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History of the Department

Explore the evolution of our department as we strive for excellence in corrections.

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Helping Keep Indiana Communities Safer For 200 Years

1823 - Indiana State Legislature charters the first prison in Jeffersonville, Indiana later becoming known as Indiana State Prison South.

1859 - Indiana State Prison North is authorized to be constructed at Michigan City.

1861 - Indiana State Prison North opens.

1867 - The House of Refuge for Juvenile Offenders for males only opens in Plainfield, Indiana.

1869 - The first prison for women in the United States is approved by the legislature and is known as the Indiana Reformatory Institution for women and girls.

1899 - Legislature separates the Indiana Reformatory Institution for women and girls and renames it the Indiana Industrial School for girls and the Indiana Women’s Prison.

1909 - A hospital for insane criminals is opened at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City.

1913 - Legislature authorizes the construction of the Indiana State Farm "The Farm" in Putnamville later renamed to Putnamville Correctional Facility

1918 - A fire destroys the Indiana State Prison South in Jeffersonville.

1923 - Indiana State Prison South is rebuilt in Pendleton and renamed the Indiana Reformatory which eventually becomes Pendleton Correctional Facility.

1953 - The Indiana Department of Correction is established.

1960 - The Division of Parole Services is established within the Indiana Department of Correction in the 1960’s severing its relationship with the State Welfare Department.

1964 - The Indiana Youth Center is established and was later renamed to Plainfield Correctional Facility.

1967 - Chain O’Lakes Community Re-Entry Center is established as a result of New legislation.

1970 - Rockville Correctional Facility is established as a juvenile male facility, moving through stages of being co-ed with adolescent to only adult females.

1971 - Reception Diagnostic Center (RDC) begins construction broken into 2 phases and the South Bend Community Re-Entry Center is established.

1974 - A lawsuit filed in the US District Court forces the state to reduce overcrowding in its prisons.

1979 - Westville Correctional Facility opens.

1982 - Branchville Correctional Facility opens as a medium-security facility and has a capacity for more than 1,400 incarcerated individuals.

1984 - Ground breaks for the Correctional Industrial Complex (CIC), later renamed the Correctional Industrial Facility (CIF), located in Pendleton.

1989 - Madison Correctional Facility starts as an adult male facility later transitioning to an adult female facility.

1991 - Edinburgh Correctional Facility is founded as a minimum-security facility that houses more than 300 incarcerated individuals.

1994 - North Central Juvenile Correctional Facility opens.

1996 - Names of the facilities change to be more representative of their geography.

1997 - Ground breaks on Miami Correctional Facility and Wabash Valley Correctional Facility completes construction.

1998 - Construction begins on Pendleton Juvenile Correctional Facility (PNJCF)

2000 - Correctional Training Institute opens to train new IDOC employees and offer specialized training.

2002 - The New Castle Correctional Facility is established.

2006 - North Central Juvenile Correctional Facility merges with the Logansport Juvenile Intake/Diagnostic Facility to form the Logansport Juvenile Correctional Facility.

2015 - The Short-Term Offender Program (STOP) facility's name is officially changed to Heritage Trail Correctional Facility.

2017 - LaPorte Juvenile Correctional facility (LPJCF) is established by converting Camp Summit Boot Camp into a female juvenile facility.

2023 - Ground breaks on the new facility in Westville.

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Incarcerated Population Tablet Upgrade
The Indiana Department of Correction will soon be updating the tablets used by the incarcerated population at our facilities. Indiana State Prison will be the first to get the new tablets. The transition will begin on December 10, 2024. The remaining facilities will be upgraded after the start of the new year. To learn more visit tablets and digital correspondence located in the Communication Support Hub.