 payment, set by N.C. statute, that Prisons pays to county jails per offender per day when unable to accept offenders.

10. Since Sept 2019, monthly prison populations:

Much of the data on facility populations you can find using our Automated System Query (ASQ) system, which includes facility-by-facility population information dating back to 1995. The ASQ system is available via the following link: https://webapps.doc.state.nc.us/apps/asqExt/ASQ

Click on Start Generating Reports. You'll want to set it on Populations (right) and the timeframe within which you want to search.

Click on Define Report. And then click on the fields on the left you want to search. Click on "add items" to move it into the actual search parameters on the right. I believe the search parameter "unit population" if moved to the right with add item(s) will allow you to search facility populations.

This search tool provides snapshots of facility populations in six-month increments.

Please keep in mind that, prior to the pandemic, Prisons transferred an average of 1,100 offenders each week for a variety of operational and security reasons. In short, facility populations shifted to some degree routinely and frequently each week.

11. Since Sept. 2019, number of prisoners released each month.

ASQ, as above.

12. Since Sept 2019, emails and memos from senior management on medical release due to COVID-19.

2 attachments

We have provided the documents used to guide decision-making for medical release of offenders due to COVID-19. Should you need related emails from senior management, please let us know. A search of senior management emails and redaction of confidential information would add considerable time to the complete fulfillment of this request.

13. Since Sept 2019, medical release guidance both general and specific to COVID-19.

Policy & Procedures, Q .0300, Medical Release of Ill and Disabled Offenders, updated Feb. 1, 2018:

https://files.nc.gov/ncdps/Q-.0300-02_01_18.pdf

14. since Sept 2019, ordered quantities of medications (73 listed):

2 attachments

This completes this records request, should you need further assistance or make another request feel free to reach out and we'll gladly assist you.

Respectfully,

Joshua Hammond
Communications Specialist
North Carolina Department of Public Safety
512 N. Salisbury Street, MSC 4202
Raleigh, NC 27699-4202
joshua.hammond@ncdps.gov<mailto:tierra.bethel@ncdps.gov>
919-436-3038

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________________________________

Email correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties by an authorized state official.