By Associated Press
Tulsa, OK – DOC says it is eliminating prisoner beds in Tulsa
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) State Department of Corrections officials say they are eliminating some community-level beds in Tulsa in an effort to reduce costs.
DOC Director Justin Jones says the agency has canceled a contract with Avalon Correctional Services, which provided beds for prisoners placed on public works crews. Jones says those prisoners now will be placed in other facilities.
Avalon's president, Brian Costello, says the contract involved about 75 offenders. Costello says if those beds aren't filled, the company could have trouble keeping the facility open.
Jones says the state's inmates should be removed from the facility by Sept. 1.
He also says the DOC closed the Muskogee Community Corrections Center on Aug. 1. That facility had 87 beds. He says those offenders were moved to facilities in Mangum and Healdton and to halfway houses.
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Information from: Tulsa World, http://www.tulsaworld.com