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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. The State of New Mexico is taking over operations of the Santa Rosa prison following a historic drop in inmate populations across the state.
Spokesman Eric Harrison said the state Corrections Department has signed a lease agreement to transition the Guadalupe County Correctional Facility to a publicly operated facility.
It’s the second time the state has taken over operations of a private prison in the past two years.
The medium security prison in Santa Rosa, currently run by the GEO Group, is expected to be turned over to the state by November.
Although Harrison recently told the Journal there were no plans for the state to take over the facility, he said discussions between the state and GEO over the past few weeks led to the decision.
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Prison populations have dramatically decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nationwide, there was a push to lower population levels in these congregate living settings, and now as the pandemic comes to an end, it’s unclear whether these numbers will rise again.
The pandemic caused a historic low for inmate populations in the past 20 years for New Mexico, said Eric Harrison, New Mexico Department of Corrections spokesman.
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Currently, the department is at a 74% occupancy rate, Harrison said. This means there are 5,662 inmates incarcerated with the department at this time.
An executive order required the Corrections Department to lower the prison populations, which included early release for some inmates. As of Friday, 532 inmates were released under this order since April 2020, Harrison said.