By Joy Lukachick
Times Free Press
TRION, Ga. — Corrections officials won’t comment about what’s happening these days inside Hays State Prison. But money talks.
And the latest figures say that the persistent shortage of guards hasn’t been solved and that the need for extra vigilance remains high at the violence-wracked penitentiary in Trion, Ga. Hays State dished out more than $100,000 in overtime to its employees in February, the highest total in at least 14 months, according to statistics provided by the Georgia Department of Corrections.
In all, more than 100 officers filled in on night shifts, weekends and elsewhere to offset a guard shortage that has been running at more than 16 percent.
Even with all the overtime, Hays has had to supplement its guards with tactical squads from prisons across the state to maintain order. And that’s despite inmates only being allowed out of their cells for recreation and showers.
Full story: Guard shortage persists at Hays State Prison