{"id":30587,"date":"2018-08-02T15:10:00","date_gmt":"2018-08-02T20:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=30587"},"modified":"2020-06-30T20:11:18","modified_gmt":"2020-07-01T01:11:18","slug":"when-prisoners-escape-how-can-a-town-without-police-stay-safe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2018\/08\/02\/when-prisoners-escape-how-can-a-town-without-police-stay-safe\/","title":{"rendered":"When prisoners escape, how can a town without police stay safe?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_30589\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-30589\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Frank-Taylor-1920x1356.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1356\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Frank-Taylor-1920x1356.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Frank-Taylor-500x353.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Frank-Taylor-768x542.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Frank-Taylor-150x106.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Frank-Taylor-300x212.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Frank-Taylor-620x438.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Frank-Taylor-1529x1080.jpg 1529w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Quinton Chandler \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Frank Taylor is one of several Taft residents who told StateImpact they&#8217;re extremely upset that people are escaping Jess Dunn Correctional Center.<\/p>\n<\/div><p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/480304881&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=false\" width=\"100%\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p><p>When Frank Taylor moved to Taft from California six years ago, his friends asked how he could live in a town of about 300 people right next to two prisons. He laughed it off.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>\u201cI got two big pit bulls,\u201d Taylor said.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>Taylor says the Oklahoma town is a place where he thought he could leave his doors unlocked. His home, near the center of town, is less than a mile from one of the prisons, Jess Dunn Correctional Center.<\/p><p>The minimum-security men\u2019s prison has a problem.<\/p><p>Seven people have walked away from minimum security prisons in 2018, and four of those escapes happened at Jess Dunn. In 2017, the prison had zero escapes.<\/p><p>Taylor says this year\u2019s escapes make him worry if his wife is safe alone in her own home without a gun.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30593\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-30593\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Jess-Dunn-1-1920x1214.jpg\" alt=\"Flag Poles and a sign identifying Jess Dunn Correctional Center inside the prison's grounds. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"1214\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Jess-Dunn-1-1920x1214.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Jess-Dunn-1-500x316.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Jess-Dunn-1-768x486.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Jess-Dunn-1-150x95.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Jess-Dunn-1-300x190.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Jess-Dunn-1-620x392.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Jess-Dunn-1-1708x1080.jpg 1708w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Quinton Chandler \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jess Dunn Correctional Center in Taft, Oklahoma.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Escapes happen every year<\/h3><p>Jess Dunn stands out this year for what the Department of Corrections calls \u201cwalkways\u201d \u2014 a term for people who decide to run away from low-security areas.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>People run away from prisons every year and 2018\u2019s numbers don\u2019t appear unusually high. So far, 133 people have run away \u2014 most from low-security buildings where people are allowed to leave during the day to work and return at night.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>Minimum security prisons like Jess Dunn are different. Some inmates can go out on work crews for community service, but it\u2019s still a prison.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>Taylor says Jess Dunn needs a security upgrade. He doesn\u2019t think the warden and prison guards are doing a good job monitoring people at the prison.<\/p>\n<h3>State, staff, security<\/h3><p>Corrections\u2019 lower security areas are supposed to help inmates transition from prison life to life in the outside world. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>Corrections officials say prisons like Jess Dunn aren\u2019t supposed to have the same high-level security as prisons that hold people they\u2019ve deemed a higher risk to public safety. But the agency is trying to stop the escapes.<\/p><p>They\u2019re switching out the prison\u2019s dark-colored jumpsuits to bright orange ones with the word \u201cinmate\u201d on the back. They\u2019re using more sirens to alert residents after escapes \u2014 and they want to add more residents to a phone list they call when an inmate is missing.<\/p><p>But there are staffing shortages throughout the state prison system. Officials say Jess Dunn is overcrowded and short 31 guards.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>The Department of Corrections declined requests to interview the warden at Jess Dunn. But it did invite reporters to a media event at Jackie Brannon Correctional Center in McAlester.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30594\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-30594\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Greg-Breslin-1920x1158.jpg\" alt=\"Greg Breslin, the interim warden of Jackie Brannon Correctional Center waits to be interviewed by a film crew. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"1158\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Greg-Breslin-1920x1158.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Greg-Breslin-500x302.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Greg-Breslin-768x463.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Greg-Breslin-150x91.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Greg-Breslin-300x181.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Greg-Breslin-620x374.