We value your privacy

We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience, serve personalized ads or content, and analyze our traffic. By clicking "Accept All", you consent to our use of cookies.

Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Beyond the Crime Scene
  • Home
  • News
  • True Crime Stories
  • Videos
  • Podcast
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • True Crime Stories
  • Videos
  • Podcast
No Result
View All Result
Beyond the Crime Scene
No Result
View All Result
Home News

More Prisoners, Fewer Workers: Inside State Prisons’ Staffing Crisis

by
January 10, 2024
in News
0
189
SHARES
1.5k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


The Marshall Project is a nonprofit newsroom covering the U.S. criminal justice system. Sign up for our newsletters to receive all of our stories and analysis.

When Andrew Phillips took a job as a corrections officer at Georgia’s Smith State Prison in 2021, he was desperate for work. Shortly after he started, he noticed a problem. The prison housed about 1,500 men, and each shift was supposed to have 30 officers to guard them, but most days there were half that, according to Phillips.

He said he and his colleagues often had to work 16-hour days, five days a week. “We just had no energy, we didn’t have the ability to care,” Phillips said. The mandatory overtime, combined with constant violence against both staff and incarcerated people, led officers to quit, he said, “The place was too brutal, too disgusting.”

Prisons across the country have long struggled to recruit and retain staff, but the most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows the situation is particularly dire. In 2022, the number of people working for state prisons hit its lowest mark in over two decades.

Meanwhile, state prison populations are rising. The number of people behind bars steadily declined starting in 2013 and then drastically dropped during the pandemic, when states released people to ease dangerous COVID-19 conditions, and court systems slowed. But by 2022, the number of people held in state prisons started to bounce back to over 1 million people.

Some states argue they don’t need as many workers as they did, because they closed facilities or privatized services such as health care. And not all corrections staff work inside prisons; some state corrections departments include probation and parole, juvenile facilities or jails. Still, nearly every state saw a drop in the number of people working in corrections, at a time when prison populations in many places are rebounding.

As prison populations rebound, state correctional workers continue to decline

The number of people who work in state correctional systems — including prison guards, administrative staff, parole and probation officers — has dropped by 10% since 2019. Meanwhile, the population in state prisons is rebounding after a drop at the start of the pandemic.

Source: Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll, the Census Bureau

Georgia, where Phillips worked, had half of its correctional officer jobs empty last year, according to state records. In one case, prison employees were so overstretched, they didn’t notice a dead and decomposing body for five days, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The situation has become so bad that West Virginia, Florida and New Hampshire have called in National Guard troops to provide support. In Wisconsin, The New York Times reported staffing ratios kept a prison in lockdown, confining people to their cells for months on end, without visits from family, with no access to the law library and little to no time outdoors for recreation.

And in Missouri, one incarcerated man pulled out his own teeth in 2021 when he was unable to secure a dental appointment due to staffing problems, according to the Jefferson City News Tribune.

The bleak conditions created by too few prison workers can lead to more violence. Locked in their cells for long stretches, people are more likely to act out against staff and fellow prisoners. Short staffing in Mississippi has contributed to assaults against officers. In Nevada, a union for correctional officers blamed the murder of an incarcerated person on low staffing.

Brian Dawe, national director of One Voice United, an advocacy organization for correctional officers, said overworked and sleep-deprived staff are also more likely to use excessive force against incarcerated people. “It’s a constant battle in your head every single time you walk in that door,” Dawe said.

The dynamic creates a spiral, where poor conditions make prison employees quit, which then leads to worse conditions, causing more staff to leave. “It becomes cyclical. You start getting mandatory overtime, which means you miss more and more time with your family,” Dawe said. “You are demanded more and more to be on the job, which burns you out and causes people to leave.”

The drop in correctional workers mirrors an overall trend in government employment, which has seen decreases in workers across all sectors. But the Census Bureau data shows that corrections has seen a more marked decline than in any other state government sector in recent years.

One way to deal with the shrinking staff levels would be to decrease the prison population, so that fewer employees are needed. But in many states, prison populations have been rebounding back to pre-pandemic numbers as court operations resume. And state legislators, governors, parole boards and prosecutors in many jurisdictions aren’t taking action to lower the number of people behind bars.

That leaves prison officials straining to find new ways to increase staffing levels. Joan Heath, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Corrections wrote in an email, “[T]he role of a correctional officer is challenging, compared to other job opportunities available from which individuals may choose; however, we will continue in our recruitment efforts showing potential employees that working with Corrections is a good, rewarding career.”

She said the state has partnered with an ad agency, which has distributed recruitment videos via mass media and cable television.

Other states across the country have also tried new solutions to tackle the problem. Several lowered their hiring age requirements for corrections officers to 18; others have created recruitment ads for social media. At least 32 states have also increased pay.

