North Carolina Department of Adult Correction

History

In 1868, North Carolina adopted a new State Constitution that provided for building a state penitentiary. Inmates began building the state's first prison, Central Prison, in 1870, and moved into the completed castle-like structure in December 1884. In 1881, the state leased two tracts of land near Raleigh for inmates to farm. State law 379, enacted in 1885, provided for the allowance of good time as an incentive for inmate cooperation. In 1892, the state began running the Caledonia State Prison Farm on 7,500 acres, still in operation as of 2020.

In 1901, as demand for inmate labor dwindled from the private sector, the state legislature passed the Good Roads Policy, which legalized the use of inmate labor for the creation and maintenance of North Carolina roads. Horse drawn prison cages were moved from place to place to move the inmate labor force to areas needed for the road projects.

The agency was officially formed in 1925. The system then consisted of Central, Caledonia Farm, Camp Polk Farm, and six road working road camps. In March 1931, the state passed a road bill that imposed a gas tax, and consolidated responsibility for road maintenance at the state level. Because the state relied on convict labor for road construction and maintenance, the state prison agency and the state highway department were consolidated as a single entity, and the state now took responsibility for 51 county jails.

In 1957, the two departments were again separated. The same year, North Carolina became the first state to allow inmates employed in work-release programs to work outside the prison during the day. In 1967 the Department of State Prisons was renamed the Department of Correction.

Facilities

As of March 2023, North Carolina houses about 31,000 people in 54 correctional institutions throughout the state.

Operations

The State of North Carolina operates no private prison facilities. All prison facilities for state inmates are operated and controlled by the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction, Division of Institutions. From 1998 through 2000, the state had contracted with Corrections Corporation of America, which owned and operated Pamlico Correctional Institution in Bayboro, and the Mountain View Correctional Institution in Spruce Pine. North Carolina ended those contracts effective September 2000, and bought both facilities two years later. Rivers Correctional Institution, in unincorporated Hertford County, North Carolina, is operated by GEO Group under contract with the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Death row

The male death row is located at Central Prison. The female death row is located at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women. The execution chamber is located at Central Prison in Raleigh. There have been no executions in North Carolina since 2006.

Fallen officers

Since the establishment of the North Carolina Department of Correction, 11 officers have died in the line of duty.

References

Works cited

References

1. "Annual Population Estimates 2000 to 2008". US Census Bureau.
2. "Inmates Currently In Prison". NC DAC.
3. "History of NC Prisons - Part 1".
4. "History of the North Carolina Correction System".
5. (20 March 1931). "STATE TO TAKE OVER COUNTY ROADS JULY 1". Williamston NC Enterprise.
6. "Craggy Correctional Center".
7. "History of the North Carolina Correction System".
8. "NCDPS - Prisons".
9. "Department of Correction to Assume Operation of Private Prisons on September 30".
10. "[http://www.doc.state.nc.us/dop/deathpenalty/deathwat.htm Death Row and Death Watch]." North Carolina Department of Correction. Retrieved on September 1, 2010.
11. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20120111232332/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/936354101.html?dids=936354101:936354101&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Dec+02%2C+2005&author=FROM+NEWS+SERVICES&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=Inmate+who+could+be+1%2C000th+execution+waits+for+family&pqatl=google Inmate who could be 1,000th execution waits for family]." ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''. December 2, 2005. Start Page 14. Retrieved on September 1, 2010. "... panes separating the viewing room from the stark execution chamber at Central Prison."
12. [http://www.odmp.org/agency/2812-north-carolina-department-of-correction-north-carolina The Officer Down Memorial Page]