A new Arizona bill would establish an independent office to monitor the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry. If passed into law, it would shake up who has oversight of the state’s prison facilities.
The bill, sponsored by Republican State Sen. Shawnna Bolick, would create an ombudsman for corrections, someone who investigates a person claiming to be treated unfairly by a state administrator or agency. It would also require a yearly report of inmate deaths, suicides and sexual assaults.
Joanne MacDonnell, who's the ombudsman for Arizona, said her office doesn’t usually get involved with corrections.
“I don’t know what’s exactly spurring [lawmakers] on, but I do know that there’s been an uptick in their interest in having increased oversight," she said.
There is currently an internal ombudsman within each of Arizona's state agencies, including corrections, she said, but cases from corrections can eventually reach her department.
She said her department investigated 61 complaints from corrections in the last fiscal year. Across all 16 of Arizona's state prison facilities, more than 35,000 people are incarcerated.
Kara Janssen spent five years inside Arizona’s prison system and served on Gov. Katie Hobbs’ Arizona Prison Oversight Commission in 2023. Alongside Janssen, 10 other people were charged with investigating the Department of Corrections' operation, such as the conditions of their facilities.
“Nobody oversees the department of corrections, they do what they want to do. They report what they want to report to the governor, and 9 out of 10 times, it’s not accurate," she said.
The new ombudsman role, appointed by the governor, would be established within the state’s ombudsman office. Under current Arizona law, the office cannot investigate unfair treatment claims made by inmates, but it can look into claims from family members and correctional staff.
Similar legislation was introduced by Republican State Rep. Walter Blackman in January, but it did not move forward for a vote.
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