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Arizona prisons have new security protocols after inmates escaped in Florence

After two inmates evaded authorities for five days in January, the state has implemented new safety measures at Arizona's prisons to better prevent another escape.

PHOENIX — Editor's Note: The above video is from an earlier broadcast in January. 

The Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry announced Friday new safety measures it was implementing to better prevent inmates from escaping the state's prisons. 

After two inmates escaped from a Florence prison in January, the state reviewed its protocols and came up with some changes it's aiming to make at its 10 public facilities.  

The new measures include installing additional fencing and detection systems, the implementation of enhanced storage system requirements, and annual inspections from the Inspector General.  

The changes come nearly a year after two inmates from a medium-security unit in Florence escaped by using tools to cut through fencing. 

John B. Charpiot and David T. Harmon broke out of prison on Jan. 23 and were apprehended five days later in a cotton field near Coolidge. The inmates were each serving lengthy prison sentences for crimes that included kidnapping, burglary and sexual assault charges.  

The inmates were caught shortly after having an altercation with the Alvarez family in Coolidge. Two members of that family died in August after a gas line exploded near the family's farmhouse. 

Charpiot and Harmon are currently in the custody of ADCRR.

“Public safety is always our top priority,” said ADCRR Director David Shinn. “In order to safeguard against such an event happening in the future, we immediately began a wide-ranging, in-depth review and investigation into the circumstances surrounding the escape and we have implemented several system-wide changes going forward.”  

Credit: Coolidge police
David Harmon, one of the inmates who escaped in January from a Florence facility, after he and an accomplice were caught near Coolidge.

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