INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — As a result of declining prison admissions and excess bed space, the Florida Department of Corrections will be closing seven prisons and four work/forestry camps by July 1, 2012, as part of a statewide consolidation plan, including the Indian River County Correctional Institution in Vero Beach.
No inmates will be released early as a result of this decision, and there will remain adequate bed space to accommodate projected prison admissions, which have steadily decreased since fiscal year 2007-08.
The Indian River County Correctional Institute will close May 1, saving nearly $700,000 this year and more than $8 million next fiscal year.
“Declining prison admissions has led to a surplus of prison beds, allowing us to pare down our budget shortfall by consolidating and closing our older, less efficient facilities. We are committed to placing as many affected staff as possible in vacant positions for which they are qualified,” said Secretary Ken Tucker.
Inmates will be relocated to institutions with vacancies that meet their custody, profile, health, education and risk assessment needs.
To determine which prisons and facilities would be affected, Secretary Tucker assembled an internal workgroup of subject matter experts, who developed criteria for evaluating facilities based on several factors including: facility mission, cost per inmate, maintenance and construction costs, community and employee impact, inmate labor squads, security, education and programs, and volunteers. These criteria were vetted through a variety of public and private sector entities. The Department employed quantitative measures to create an Institutional Scoring Sheet to objectively measure the pros and cons for each institution.
The prisons being closed are:
Broward Correctional Institution in Ft. Lauderdale,
Demilly CI in Polk City,
Gainesville CI in Alachua County,
Hillsborough CI in Riverview near Tampa,
Indian River CI in Vero Beach,
Jefferson CI in Monticello and New River CI (both units) in Raiford.
In addition, River Junction Work Camp in Chattahoochee, Caryville Work Camp near Northwest Florida Reception Center in Washington County, Hendry Work Camp in Immokalee, and Levy Forestry Camp near Lowell CI in Ocala will also be closed.