For example, Karen Pojmann, spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Corrections, said after the state “invested more than $175 million in staff pay increases since 2017, boosting salaries for most positions by over 40%,” it has since seen a growth in applications.

A White man with short brown hair, wearing a fleece jacket, stands in front of a tree on an overcast day, looking off to the side.
A close-up of light skin-toned hands, resting on the lap of a person wearing beige pants and a maroon shirt.

Phillips said when he worked in Georgia’s prisons, he struggled to make ends meet. The state recently improved pay and ramped up hiring, but still struggles with retention. Over the last six months, Georgia hired around 700 staffers, but at the same time, many left, and the net gain was only about 250.

But corrections workers say that pay alone is not enough to retain staff if prisons also neglect fixing the poor working conditions that lead to officers quitting: mandated overtime, poor mental health support and violence.

About a year after he started, Phillips worked a particularly difficult shift. The electricity on the wing had been out all day. In order to turn it on, Phillips had to go outside and flip the breaker. But, he said, he was the only officer assigned to an area with 600 men. Tensions were already high, and some people, many diagnosed with serious mental illness, lit their mattresses on fire. The smoke was thick and yellow. Phillips ran for a fire extinguisher, but it was empty. The next canister he tried was empty, too.

Men began throwing feces and urine at him as he scrambled to put out the flames. “You can’t really blame them for losing their mind. And especially when they’re treated so poorly,” Phillips said.

Eventually, Phillips found a working extinguisher and put out the fire, but just then, he got a call on the radio: He needed to accompany an incarcerated man who had just been stabbed to the hospital.

Phillips’ throat burned from inhaling smoke, and he was covered in filth. He’d worked 11 days straight and had no clean clothes, so another officer gave him the shirt off his back to go to the hospital. “Sixteen hours later, I got to go home. And then I was supposed to be back the next day.”

Phillips resigned, but administrators convinced him to stay on for another few months in a different position. He left permanently in February 2023.

From 2019 to 2022, corrections staff decreased by about one-third in Georgia. During that time, the state’s spending on overtime for prison workers ballooned to more than $4 million, more than 11 times as high as the pre-pandemic level.

A large sign on a hillside from the Missouri Department of Corrections, reads “Now hiring. Secure your future now. Great pay and benefits.”

Heath, the Georgia Department of Corrections’ spokeswoman, would not comment on Phillips’ account, but said trends are moving in the right direction in recent months, with turnover rates dropping.

Related articles

The 32-year-old miscreant hopped behind the wheel of the B6 bus at the Ulmer Park Bus Depot on Harway Avenue near Bay 38th Street in Bath Beach around 12:40 a.m., according to authorities and sources.

Man hops behind wheel of MTA bus at NYC depot, drives off with operator on board: cops

May 20, 2025
Moms left young kids in a car to go drinking in a tequila bar

Moms left young kids in a car to go drinking in a tequila bar

May 20, 2025

But people who are currently serving time or who were recently released from Georgia prisons said the situation remains dangerous. In interviews and correspondence with The Marshall Project, four incarcerated people described how understaffing affected nearly every aspect of their lives.

They said they endured long waits for essential medical appointments and went weeks without getting recreation time. Something as simple as getting a tampon was difficult because there wasn’t enough staff to hand out hygiene supplies.

“It’s absolutely detrimental to everyone’s mental stability,” said one woman who was recently released from prison in Georgia and asked not to be named for fear it would affect her employment prospects. She said the conditions led to depression and fights. In fiscal year 2023, there were 40 homicides and 38 suicides in Georgia state prisons, according to department records.

Terrica Redfield Ganzy is executive director of the Southern Center for Human Rights, which sued the Georgia Department of Corrections in 2021 over poor prison conditions.

She said the state needlessly incarcerates people for technical parole violations, even as it faces a major staffing crisis. Ganzy also argues the state could release more elderly and sick prisoners without risking public safety.

“One of the things that I think people are starting to agree on now is that we’re not likely in the … foreseeable future to be able to fully staff. We’re incarcerating people at a high rate, and the staffing numbers are just not keeping up,” Ganzy said.

Dawe, with One Voice United, said it may surprise the public to learn that many correctional officers support this approach. He said releasing older people and those with mental illness could significantly decrease the burden on officers, who have no control over who is incarcerated, but deal with the fallout.

Whatever the fix, Dawe said the lives and well-being of both staff and incarcerated people are on the line. “We’re all in the same toxic environment.”



Source link

Share76Tweet47
Previous Post

Eric Adams is following in the footsteps of past one-term NYC mayors

Next Post

Autistic man stabbed to death over backpack in NYC

Related Posts

The 32-year-old miscreant hopped behind the wheel of the B6 bus at the Ulmer Park Bus Depot on Harway Avenue near Bay 38th Street in Bath Beach around 12:40 a.m., according to authorities and sources.

