The City of St. Louis is looking for a new commissioner of corrections.
City officials confirmed Tuesday that Doug Burris will leave the role when his short-term contract expires. He took the position on an interim basis in January.
Mayor Cara Spencer said Tuesday that improving conditions at the City Justice Center remains a priority for her administration, noting that she has made two visits to the facility since a deadly tornado struck the city on May 16.
“We invited the entire oversight board to join us. Many members did,” Spencer said. “And just last week, we took an unannounced visit with the chair of the board and our public safety director.”
Then-Mayor Tishaura Jones hired Burris as a consultant to recommend improvements to the jail after 18 detainees had died in the facility over a five-year period. After Burris presented a report with 30 recommendations for the jail, Jones hired him as the interim commissioner of corrections.
The city posted the commissioner of corrections job opening to its website on Friday.
“We are in the process right now of interviewing those applicants that have been identified to take the leadership role as Doug Burris’ contract comes to an end here,” Spencer said.
Burris has begun implementing some of the recommendations he made earlier this year, including a revamped Prison to Prosperity initiative to help detainees overcome barriers to obtaining housing, jobs and education upon their release.
However, two more detainees have died at the CJC during Burris’s tenure, bringing the total number of detainee deaths to 20 over the past five years. The latest was Samuel Hayes Jr., who died on July 19, shortly after being placed in a restraint chair following an altercation with another detainee.
Burris came to the city after a successful tenure in a similar position in St. Louis County, where he helped improve conditions after several detainees had died in county jails.
