For many corrections officers, the breaking point isn’t a single incident — it’s the accumulation of long shifts, forced overtime and a growing sense that no one has their back.
After Corrections1 recently shared an in-depth look at rising assaults, staffing shortages and burnout inside New Jersey’s prison system, dozens of current and retired corrections officers weighed in. Their responses, while varied in tone and experience, echoed a consistent message: the job has changed — and not for the better.
From mandatory overtime and shrinking benefits to a lack of administrative support, readers said the pressures of working behind the walls have reached a breaking point for many officers.
Here’s what Corrections1 readers said is driving good officers out — and what, if anything, could make them stay.
‘No backing from administration’
More than any other issue, readers pointed to a lack of support from leadership as a major factor pushing officers to leave.
Several retired supervisors said officers still reach out to them years later, seeking advice because they feel unsupported by current leadership.
“Even today, I have officers asking me for advice because they feel they have no backing from their supervisors,” one retired lieutenant wrote. “Every decision had to have prior permission from someone who had absolutely no clue what it means to work behind the walls.”
Others said staff are routinely scrutinized more harshly than inmates following incidents — even with body cameras and fixed cameras in place.
“Whenever an incident occurred, staff were always looked at with more scrutiny,” a retired officer with 25 years of service said. “That wears on you after a while.”
Several readers described an environment where officers feel second-guessed, constrained and hesitant to act — even in volatile situations.
Mandatory overtime and burnout
Mandatory overtime surfaced repeatedly as a tipping point.
Officers said being forced into 16-hour shifts multiple times a week erodes morale, health and family life — especially when refusal results in discipline.
“It really sucks when a good officer gets mandated repeatedly, refuses once and gets written up — after already being mandated the day before,” one reader wrote.
Others described a cycle where understaffing leads to overtime, overtime leads to burnout and burnout leads to resignations — making staffing problems even worse.
“There’s nothing to combat excessive mandates that will ultimately burn anybody out,” another reader said.
‘The uniform used to mean something’
Many longtime officers said the job once carried pride, identity and stability — things they believe have eroded over time.
“The uniform wasn’t just a uniform, it was a statement,” one former officer wrote. “With compensation issues and lack of leadership, I was forced to leave.”
Others said favoritism, nepotism and poor promotion practices have further damaged morale.
“Senior staff get overlooked while junior staff are placed in key positions,” a reader wrote. “It’s frustrating and demoralizing.”
Safety concerns and staffing levels
Readers across state and county systems emphasized one basic issue: not enough officers on shift.
They said increased staffing would reduce assaults, improve safety for both staff and inmates, and allow officers to do their jobs more effectively.
“More staff presence would decrease incidents,” one reader wrote. “It would help officers and prisoners feel safer.” Several shared personal accounts of working dangerously understaffed posts, including being the sole responder in large facilities — sometimes well into their 60s.
Would anything make officers stay?
Some readers were blunt: they wouldn’t recommend corrections to anyone.
Others said meaningful change could still make a difference — but only if it’s structural, not cosmetic.
One reader pointed to compensation structures as a major factor driving officers away — especially when compared to other law enforcement agencies.
“Police departments have an average of eight years to top pay, while NJDOC added steps and years to those steps,” the reader wrote. “You basically won’t hit top pay until the end of your career. We don’t have longevity, night differential, COLA or bonuses for college education as other departments do.”
The officer added that while overtime can boost pay, it often comes at the cost of long-term burnout — and isn’t enough to offset safety risks or job instability.
Among the most common suggestions on how to keep officers:
- Competitive pay and restored benefits
- Limits on mandatory overtime
- Stronger administrative support
- Clear consequences for assaults on staff
- Increased staffing on every shift
As one retired officer summed it up:
“The money is great, but as everyone can see, money won’t keep or get anyone here.”
Do you have anything you’d add about what finally pushes good corrections officers to leave — and what, if anything, would make them stay? Share with us.
Corrections1 readers respond:
- I retired in 2019, after 26 years. What these officers are saying is the truth. It doesn’t matter where in the country you are, every correctional agency is facing these same issues. Yet, people put in charge refuse to accept reality. They refuse to listen to those who actually do the job, knowing all well, that these officers are risking there lives daily for an administration that gives a rats hoot about them, or their loved ones.
- As a good officer I have realized not all good officers get recognized, and/or rewarded for hard work. Only favorites get promoted and treated with respect. Its pretty obvious a better compensation would make people stay.
- Additional staffing, remove all staff from shifts that family may be the shift supervisor on. Inmates receive only what they have due, nothing extra. Admin must work shifts and runs weekly at least to understand the temperament of the prison as a whole, not on any “easy” post, must serve chow/run yards back to the grunt work. remove and replace all cert members and 5-day post biannually, to keep officers. raise pay, cut hours to adjust pay difference and foreseen burden to taxpayers. speed up executions.
- My facility staff never minds mandated overtime when there is admin support. When we look around and see admin staff working units with us due to staffing, we don’t mind the holdover. Having our back is a bigger issue than money, we get money from overtime……
- Mandatory overtime is a back breaker. Management isn’t consistent with policies and procedures. Most managers have never spent a day working the hallway. Raise basic pay by at least 20%.
- Watching underqualified people get promoted was an issue. