States across the country are struggling to staff their prisons and jails. The shortages are costing them in overtime -- and lives lost when inmates riot against conditions likely worsened by overworked guards.
Late last summer, Rodney Miller, the executive director of the West Virginia Sheriffs’ Association and a state lawmaker, witnessed some things that shocked him.
He and other West Virginia legislators visited the state’s prisons and jails, observing from towers and from cell blocks. They saw inmates exchanging contraband drugs, inmates brought to medical care bloody from fights, and sleep-deprived guards struggling to respond to it all.
“Corrections officers were working six or seven days a week, 10- to 12- and sometimes 16-hour shifts. Some of the corrections officers were having to sleep at the facilities and then going back to work,” says Miller, who worked in law enforcement for 33 years and says he’s never seen prison workforce shortages as severe as they are now.
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It's a suck job. CO's have high rates of alcoholism, depression and behavioral disorders that seem to come with the job. Many claim disability when they just can't take it anymore.
ReplyDeleteMost locals can't pass the drug or background tests. The rest of the population with an education doesn't want to work in that environment. Oh fun, a job where my life is endangered and I have perform cavity searches.
ReplyDeleteTime to put the welfare crowd to work.
ReplyDeleteThey did in the late 1980 with single moms with kids. Soon after, jail, prison, Department of Corrections starting going down into the ground making it unsafe for employees.
DeleteSo the lunatics can guard the asylums?
ReplyDeleteThey get no respect and take the chance on injury or worst every time they enter the secured gate / doors their entire shift. Politians will not allow them to do their jobs by regulations and when they do they get punished. The Prisons Administrtion / Supervisors do not want you to do your job since they don't want to be bothered from their duties of sitting on the A$$e$ BSing. That is the only thing they can do since they promoted on friendship / "Good Ole Boy" system or quota system. Speaking from 22years experience in DOC.
ReplyDeleteMaybe if we didn't lock up so many people for non-violent drug possession, we wouldn't need so many corrections officers - or prisons.
ReplyDeleteNow why do you suppose this is happening...because YOU have made these prisons into country clubs with all the necessities and BELLS and WHISTLES anyone could ever want. YOU have cowtowed to All the demands; including special food and special books and so much more.
ReplyDeleteThere should be minimal everything in prison and NO special anything. It's Prison for heaven's sake. NO other country in the world has country club prisons for those that break the law.
Actually it is far cheaper to have the CO's work overtime than to hire more officers. When paying overtime, the institution doesn't have to pay the extra expense of retirement, medical, dental, prescription and eyeglasses. They also save by not having to train a new officer at the cost of $40-60k then have that officer leave within a few months.
ReplyDeleteOvertime is much cheaper...