By C1 Staff
CRAIGSVILLE, Va. — The corrections officers’ dwellings at Augusta Correctional Center aren’t much better than those of the inmates they supervise, according to a report from ABC 8News.
To combat staffing shortages at the Augusta prison, officers are being transferred from the Marion Correctional Center. Some are required to travel over three hours from their homes and live in small trailers on prison property for weeks at a time. The two trailers house a combined 31 officers who share two 4 x 4 showers, according to a statement released Friday by the Department of Corrections.
Though they’re billed as “new barracks” by the Department of Corrections, Donald Baylor, Director of Organizing for the Corrections Officer’s Union, describes the Augusta dwellings as anything but.
https://twitter.com/8NEWS/status/1028061934531342336
“They’re trailers, they’re not barracks,” he told ABC 8News. “I really wouldn’t want to go there and spend two days in that environment.”
Photos of one trailer reveal a cramped bathroom and tiny shower.
In a statement to 8News on Friday, the Department of Corrections said they are currently working to address staffing and housing issues at Augusta.
“[Officers] work seven days and then go home for seven days,” the statement said. “The visiting COs are reimbursed for their travel and any meals not provided.”
Despite these efforts, visiting officers still struggle to find balance. Baylor says the tight quarters and hours of travel make it tough for officers to unwind and de-stress after work.
“You have to realize they are already working in one of the highest stressed environments in the nation,” Baylor told 8News.
A week off and meal reimbursement also do little to address the severe staff shortage. One insider told 8News Augusta is “96 officers short” – with “three more [who] quit just this week because of the stress and having to be away from their families.”
Baylor says forcing officers to cover shifts at unfamiliar prisons is not only unfair to staff and their families, but dangerous.
“That explains why you have people looking for the first exit,” he said.
One officer told 8News staff are already feeling the impact of the poor living conditions and officer shortage.
“It’s only a matter of time before someone gets hurt or killed,” the officer said.