From KCCI Des Moines.
The Iowa Department of Corrections told lawmakers its prisons are getting safer, even as it continues to fight chronic overcrowding.
About 8,200 people are behind bars in Iowa prisons, a number that puts the department more than 18% over capacity. The department says its staffing levels have remained consistent from last year, with about 2,600 employees.
Serious assaults against staff members have dipped from 11 in 2022 to five last year. The department says it has stepped up security at all of its prisons since 2021, when two workers were killed inside Anamosa State Penitentiary.
The prison was reportedly over capacity when the killings took place.
The updated security includes new cameras, new body scanners and new security audits.
Rev Red