Oklahoma Department of Corrections Director Steven Harpe, one of the highest paid officials in state government, will step down on Sept. 30 to take a private sector job.
“I’m extremely proud of my time with ODOC and the State of Oklahoma,” Harpe said in an Aug. 27 written statement. “Working with the dedicated employees at the agency and interacting with the inmates, learning their stories, is an experience I will cherish forever. I know the agency will continue to innovate and be at the forefront of modernizing the corrections profession.”
Harpe, who previously worked as chief information officer for Gov. Kevin Stitt’s Gateway Mortgage Group, got his start in state government in 2019 as director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services. In October 2022, Stitt appointed Harpe executive director of the Department of Corrections, despite him having no law enforcement or corrections background. In his nearly three years as director, Harpe spearheaded efforts to eliminate private prisons and improve technology available to prison staff. Oklahoma phased out its last private prison in July, thanks to the $312 million purchase of a sprawling prison complex in Lawton. More than 1,000 body cameras were deployed to prison staff last October, correlating with a drop in Prison Rape Elimination Act complaints.
Critics decried Harpe’s lack of prison experience as a contributor to persistent staffing issues and high-profile incidents at a handful of facilities, including the Lawton Correctional Facility and Great Plains Correctional Facility in Hinton.
His salary was also a point of contention. Harpe makes $275,000 per year, comparable to directors of much larger prison systems in California and Texas. Stitt has previously defended substantial salary increases for agency directors, saying competitive pay is needed for the state to recruit and retain the best and brightest.
Chief of Staff Justin Farris, a longtime Department of Corrections employee who started as a correctional officer in 1999, will take over as interim director effective Oct. 1.
Have thoughts on Harpe’s resignation or another topic? Let me know at Kross@Oklahomawatch.org.
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