Work Crews
The goal of the Department of Corrections (DOC) community work crew programs is to provide the opportunity to develop good work habits, expand work skills and abilities, work off ordered community restitution, and provide a service to the community.
AHCC incarcerated individual assisting with a controlled burn for Kalispel Tribe.
Types of Crews
Community Restitution
The Class V: Community Restitution Programs are subject to supervision by the Department and designed and managed to enable individuals on community supervision to work off all or part of a community restitution order as ordered by the sentencing court or the Department (DOC Policy 700.000 (pdf), RCW 72.09.100).
Community Service
The Class IV: Community Work Industries off-site work crew program is operated by the Department and designed and managed to provide services in the community at a reduced cost. The services are provided to public agencies or nonprofit organizations (DOC Policy 700.400 (pdf), RCW 72.09.100).
The crews typically provide services in farming, reforestation, wood-cutting, land clearing, processing of foods in state canneries, forest firefighting, forest fire suppression and prevention, stream clearance, and watershed improvement. Crews also provide services in the development of parks and recreational areas, and work to conserve the natural resources and protect and improve the public domain and construction of water supply facilities to state institutions (RCW 72.64.050).
Incarcerated individuals in this program reside in facilities owned by, contracted for, or licensed by the Department. A unit of local government provides supervision services without charge to the state and pays the incarcerated individual's wage. Incarcerated individuals who work in off-site work crews do so at their own choice and receive a gratuity which does not exceed the wage paid for work of a similar nature in the locality in which the industry is located (RCW 72.09.100).
Community Partnerships
The off-site community service program uses contracts to create partnerships with federal, state, county, city, and community government and non-profit groups to employ the incarcerated individual work crews. Currently the following facilities participate in off-site work crew partnerships: Airway Heights Corrections Center (AHCC), Cedar Creek Corrections Center (CCCC), and Olympic Corrections Center (OCC).
Dept. of Natural Resources Work Crews (May 2018) |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prison | Fire-Season | Off-Season | ||||
| AHCC | 4 | 4 | ||||
| CCCC | 11 | 9 | ||||
| OCC | 9 | 7 | ||||
Quick Facts
- Each work crew consists of 10 incarcerated individuals.
- The fire season is April thru September. During the fire season there are approximately 330 incarcerated individuals working on 33 crews.
- The off-season is September thru March. During the off-season there are approximately 270 incarcerated individuals working on 27 crews.
Current Community Partners
Salvation Army
- Work Crew Services: Litter pick up, habitat restoration, landscaping, warehouse work, and snow removal.
- Facility Partners: AHCC
Center for Natural Land Management
- Work Crew Services: Prairie restoration
- Facility Partners: CCCC
Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
The DNR Correctional Camps Program was established by the Legislature in 1939 (Chapter 220, SHB 242 (pdf)). Corrections has established contracts with DNR to provide incarcerated individuals to assist in forest firefighting, fire suppression and prevention, and other incidents and significant events. The incarcerated individuals that work on DNR crews receive training and job skills in firefighting, chainsaw operation, silviculture practices, sew shop skills, as well as machine and auto mechanics. DNR operates crews at four state prison facilities.
- Work Crew Services: Litter pick up, habitat restoration, graffiti removal, landscaping, and fire fighting, suppression and prevention.
- Facility Partners: AHCC, CCCC, and OCC
Department of Transportation
- Work Crew Services: Litter pick up, debris removal, garbage cleanup, filling sand bags, hand shoveling debris, landscaping, prune trees, pull weeds, cut back brush and cut grass, sweep sidewalks/parking lots.
- Facility Partners: CCCC
Hoh Native Tribe
- Work Crew Services: Trail clearing and sandbagging
- Facility Partners: OCC
Pacific Coast Salmon Coalition
- Work Crew Services: Habitat restoration, rechanneling streambeds, planting trees alongside streams/rivers, distributing salmon carcasses to promote stream health, and sandbags.
- Facility Partners: OCC
Port of Olympia
- Work Crew Services: Landscaping, prune trees, pull weeds, cut back brush and cut grass, sweep sidewalks/parking lots.
- Facility Partners: CCCC
Quileute Native Tribe
- Work Crew Services: Trail clearing and sandbagging
- Facility Partners: OCC
Thurston County Fire Departments
- Work Crew Services: Landscaping, prune trees, pull weeds, cut back brush and cut grass, sweep sidewalks/parking lots.
- Facility Partners: CCCC
Thurston County Parks
- Work Crew Services: Landscaping, prune trees, pull weeds, cut back brush and cut grass, sweep sidewalks/parking lots
- Facility Partners: CCCC
Washington State Parks
- Work Crew Services: Landscaping, prune trees, pull weeds, cut back brush and cut grass, sweep sidewalks/parking lots.
- Facility Partners: CCCC
Incarcerated Individual Work Crew Program Reports
Per RCW 72.09.100, the two incarcerated individual work classes cited below require statutory reporting:
Class III Correctional Industries Quarterly Detail Statements 700-SR001
(3)(b) The department shall prepare quarterly detail statements showing where work crews worked, what correctional industry class, and the hours worked.
Class IV Community Work Industries Quarterly Detail Statements 700-SR002
(4)(b) The department shall prepare quarterly detail statements showing where work crews worked, what correctional industry class, and the hours worked.