The Minnesota Department of Corrections is a state law enforcement agency of Minnesota that operates prisons. Its headquarters is in St. Paul.
As of 2010, the state of Minnesota does not contract with private prisons. The first and only private prison in the state, the Prairie Correctional Facility, was closed by its owner in 2010.
Organization
The department was established in 1959, combining the Corrections Division of the Department of Public Welfare with the Youth Conservation Commission and the Board of Parole.
The head of the department is referred to as the commissioner, a position appointed by the governor. , the holder of this office is Paul Schnell. The Commissioner may appoint up to two Deputy Commissioners.
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! scope="col" | Facility
! scope="col" | Pop. type
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Security class
! scope="col" | 2024 Population
|-
| Faribault || Male || 1-3 || 1,958
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| Lino Lakes || Male || 1-3 || 1,019
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| Moose Lake || Male || 1-3 || 1,067
|-
| Oak Park Heights || Male || 5 || 305
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| St. Cloud || Male || Intake (1-5) || 1,028
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| Stillwater || Male || 1 & 4 || 1,232
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| Red Wing Adults || Male || 2 || 41
|-
| Rush City || Male || 4 || 966
|-
| Willow River (CIP) || Male || 1|| 109
|-
| Shakopee || Female || 1-5 || 565
|-
| Togo (CIP) || Male || 1 || 76
|-
| Red Wing || Juvenile male || ||
|}
Licensed by Minnesota Department of Corrections
thumb|Clay County Correctional Facility; Moorhead, Minnesota.
{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible" border="1"
|-
|+ Licensed by Minnesota Department of Corrections
|-
! scope="col" | Facility
! scope="col" | Pop. type
! scope="col" | No. of beds
|-
|-
| Clay County Correctional Facility || Male and Female || 220
|}
Juvenile services
The department operates juvenile correctional facilities.
Minnesota Correctional Facility – Red Wing in Red Wing serves delinquent boys. It was built in 1889. Minnesota Correctional Facility – Togo in northern Itasca County no longer serves delinquent boys and girls. The Togo facility opened in 1955 as Youth Conservation Commission (YCC). For years it was known as Thistledew Camp. In 2006 the facility's name changed to MCF-Togo, and the Thistledew designation is used to refer to the juvenile programs. Now MCF-TOGO only serves adult males as a CIP program
Programs
MINNCOR
Prison industries in Minnesota date back to the production of twine at Stillwater Prison in the 1870s. MINNCOR was created in 1994 to consolidate work from multiple sites and to centralize management functions. MINNCOR produces goods in its own facilities for sale to public-sector customers and also contracts to provide labor to private-sector businesses.
Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop
Founded in 2011, the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop is the largest literary and arts program housed within in a United States Department of Corrections. The first classes were offered at the Minnesota State Prison at Lino Lakes and by 2020 the Workshop had expanded to include all of Minnesota's adult facilities. For the first two years of existence, it operated as a residential program for men who had been convicted of property crimes. Program staff facilitated meetings at state prison facilities between victims and offenders, who then paid restitution to the victims after being paroled to the residential facility at the Minneapolis YMCA Central Building.