Concerns over conditions inside Arizona state prisons over no air conditioning (2024)

“It’s like a hot box.”

That’s the message shared with us by some women describing the conditions inside Perryville Women’s Prison.

The ABC15 Investigators have been receiving emails from people across the state worried about conditions inside Arizona prisons because of the lack of air conditioning inside many of the units.

Shad Brown is one of the people who reached out about what’s happening inside Perryville. He shared a list of concerns that were passed along to him from inmates inside the prison as we have been under Excessive Heat Warnings in Maricopa County.

The Perryville Women’s Prison currently has four units that have no A/C, according to the Arizona Department of Corrections Rehabilitation & Reentry.

ADCRR has posted a website to update the status of installing HVAC systems inside prisons across the state.

For Perryville Women’s Prison, the three units with A/C include Piestewa, Santa Rosa, and San Carlos units, while the four others are still listed as in “process.”

The HVAC plan lists that several other prison complexes are awaiting approval — those include the Tucson, Yuma, and Lewis complexes.

According to ADCRR’s extreme heat safety and relief strategy, prison officials say they are working to keep staff and inmates safe by:

• Providing cooling areas for staff and the incarcerated population, utilizing misting stations, and adding more (where feasible);
• Ensuring that existing HVAC systems are fully operational;
• Providing free ice to the incarcerated population, as applicable;
• Relaxing grooming and dress standards;
• Maintaining ice water supply for staff and the incarcerated population; and
• Completing health care checks on incarcerated individuals.

Another man whose wife is housed inside Perryville reached out about the use of a swamp cooler inside her housing unit, saying, “the rooms were temping out at 96 degrees with no real air moving other than the hot air coming out of the swamp coolers, it’s unbearable,” he said.
Twice a day, prison staff are taking temperature readings of cells to see how hot each unit is.

Brown said he’s also learned of concerns about women not receiving access to free ice inside the prison.

“They do like ice twice a day and it costs them two bucks and when they get the ice, it's three-quarters melted out of the little dispensary.”

He went on to add by the time they get back to their cells, the ice is usually melted. “It’s gone,” he added.

Prison officials tell ABC15 that if temperatures exceed 85 degrees, then ice is free.

In an emailed response, ADCRR wrote: “In housing areas that do not reach this temperature threshold, ice can be purchased for a small cost. As noted on our website, individuals at Perryville’s Santa Cruz Unit have access to free ice daily (ice machines have been installed on Yards A, B, C, and D) as that HVAC conversion project is still underway.”

They went on to add that women at the Santa Cruz unit have been given styrofoam ice chests if they did not have one.

ADCRR wrote by email: “We can confirm that Director Thornell and other leaders from ADCRR have visited ASPC-Perryville in the past month multiple times to oversee the heat mitigation measures that are actively underway.
ADCRR is committed to ensuring a safe and healthy environment for incarcerated individuals, our staff, and all who interface with ADCRR complexes. Our Extreme Heat Safety and Relief Strategy [corrections.az.gov] remains a top priority for the Department.

The Department is aware that the National Weather Service has issued an "Excessive Heat Warning" for much of Arizona through July 12. During this time and in the weeks ahead, we will remain vigilant and continue taking daily action to help people stay safe, cool, and healthy.”

To read their extreme heat plan, you can click here.

Have a tip? Email Investigator Nicole Grigg at nicole.grigg@abc15.com.

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