About 10 percent of the prisoner population of the Golden Grove Correctional Facility has been transferred to prisons in the U.S. mainland, according to a statement Friday by Gov. John deJongh, Jr.

According to the announcement, 66 of Golden Grove ‘s more than 600 prisoners were airlifted in an operation that began around 4 a.m. Friday morning; the plane was airborne just after 9 a.m., the announcement reported.

The transfer is intended to improve security at Golden Grove by reducing the prison’s population, part of an ongoing effort to address a recent rash of violence at the institution.

The federal government filed a motion earlier this month to take over management of the prison, which its motion said was overrun with violence, drugs and contraband. The suit was the latest step in a 25-year dispute between the federal government and the territory over unconstitutional conditions in the prison, which was not designed to house the more than 600 inmates it has been.

But Friday’s transfer was planned months before the federal government indicated its motion, the governor said.

“By moving some of our prisoners to off-island institutions we can continue to improve conditions at Golden Grove. At the same time, we must be mindful that those inmates sent to prisons on the U.S. mainland are Virgin Islanders, and deserve humane treatment, including access to rehabilitation programs and all the rights they are legally entitled to,” the governor added.

The relocated inmates will be placed in penitentiary facilities in Virginia and Florida, according to the news release. The 66 men were selected by Virgin Islands Bureau of Corrections officials who conducted a rigorous screening process and analyzed several factors that affect overall security at the institution.

The transfer allows for the consolidation of Golden Grove’s inmate population and transforms the prison into a facility designed to reduce conflict among its inmates, according to Friday’s statement.

The transferred prisoners will still have access to educational, vocational and recreational programs, as well as medical and psychological care, religious services, individual counseling, work release and jail work programs, the governor said.

The V.I. Bureau of Corrections will provide opportunities for inmates sent out of the territory to talk with their families by video-conferencing. Family members of transferred inmates will be notified in the next few days and will be provided with contact information for their loved ones.