(1) Supervise and be responsible for the administration of the Department of Correctional Services;

(2) Establish, consolidate, or abolish any administrative subdivision within the department and appoint and remove for cause the heads thereof and delegate appropriate powers and duties to them;

(3) Establish and administer policies and programs for the operation of the facilities in the department and for the custody, control, safety, correction, and rehabilitation of persons committed to the department;

(4) Appoint and remove the chief executive officer of each facility and delegate appropriate powers and duties to him or her;

(5) Appoint and remove employees of the department and delegate appropriate powers and duties to them;

(6) Adopt and promulgate rules and regulations for the management, correctional treatment, and rehabilitation of persons committed to the department, the administration of facilities, and the conduct of officers and employees under his or her jurisdiction;

(7) Designate the place of confinement of persons committed to the department subject to section 83-176;

(8) Establish and administer policies that ensure that complete and up-to-date electronic records are maintained for each person committed to the department and which also ensure privacy protections. Electronic records shall include programming recommendations, program completions, time spent in housing other than general population, and medical records, including mental and behavioral health records;

(9) Collect, develop, and maintain statistical information concerning persons committed to the department, sentencing practices, and correctional treatment as may be useful in penological research or in the development of treatment programs;

(10) Provide training programs designed to equip employees for duty in the facilities and related services of the department and to raise and maintain the educational standards, level of performance, and safety of such employees;

(11) Notify law enforcement agencies of upcoming furloughs as required by section 83-173.01;

(12) Issue or authorize the issuance of a warrant for the arrest of any person committed to the department who has escaped from the custody of the department; and

(13) Exercise all powers and perform all duties necessary and proper in carrying out his or her responsibilities.

Source:Laws 1969, c. 817, § 4, p. 3074; Laws 1973, LB 563, § 41; Laws 1979, LB 322, § 64; Laws 1980, LB 794, § 3; Laws 1981, LB 545, § 42; Laws 1986, LB 481, § 1; Laws 2015, LB598, § 24; Laws 2023, LB50, § 45.

Annotations

Prison authorities had no right, absent statutory authority, to prescribe and enforce regulations authorizing forfeiture of money discovered in the possession of inmates as a punitive measure and their actions in so doing violated due process. Sell v. Parratt, 548 F.2d 753 (8th Cir. 1977).