Lexington Assessment and Reception Center
{{Short description|Maximum-security state prison in Lexington, Oklahoma}}
{{Infobox Prison
| prison_name = Lexington Assessment and Reception Center (LARC)
| image =
| pushpin_map = USA Oklahoma
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Oklahoma
| coordinates = {{coord|35|00|59|N|97|13|06|W|format=dms|display=title|type:landmark}}
| status = Operational
| classification = Maximum
| capacity =
| population =
| population_as_of =
| opened = {{Start date and age|1978}}
| closed =
| managed_by = Oklahoma Department of Corrections
| warden = Kameron Harvanek
| street-address = 15151 State Highway 39
| city = Lexington, Oklahoma
| zip = 73051
| country = USA
}}
Lexington Assessment and Reception Center (LARC) is a maximum-security state prison for men located in Lexington, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, owned and operated by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.{{cite web|title=Lexington Assessment and Reception Center |url=https://www.ok.gov/doc/Organization/Field_Operations/West_Institutions/Lexington_Assessment_&_Reception_Center.html |website=Oklahoma Department of Corrections |accessdate=9 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170330233502/https://www.ok.gov/doc/Organization/Field_Operations/West_Institutions/Lexington_Assessment_%26_Reception_Center.html |archive-date=30 March 2017 |url-status=dead }} The LARC complex also hosts the medium-security Lexington Correctional Center and the Rex Thompson Minimum Security Unit.
History
It was first opened in 1978 and has a capacity of 1450 inmates. In May 2015, state officials said LARC was operating at 112% of capacity, and that overcrowding and understaffing had created security issues.{{cite news|last=Cameron|first=Alex|title=Oklahoma DOC Trying To Manage Overcrowded, Understaffed Prison|url=http://www.news9.com/story/29068851/oklahoma-doc-trying-to-manage-overcrowded-understaffed-prison|accessdate=9 August 2016|issue=14 May 2015|publisher=News9.com (Oklahoma) }}
Five days out of the week, minimum security offenders work within the Prisoner Public Work Program or the City of Lexington, City of Noble, Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Oklahoma Correctional Industries, and the Oklahoma Military Department.
Medium security offenders can attend the Lexington Career Tech Skills Center on the grounds of the facility. Second Chance Sanctuary, an animal rescue, in conjunction with Friends of Folks, operate a program for long-term offenders to train dogs for donation to nursing homes or for use as companion dogs.
Prisoner life
=Education=
In 2020, a campus of the Oklahoma Baptist University was established in the prison. Chris Forbes, [https://www.baptistmessenger.com/obu-art-and-prison-divinity-students-transform-prison-walls-into-a-sacred-hall-for-study-of-the-word/ OBU art and prison divinity students transform prison walls into a sacred hall for study of the word], baptistmessenger.com, USA, June 8, 2022
Notable Inmates
References
{{reflist}}
{{State prisons in Oklahoma}}
Category:Buildings and structures in Cleveland County, Oklahoma
Category:1978 establishments in Oklahoma
{{Oklahoma-gov-stub}}