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Greg-Breslin-1790x1080.jpg 1790w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Greg-Breslin-560x338.jpg 560w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Quinton Chandler \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Greg Breslin is the interim warden of Jackie Brannon Correctional Center. The prison has had one escape this year.<\/p>\n<\/div><p>Greg Breslin is the interim warden of the minimum security prison. His wishlist for Jackie Brannon includes money for better cameras, more surveillance and additional staff. Breslin says staffing shortages make it harder to stop escapes. At the end of July, someone escaped Jackie Brannon by jumping from a second-story window.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>Breslin says the man\u2019s dad had just died. The father and son were close.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>\u201cHe was upset, and he just thought one time, \u2018You know I\u2019m tired of being incarcerated \u2026 and walked off,\u2019\u201d Breslin said.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>But, Breslin said, very few people run away from minimum security prisons each year \u2014 and they don\u2019t usually linger in nearby communities.<\/p>\n<h3>Two prisons, no police<\/h3><p>That\u2019s little comfort to Taft Mayor Elsie Caesar. Jess Dunn\u2019s security level doesn\u2019t mean much to her because people convicted of violent crimes can still be placed in the minimum-security prison.<\/p><p>\u201cWhen you talk about security you have to keep that in mind,\u201d Caesar said. She added that there\u2019s a reason Jess Dunn has a fence with razor wire at the top.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30588\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-30588\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Elsie-Caesar-1920x1247.jpg\" alt=\"Taft Mayor Elsie Caesar sits at her office desk in Taft. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"1247\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Elsie-Caesar-1920x1247.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Elsie-Caesar-500x325.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Elsie-Caesar-768x499.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Elsie-Caesar-150x97.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Elsie-Caesar-300x195.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Elsie-Caesar-620x403.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/08\/Elsie-Caesar-1663x1080.jpg 1663w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Quinton Chandler \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Taft Mayor Elsie Caesar is hoping for an end to prisoner escapes from Jess Dunn.<\/p>\n<\/div><p>Caesar wants the Department of Corrections to stop the escapes, but she also wants more police patrolling Taft.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>Taft doesn\u2019t have a police force, and that\u2019s one big reason Caesar says residents have been upset about the two prisons since Jess Dunn opened in 1980.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>The Legislature wrote a law in 1986 requiring the Department of Corrections to patrol the perimeter of the prisons and the streets of Taft. These days, prison officers <i>do<\/i> patrol Jess Dunn\u2019s perimeter \u2014 but they\u2019re too short-handed to patrol the town.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>The law also requires the Oklahoma Highway Patrol to keep a trooper posted in Taft \u2014 permanently. Caesar says after the law went into effect, the highway patrol set up the post and then shut it down after about 10 months.<\/p><p>\u201cThere has never been another one since,\u201d Caesar said.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>The Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, which oversees the highway patrol, disagrees with that timeline. A spokesperson told StateImpact the trooper post lasted about two years before it shut down. DPS wouldn\u2019t say why it closed the post. It declined interview requests and answered select questions by email.<\/p><p>Shortly after coming into office, Taft\u2019s State Representative, Republican Avery Frix, told highway patrol officials they weren\u2019t following the law. Frix says the agency told him it didn\u2019t have enough funding or manpower to maintain a trooper post in Taft.<\/p><p>After negotiating with Frix and Mayor Caesar, the highway patrol did not reopen the trooper post, but it signed a document promising to send assistance to Taft when requested \u2014 if it has troopers available.<\/p><p>The Muskogee County Sheriff\u2019s Office does patrol Taft. Sheriff Rob Frazier said he increased patrols throughout the county after he came into office in 2017. Frazier said he ordered deputies to drive through Taft multiple times a day, but he acknowledged it\u2019s not enough and he doesn\u2019t have the resources to do more. The prison escapes frustrate him, too.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Taft and trust<\/h3><p>Standing outside his home in Taft, Frank Taylor shakes his head. He wants more protection, but he doesn\u2019t see it coming.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>Taylor also doesn\u2019t think prisoners are going to stop escaping. He says it has gotten so bad that he might think twice about helping strangers who ask for something as simple as a cigarette lighter.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>\u201cFor all we know, it could be somebody that\u2019s walked away from the prison.\u201d Taylor said. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>Taylor isn\u2019t sure he can count on the prison to sound the alarm \u2014 or rely on police to keep him safe. If an escaped inmate comes to his house, Taylor says they might return to prison with a bullet wound.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>So far, four of the seven people who escaped minimum security prisons in 2018 ran from Jess Dunn Correctional Center in Taft &#8212; a town with no police force. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":201,"featured_media":30589,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"page-noFeature.php","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[927,223,926,929,925,921,924,923,928,922],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30587"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/201"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30587"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33008,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30587\/revisions\/33008"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}