By Barbara Hoberock
Tulsa World
OKLAHOMA CITY — Low staffing and low pay combined with mandatory overtime have not created safety problems in Oklahoma prisons, Gov. Mary Fallin’s general counsel said Thursday.
“I don’t think we have seen any evidence that the Department of Corrections is sacrificing safety,” said Steve Mullins, the governor’s general counsel. “We don’t see that issue. Can it be done better? We believe it can be. But we don’t have the concern that safety is being compromised. The staffing ratios the DOC uses are similar to the staffing ratios used by almost all other prisons across the country.”
A survey recently released by the Oklahoma Corrections Professionals indicates the state’s correctional officer-to-prisoner ratio is one of the worst in the nation.
Only 60 percent of the correctional officer posts are currently filled in Oklahoma prisons, according to the Department of Corrections.
“A number of the major facilities have gone to 12-hour shifts,” said Jerry Massie, a Department of Corrections spokesman.
Massie declined to comment when asked if staffing and mandatory overtime have created safety issues within prison walls.
Fallin and the Legislature last session gave the Department of Corrections a standstill budget, despite an increasing prison population and increased legislative mandates. The agency in November said it would need an additional $31.5 million next fiscal year to cover the cost of a growing offender population.
Mullins said management in the agency is putting a strain on its staff. While some prisons have high staff turnover rates, others do not, he said.
“So, we believe it is more of a management problem than a staffing problem, but it is something we look at very carefully,” Mullins said.
Sean Wallace, executive director of the Oklahoma Corrections Professionals, called Mullins’ comments “outrageous.”
“The truth is they are not looking at it at all,” Wallace said. “It is outrageous to completely ignore this and wish it is going to go away. It is not going to go away unless we do something.”
The survey released by Oklahoma Corrections Professionals also found that correctional officers here are paid about $4 less per hour than the national average. Only Georgia and New Mexico had lower starting wages than Oklahoma, according to the survey.
Mullins said he hoped a permanent director for the Department of Correction will be picked in February.
Justin Jones announced in June that he was resigning as director. Jones began his tenure with the agency in 1977 as a probation and parole officer and became the director in 2005.
Ed Evans was tapped as interim director.