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| Company Providing Prison Fences Not Registered in Iowa |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 07/30/2003 |
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The company that supplied a trouble-prone fence at a state prison in which two inmates escaped has not registered to do business in the state since 1998. Safeguards Technology Inc., based in New Jersey, has not had a certificate of authority to do business in Iowa since Aug. 3, 2000, when the state revoked its certificate for failure to update information. Even without the certification, Safeguards has contracted with the state for more than $3 million worth of work at state prisons in Fort Madison, Anamosa and Mount Pleasant. The state code requires any out-of-state corporation to apply for a certificate to do business. The application gives the state information about the company which must be updated every two years. Safeguards President Jeff Curtis did not return phone calls seeking comment. State officials said they plan to investigate the issue. The Iowa Medical and Classification Center at Oakdale, the first stop for all inmates as they enter the state's corrections system, had a taught-wire fence installed by Safeguards. Even though the high-tech fencing system was plagued by problems, the state signed off on the project in November and paid the company $657,000. Shortly after prison staff disconnected the fence because of a construction project on the prison grounds two inmates, Omar Wilkins, 19, convicted of first-degree murder and Jeffrey Hershberger, 38, sentenced to 15 years for theft, climbed the fence and escaped. Both were arrested separately in Atlanta weeks after their April 12 escape. Gov. Tom Vilsack scolded the prison for not taking added precautions and sought a review of all prisons. |
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