New operators of troubled Arizona prison promise change

KINGMAN, Ariz. — Executives with the Florida-based company that has taken over operation of the state prison in Golden Valley are promising to lead the embattled penitentiary in a new direction.

James Black, western region vice president for the GEO Group, told the Mohave County Board of Supervisors at a Dec. 21 meeting that the company wants to "erase the negative stigma" that hung over the prison during its operation by the Utah-based Management & Training Corp.

The Arizona Corrections Department transferred operations to GEO in early December. Inmate riots in July caused more than $2 million in damage to the prison and more than a dozen staff members and inmates were injured. It was the latest headline-grabbing incident at the prison from which three inmates escaped in 2010, leading to the slayings of an Oklahoma couple in New Mexico.

A wrongful death lawsuit was filed this month on behalf of the family of Neil Early, an inmate who was fatally injured during a January assault at the prison. Early died at University Medical Center. Investigators have not been able to determine who was responsible for the attack.

Supervisor Buster Johnson asked Black if GEO Group would enhance security, saying the facility had been operated much like a "day camp."

Black said the group has already made a number of security improvements and will work to provide safety for staff and the community. He also said there's no such thing as problem-free corrections settings.

"Bad things happen in good prisons. You can put every effort you can forward to prevent things from happening, but when you have 3,400 inmates and 600 staff (members) things are going to happen," Black said. "It's no different than some of the things that happen, unfortunately, in our schools or anywhere you have a large contingent of people in one place."

Ron Credio, deputy bureau administrator for the Corrections Department, said it has strengthened its on-site monitoring to ensure that the GEO Group complies with its contract.

Black said the company has worked hard to assemble an all-star leadership team to run the prison and regain public trust. A case in point, he said, was luring Jeffrey Wrigley out of retirement to serve as warden. Wrigley worked 27 years for the Federal Bureau of Prisons and 10 years for GEO.

"We want to be the best neighbor possible," Wrigley told supervisors. "We want to be the best partner for the citizens of Mohave County and partner with the Department of Corrections and all of the citizens of Arizona."

Wrigley said he is impressed with the knowledge and dedication displayed by the workforce he has inherited. He said the GEO Group was working to fill another 110 positions.

Wrigley pledged expanded and improved community involvement and better communication with leaders in northwest Arizona.

Black said the GEO Group operates 68 prisons across the United States and other facilities in South Africa, England and Australia.