The Arizona Department of Corrections (ADOC) opened four new low-custody prison units in December, expanding its number of beds by 1,000. Two units were opened in the Arizona State Prison Complexes at Douglas and Tucson and two were opened at Perryville.

Funding for the beds was approved during the 2003-second special session of the Legislature. ADOC employees suggested names for all the units. Two of the units were named for Arizonans recently killed whom corrections staff admired.

Ribbon-cutting ceremonies preceded the transfer of low custody inmates to the facilities.

The units are:

ASPC-Douglas: The Eggers Unit is a 200-bed facility for low custody male inmates. Forty-nine full-time employees staff it. It was named to honor corrections officers Brad Eggers and Delyn Eggers, who worked at the Douglas complex before they were slain in their home last December.

ASPC-Tucson: The Catalina Unit is a 300-bed facility for low custody male inmates. Fifty-three full-time employees staff it. It is named after the mountain range near Tucson. Most of the other nine units at ASPC-Tucson are also named after Arizona mountain ranges.

ASPC-Perryville: The Piestewa Unit is a 200-bed facility for low custody female inmates. Forty-eight full-time employees staff it.

The staff at Perryville suggested the unit’s name because they admired Army Specialist Lori Piestewa’s service to her country, according to the DOC. She was the first female Native American soldier to die in combat. A number of corrections staff have served in the military, or are deployed overseas.

The Santa Rosa Unit is a 300-bed facility for low custody male inmates, staffed by 56 full-time employees. It is named after an Indian community in southeastern Arizona.

The units house low-custody inmates within two years of release. Inmates will work full time, many performing community service for state and local agencies. —