Evaluation

All offenders committed to the custody of the Department are sent to a Reception and Diagnostic Unit (RDU) for evaluation and classification. Upon arrival, new offenders are fingerprinted and photographed.

In the weeks following his or her arrival, the offender will receive a physical examination, a psychological evaluation, an educational assessment and a substance abuse evaluation. That information, along with the arrest report, judgment of conviction, presentence investigation and other materials provided by the courts are used to create an institutional file.

The Department has an objective classification system. The information received during the reception and diagnostic process is reviewed by the classification committee and entered on a classification sheet.

  5 Levels of Custody

Offenders can be assigned to five levels of custody based on how they score on the sheet:

• Close - Reserved for offenders who are serving long-term sentences, have an escape history or a disciplinary problem within a facility and/or have displayed dangerous behavior while incarcerated.
• Medium - Offenders who demonstrate an ability to follow instructional rules and regulations, may have a considerable amount of time remaining to serve, and who may be an escape risk at a lower custody level.
• Minimum Restricted - Offenders who generally demonstrate an ability to follow institutional rules and regulations but were committed for high risk, sex-related offenses or have a detainer that prevents them from being housed at a minimum or community custody facility.
• Minimum - Offenders who continuously demonstrate an ability to follow institutional rules and are generally within two years of a release date and who do not represent an escape risk. The offender may be assigned to an institution or facility that does not have an armed perimeter.
• Community - Offenders who generally follow institutional rules and regulations, are serving time for low-risk offenses, have an anticipated release date, are 120 days disciplinary free, and do not normally represent a security risk.

(Note: Offenders may move up and down in classification based on their behavior while incarcerated.)