All Florida Prisons On Lockdown to Prevent Potential Riots

Miami Herald All of Florida’s 97,000 state prison inmates are on lockdown — and will remain confined to their dorms at least through this weekend — in response to unspecified threats about potential rioting, officials from the Florida Department of Corrections confirmed yesterday. All able-bodied officers, including new recruits, were ordered to report to work yesterday. Graduations have been postponed so new officers can assist with staffing and help conduct searches for weapons and other contraband, FDC said.

Weekend visitations have been canceled at all 50 major institutions, including private prisons, youthful offender facilities, as well as annexes, work camps and re-entry centers. It‘s the first that the entire Florida prison system has been locked down for an indefinite period of time. The agency said it had received “credible intelligence’’ that “small groups’’ of inmates were planning to cause disturbances. Violence among inmates — especially those in gangs — is at an all-time high in Florida prisons. Corrections officers have been stabbed and beaten, and prisoners have been killed in several clashes over the past several months. Additionally, the Miami Herald and other media have documented systemic abuse of inmates as well as suspicious deaths, medical neglect and the mistreatment of prisoners with mental and physical disabilities. The state has been forced to make some reforms as a result of costly civil lawsuits.

Florida is the nation’s third-largest prison system, behind California and Texas. FDC has 148 facilities, a budget of $2.4 billion, and more staff than any other state agency.

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