Letter from the Commissioner

---

As this report reflects on the Indiana Department of Correction’s milestones for 2023, I want everyone to know how proud I am of this agency. We have achieved so many lasting accomplishments both department-wide and on an individual level with our incarcerated and releasing population. We also proved that we can come together and support one another even in the most challenging of times.

I began my first full year as Commissioner still learning to see our agency from a new point of view. It was a year filled with learning from the agency’s staff and sharing in their achievements. It was a year of getting to showcase on a national level the great work we do here in Indiana. And it was a year of us supporting each other during some of the most difficult times this agency has faced.

In April, we mourned the loss of our colleague Mike Keel. Mike succumbed to injuries he received from assault by an incarcerated individual. Some of us knew Mike well, some of us just knew of him or his work. However, everyone in the IDOC was impacted by his death. Across the state, we felt the loss of one of our own and we came together to support his family and each other.

In May, the IDOC reached a major milestone. DELTA, our new online management software for the incarcerated population was launched. After years of development, we were able to merge the functionality of multiple systems, some decades old, into a single innovative system. From user testing, bug fixes, and training, it took so many people in our agency to make this happen.

Finally, in September, we marked what is arguably our most significant milestone of the year. We broke ground on a new correctional facility. It was another project that for years, if not decades, was just an idea. Now we can finally see it taking shape, literally.

Much of the work this agency accomplishes goes unnoticed by many Hoosiers. I’m proud of the work we do, and I know that anyone who takes the time to read this report will see how this agency overcomes challenges and makes great strides toward public safety.

Thank you for being a part of what we do,

Christina Reagle, Commissioner