Oregon Prisons Crumbling and Face Staff Shortages, Audit Reports
Auditors said the prison is nearing obsolescence, with $861 million in deferred maintenance and eight recommendations to address safety and accessibility problems.
- On Wednesday, Oregon Secretary of State auditors released findings urging the Oregon Department of Corrections to develop a plan moving adults in custody out of prisons posing significant health and safety risks, with eight total recommendations that ODOC agreed to accept.
- Years of underinvestment have left facilities with deteriorating infrastructure, staffing shortages and obsolete IT systems, with the deferred maintenance backlog growing from $568.5 million in 2020 to nearly $861 million, as most Oregon prisons are at least 20 years old.
- The Oregon State Penitentiary, built in 1866 and expanded in the 1950s, is approaching functional obsolescence with temperatures exceeding 90 degrees in summer; some cells reached 114 degrees in 2025, while a single outdated elevator cuts incarcerated people off from services including the law library and chapel.
- Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read stated the state bears responsibility for ensuring safety, while ODOC Director Mike Reese acknowledged the challenges undermine the agency's ability to safely operate institutions and deliver effective services.
- ODOC requested $5 million during the 2025 legislative session for phase one of a replacement facility, and the legislature approved funding to modernize outdated IT systems by the end of the current two-year budget, though advocates argue lawmakers must prioritize prison infrastructure.
13 Articles
13 Articles
'Lack of funds cannot be an excuse': Audit finds Oregon State Penitentiary will soon be obsolete
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Living conditions in some of Oregon's prisons are uncomfortable at best, and deadly at worst, according to a new report released Wednesday. Auditors from the Oregon Secretary of State's Office found that many of the facilities overseen by the Oregon Department of Corrections are not only outdated, but fail to meet [...]
Audit: Oregon State Penitentiary is almost ‘functionally obsolete’
Oregon auditors say the Oregon State Penitentiary is nearing “functional obsolescence” and urged the Department of Corrections to plan to move adults in custody from facilities that pose health and safety risks.
Columbia Gorge News
Audit finds old tech, maintenance backlogs, staffing shortages plague Oregon prisons
Oregon’s prison system faces a nearly $900 million backlog in maintenance operations, lacks adequate personnel and uses old technological systems that could harm efforts at public safety, according to a new state audit. The 40-page Wednesday review of the Oregon…
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