Idaho state prisons chief submits resignation
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho Department of Correction Director Brent Reinke is stepping down from his post after leading the department since 2007. His tenure included overseeing the fallout of a private-prison scandal, handling the first two executions since 1994 and enhancing the department's contract oversight. Reinke submitted his resignation Tuesday during a special Idaho Board of Corrections meeting. However, department spokesman Jeff Ray says the board declined to accept his resignation, but will meet sometime next week to finalize Reinke's resignation. Reinke's resignation comes after a 2013 private-prison scandal involving Corrections Corporation of America wrongly telling the state that guards were working shifts that were actually left vacant. The company has since pulled out of Idaho, but the FBI is looking into the situation for possible criminal fraud charges.
Click below for a news release from the Department of Correction.
Idaho Department of Correction
News Release
IDOC director moving on following long career in state government
BOISE, November 25, 2014 – After 18 years as an administrator for the State of Idaho, Brent Reinke is stepping down as director of the Idaho Department of Correction. Reinke submitted his letter of resignation today to the Idaho Board of Correction.
“It’s been an incredible run, but it’s time for me to serve in a different way,” Reinke wrote in the letter.
For 10 years, Reinke served as director of the Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections. In 2007, he was appointed director of the Idaho Department of Correction, which incarcerates and supervises adult, felony offenders in Idaho. Reinke is the longest-serving director in IDOC’s history.
The chairman of the Board of Correction, Robin Sandy, says Reinke is a dedicated public servant and the entire board has great respect and appreciation for his commitment to improving the lives of the people of Idaho.
“For the past 18 years straight, Brent has logged long hours and he deserves a break from the great responsibility that falls on the shoulders of a correctional director,” said Robin Sandy, chairman of the Board of Correction. “While he has chosen to take a new path, he has much more to contribute, and we’re looking forward to seeing what he does next.”
Kevin Kempf will serve as acting director starting tomorrow. Kempf is a veteran correctional professional who rose through the ranks as a correctional officer, probation and parole officer and prison warden. Kempf currently serves as IDOC’s deputy director.
