Spencer Turley, deputy executive director who oversees Division of Prison Operations, told the podcast the department is prioritizing operational stabilization, stronger coaching and targeted training as a majority of staff are relatively new.

Turley gave facility-level figures to illustrate scale: the Utah State Correctional Facility in Salt Lake houses "just over 3,800 inmates" with roughly "over 900 staff" when full; the Central Utah Correctional Facility in Gunnison houses about 1,800 inmates with just under 400 staff; and the inmate placement program houses roughly 1,600 inmates supported by about 26 staff members.

Turley said one immediate organizational goal is to "get the sergeants off the schedule at the prison" so sergeants can focus on leadership and coaching rather than shift assignments. He also said more than 50% of current staff have less than two years’ experience, so the department is emphasizing training and mentoring so newer officers perform duties "the right way" rather than the easy way.

On safety, Turley said the department will expand vulnerability drills beyond fire and earthquake scenarios to include operational drills tailored to prisons and community correctional centers. He said the Safety, Risk and Standards Bureau and standards monitors are working across facilities and in the community to identify and address risks.

Turley also described work by the Professional Standards Bureau to improve policy approval processes and background investigation procedures, particularly to mirror stronger certified-staff vetting on the professional staff side.

Leadership framed these changes as part of a broader stabilization objective: place people in the right roles for longer, provide training and tools, and improve supervision so the agency becomes ‘‘excellent at the things that we’re supposed to be excellent at.’’