By Carol Robinson
Alabama Media Group
Alabama prison officials today announced plans to close a community work center near William C. Holman Correctional Facility so that they can move nearly 30 employees to the critically-understaffed maximum security lockup.
Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn said the Atmore Community Work Center, which houses 240 inmates with a staff of 27 employees, will shut down by the end of the of the month. The work center inmates who currently provide services to governmental agencies will be relocated to J.O. Davis Correctional Facility in Atmore to continue DOC’s support to the community, according to a press release.
Closing the work center -- which opened in 1973 -- will not affect the local economy, he said.
Authorities said a number of Atmore’s correctional officers already volunteer for overtime at Holman Correctional Facility to fill officer shortages. Since Holman prison is in close proximity to the community work center, the impact on officers transferring from the work center to the prison will be minimal.
There have been multiple incidents of violence at Holman over the past year.
“Our decision to close the Atmore Community Work Center and transfer the facility’s security staff to the William C. Holman Correctional Facility is a prudent step toward improving the safety and security conditions at the prison,” Dunn said in a prepared statement. “By closing the work center and transferring security staff to Holman, we will increase ‘boots on the ground’ and provide for a safer facility for our employees and inmates.”