OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen announced Monday that Rob Jeffreys as the state's next director of the Department of Correctional Services.
He was chosen among seven interviews held in the months-long nationwide search to lead a prison system that is among the most overcrowded in the country.
Jeffreys had held the same position in Illinois since June 2019. He also worked in Ohio's correction department for more than two decades.
Overcrowding
In the last quarter of 2022, the state's facilities were at 137% of its design capacity (based on a facility's plan) or 110% operational capacity (based on staffing).
"We're one of the more overcrowded systems in the nation if not number one," said Ryan Spohn, director of the Nebraska Center for Justice Research at the University of Nebraska Omaha. He said Nebraska is the only state that did not see its level of imprisonment drop or change any practices during the pandemic.
Jeffreys was asked about overcrowding on Monday. He said he needs to get on the ground before answering with specifics, but said, "we still need to increase the infrastructure of our agency along with looking at what programming and what re-entry efforts we can do to improve people's likelihood to stay out in the community."
Spohn said he hopes the new director will work with the Legislature on the factors for Nebraska's prison population that are outside of the Department of Correction's control.
"It's possible that we could look at some of our sentencing and what is leading to non-violent, non-sex offender individuals coming into our prisons at such a high rate," he said.
Reducing the return rate
Reducing how often individuals return after release through re-entry programs is something Jeffreys mentioned often. In Illinois, he started the state's first Office of Reentry within the department, according toa press release announcing his departure.
"We gotta make sure that we're preparing people to be successful when they (are released)," Jeffreys said in Monday's introduction.
A new prison?
Jeffreys could oversee the construction of a new prison to replace Nebraska's aging State Penitentiary in Lincoln. He said he has experience building a prison from scratch in Ohio. He said modern prisons include natural light and space for re-entry programming.
A report projected that Nebraska may even need to build two prisons on it's current projection.
"We don't believe Nebraska should be building a new prison every seven, eight years," said Spohn, of UNO's research center. "We should be finding alternatives."
Staffing
Nebraska's system was in a "staffing emergency" between October 2019 and before it was lifted in June 2022, according to the Nebraska Examiner.
And if February, a deal between the state and the correction's officers union was announced.
Jeffreys cited staffing as a nationwide struggle for correctional systems. He highlighted staff wellness as an important issue.
Why leave Illinois?
Jeffreys said he got a call from a recruiter on coming to Nebraska and had a "great conversation" via Zoom with Pillen, Lt. Gov. Joe Kelly, and staff. He said he was impressed that Pillen cleared his schedule to meet with him in person after several airline delays made him arrive to Nebraska late.
"I think it was a perfect fit," he said.
Jeffreys will start on April 17 and make $210,000 each year.