Man hops behind wheel of MTA bus at NYC depot, drives off with operator on board: cops

by
May 20, 2025
0

A scofflaw hopped behind the wheel of an MTA bus at a Brooklyn depot Monday and sped off with its...

Moms left young kids in a car to go drinking in a tequila bar

Moms left young kids in a car to go drinking in a tequila bar

by
May 20, 2025
0

Two drunk moms left four young kids, including a baby, inside a car with a big bag of weed while...

Natalia Elizabeth Wright,

Special ed teacher was spotted ‘making out’ with student in Taco Bell parking lot: cops

by
May 20, 2025
0

A Mississippi special education teacher has been charged with fondling an underage student — after she was spotted “making out”...

Qatar's lavish gift for Don: Letters

Qatar’s lavish gift for Don: Letters

by
May 20, 2025
0

The Issue: Qatar’s gift to President Trump of a $400 million jet to replace the current Air Force One. The...

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry blasts 'progressive promises' after New Orleans jail escape

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry blasts ‘progressive promises’ after New Orleans jail escape

by
May 20, 2025
0

While seven escaped prisoners, including two murder suspects, remain at large after a dramatic jailbreak from a New Orleans three days ago,...

Load More
  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
The horrifying rape, torture murder of eight-year-old Nurin Jazlin Jazimin : True Crime Diva

The horrifying rape, torture murder of eight-year-old Nurin Jazlin Jazimin : True Crime Diva

May 29, 2023
Drunk driver who killed mother and son blamed the victims, phone calls with father reveal

Drunk driver who killed mother and son blamed the victims, phone calls with father reveal

September 22, 2024
Mackenzie Shirilla

Father of Mackenzie Shirilla’s boyfriend doesn’t support life sentence

August 20, 2023
Karen Styles: map of where a deer hunter found her body

The 1994 murder of Karen Styles

May 9, 2023
The Murder of Latanisha Carmichael – TRUE CRIME REPORT

The Murder of Latanisha Carmichael – TRUE CRIME REPORT

June 7, 2023
The Unsolved Murder of Karina Holmer – TRUE CRIME REPORT

The Unsolved Murder of Karina Holmer – TRUE CRIME REPORT

September 3, 2023
The tragic story of solo traveler Emma Kelty

The tragic story of solo traveler Emma Kelty

May 15, 2023
Karen Styles: map of where a deer hunter found her body

The 1994 murder of Karen Styles

0
Dwane Roy Dreher: photo of his 2nd wife, Lois Genzler Dreher at 16 years old

The 1955 disappearance of U.S. Navy veteran Dwane Roy Dreher

0
Alta Braun: professional photo taken when she was about 4 years old.

The 1917 unsolved murder of Alta Marie Braun

0
Vacation Nightmare: The gruesome murder of Janice Pietropola and Lynn Seethaler

Vacation Nightmare: The gruesome murder of Janice Pietropola and Lynn Seethaler

0
Kristi Nikle: photo of suspect Floyd Tapson

The 1996 disappearance of Kristi Nikle

0
Frank and Tessie Pozar: photo of their son, Frank Pozar, Jr.

Motel Mystery: What happened to Frank and Tessie Pozar?

0
Evil on The Road Part 4: Desmond Joseph Runstedler

Evil on The Road Part 4: Desmond Joseph Runstedler

0
The 32-year-old miscreant hopped behind the wheel of the B6 bus at the Ulmer Park Bus Depot on Harway Avenue near Bay 38th Street in Bath Beach around 12:40 a.m., according to authorities and sources.

Man hops behind wheel of MTA bus at NYC depot, drives off with operator on board: cops

May 20, 2025
Moms left young kids in a car to go drinking in a tequila bar

Moms left young kids in a car to go drinking in a tequila bar

May 20, 2025
Doctor who murdered wife to be with pregnant mistress convicted after son’s testimony

Doctor who murdered wife to be with pregnant mistress convicted after son’s testimony

May 20, 2025
Natalia Elizabeth Wright,

Special ed teacher was spotted ‘making out’ with student in Taco Bell parking lot: cops

May 20, 2025
Qatar's lavish gift for Don: Letters

Qatar’s lavish gift for Don: Letters

May 20, 2025
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry blasts 'progressive promises' after New Orleans jail escape

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry blasts ‘progressive promises’ after New Orleans jail escape

May 20, 2025
Retired four-star admiral found guilty of bribery after accepting $500K-per-year job in exchange for lucrative Navy contract 

Retired four-star admiral found guilty of bribery after accepting $500K-per-year job in exchange for lucrative Navy contract 

May 20, 2025
Beyond the Crime Scene with Bee Astronaut

Categories

  • Featured
  • News
  • Podcast
  • True Crime Stories
  • Videos

Legal Pages

  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookie Privacy Policy
  • California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
  • DMCA

© 2023 All right reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • True Crime Stories
  • Videos
  • Podcast

© 2023 All right reserved.