INDIANAPOLIS – Ed Buss, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Correction, has been named commissioner of the Florida Department of Corrections.

            Buss, 42, a native of LaPorte, started his career with the DOC as a correctional officer at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City in 1987. He climbed the ranks of the DOC and in 2005, Gov. Mitch Daniels named him superintendent of the Indiana State Prison. In 2008, Daniels appointed him commissioner.

            While Daniels was disappointed that Buss is leaving, he said, “It was inevitable that other states would come after top talent like Ed Buss. He was actively pursued by several new governors.”

            At the governor’s urging, Buss had launched a review of the state’s correctional system, looking for ways to reduce crowding and reform its handling of juveniles. This past week, the DOC asked the General Assembly to revise the state’s penal code to have reduced and alternative sentences for nonviolent offenders.

            The Indiana Department of Correction, which operates Indiana State Prison, Westville Correctional Facility and Camp Summit Boot Camp in LaPorte County, has 7,500 inmates and 26,000 inmates at more than 30 facilities around Indiana.