No major layoffs are planned at a private Kingman prison when a Florida-based company takes over operations in December. The Arizona State Prison-Kingman has been under scrutiny since several inmate riots this summer.
The company, called GEO Group, said there will be a new warden and other managers, according to the Kingman Daily Miner, but rank-and-file employees will keep their jobs.
The company is set to take over after Gov. Doug Ducey terminated a contract with prison’s previous operator, Management and Training Corporation. That was in the wake of July’s prisoner riots, which caused nearly $2 million in damages and injured 16 people.
Vice President James Black said he could not say unrest won't happen once GEO takes over, since there are no guarantees, but that GEO will work with Kingman to establish a community relations board to discuss the prison and its role in the area.
