By C1 Staff
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Department of Corrections is currently facing facilities with over 100 percent capacity, but only has 65 percent of the staffing levels needed to run them.
Records show that out of 250 disciplinary records from the past two years, about 20 percent of employees were fired simply because they stopped showing up for work, according to Tulsa World.
Even in July of last year when agency employees became eligible for the first pay raise handed out in eight years, the DOC still lost employees. They’ve lost officers nearly every month since January 2013.
During the same time frame, the state’s prison population grew by nearly 3,000 offenders.
“They’re treating the current employees so badly,” said Sean Wallace, director of Oklahoma Corrections Professionals, a statewide association of prison, probation and parole employees. “People are telling me that the disciplinary actions right now are through the roof.”
Though some of the discipline records show serious infractions such as sexual contact with an inmate, many are for smaller policy violations like engaging in social media with a parolee, allowing subordinates to give advice/adjustments from a prisoner who was a chiropractor prior to incarceration, allowing a family member to get a haircut from a prison barber, and bringing a dog to work.
Records reflect frustration with managers regarding overtime and being held over for additional shifts when others failed to show up to work.
DOC Director Robert Patton said that an increase in staffing would create a better environment for officers, but said the state is not currently funding the agency to staff prisons at the 100 percent levels.
Though he would not discuss the disciplinary reports directly, Patton did note that the department has established training locations for correctional officer training to allow the officers to stay in their home areas and are currently asking for funding for pay raises and additional staff.
They are also working to better control overtime to give officers time to spend with their families.