Could the Prison Staffing Crisis Lead to More Oversight?
Much has been reported about the prison staffing crisis in the United States. But by the end of 2024, a curious trend was emerging: In 16 states that year, lawmakers considered 31 correctional oversight bills. In Washington, which already had an independent agency tasked with oversight of state prisons, lawmakers resumed negotiations on a bill to create a similar body providing oversight to the states 59 local jails.
Behind these moves is a dawning realization among state lawmakers about how much they don’t know about their state’s prison system—“and how much of a closed system [it] is,” said Michele Deitch, director of the University of Texas at Austin Prison and Jail Innovation Lab, which runs the National Resource Center for Correctional Oversight.
She counted prison oversight bodies in at least 20 states and Washington, D.C. In others like Wisconsin, whose Department of Corrections (DOC) was plagued by lockdowns during the year, lawmakers like state Rep. Ryan Clancy (D-Milwaukee) called the current prison complaint system inadequate to address underlying problems.
“We really need a system there that allows folks to communicate with a third party who is not tied directly to the management of that prison,” Clancy said.
As prison populations dipped during the COVID-19 pandemic, the guard workforce shrank, too. But as the number of prisoners rebounded, the number of guards did not, leaving the number of workers in state prisons in 2022 at the lowest level in more than 20 years.
How exactly do declining guard ranks create the need for more oversight? Understaffing leads to reductions in programming and more gang activity, increasing the risk of violence. That puts more stress on remaining staffers, who are then more likely to make costly mistakes. In turn, that leads to more guard firings and resignations—a negative feedback loop that only seems to be getting worse.
A study of 2023 data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics and Bureau of Justice Statistics by H&P Law in Las Vegas found a strong correlation between lower guard pay and higher ratios of prisoners to guards. Oklahoma had the worst ratio, with just one guard for every six prisoners. Unsurprisingly, the state ranks among the lowest-paying for guards, who earned a mean annual wage of just $43,110. In Massachusetts, which offers more competitive wages for guards averaging $77,260 per year, there was just over one prisoner for every guard.
Other states wanting for guards include Alabama, Idaho, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Missouri, Michigan, Alaska and Montana. They also struggle to attract and retain guards due to low wages and demanding working conditions. At $37,000 per year, Mississippi’s average wage for prison guards is the country’s lowest; though at $43,190, Georgia’s is not much better.
On the other end of the spectrum, states like New York, New Jersey and New Mexico have on average significantly fewer prisoners for each guard. Their success in attracting and retaining guards tracks with their more competitive wages and better working conditions. New York pays its guards a mean annual wage of $74,580—the fourth highest in the country.
“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,” said Southern Center for Human Rights Executive Director Terrica Redfield Ganzy. “We’re incarcerating people at a high rate, and the staffing numbers are just not keeping up.”
As that translates into more prison violence, and lawsuits with big payouts, lawmakers are realizing that they are “totally reliant on the corrections officials to tell them what’s going on inside the facilities,” Dietch said, “and that’s not the best way for legislators to exercise oversight.”
Sources: Gulf Live, Stateline, The Marshall Project
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