RICHMOND, Va. — Gov. Abigail Spanberger's administration announced major reforms at the Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) Tuesday.
Among the reforms are the launch of a new community oversight council, mandatory use-of-force refresher training, and a ban on five-point restraints.
"I am launching Community Partnership Council on Corrections. This council, led by Director Walters and Secretary Meador, will create a permanent structured forum for dialog and action on the issues that matter most: entry and reintegration, family engagement, staffing, and public accountability," Spanberger said during the announcement at VADOC headquarters.
The council will be comprised of community members, including formerly incarcerated individuals.
It comes after meetings with advocacy groups who have been fighting for inmates like Aubrey McKay, who sources say was beaten to death by correctional officers at Wallens Ridge Prison last June.
Virginia Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Stanley Meador described the council's purpose.
"We want to solicit to seek their advice and allow them to educate us from their perspectives on things that we may be able to do in this space to better the DOC environment, or to take things that to help us see the things that we can't see and and help us be better at what we do," Meador said. "One of the main purposes of the council is we're being innovative by partnering with the community and allowing them to help us do our job,"
According to data provided by the administration, use of force across all VADOC facilities decreased 39%. Serious inmate-on-staff assaults decreased 56%. Lockdowns decreased 27%. Confirmed overdoses decreased 47% and suspected overdoses decreased 12%. Use of restorative housing also decreased — all with a 21% vacancy rate.
VADOC Director Joseph Walters addressed the vacancy rate and staffing challenges.
"We have focused on creating a people-first culture, reaffirming our shared commitment to important things, to public safety, professionalism, strengthening accountability, and enhancing public trust," Walters said.
Walters also said the agency is working to address the vacancy rate.
"For our correctional officers our leaders, our human resource professionals, we're working diligently to address that, to recruit new employees to come to our ideas that will help to move us forward, but it's absolutely a priority for us," Walters said.
Spanberger said the progress made in five months stands among her proudest accomplishments as governor.
"When I look at what accomplished in just five months, the lives that are safer, the families that are being heard, the practices that have changed, they are frankly among the reforms, the changes, and the progress that I am most proud of during my time as governor," Spanberger said. "It exemplifies the notion that if you see a problem, it is your obligation to fix it, and that is what we are doing. We are identifying things within DOC that's just not working, and we're fixing it."
The governor's office said it will begin inviting groups to participate in the council in the coming days. A full leadership team has also been appointed, which the administration says is held to account.
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