Arizona official: State didn’t detect prison flaws

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona’s prison director says a privately operated prison where three inmates escaped last month, setting off a massive search, had poor operational practices that led to the unstaffing of a perimeter post.

The state Corrections Department released a report on security at the Kingman prison Thursday.

Corrections Department Director Charles Ryan says numerous false alarms led to lax responses by prison personnel, and he also cited operational practices that led to a gap in permitted staffing during an evening when the July 30 escape occurred.

The three escapees from the medium-security unit included two convicted of murder.

Two of the three convicts have been recaptured, but one remains at large along with a woman accused of aiding the escape by tossing wire cutters into the prison.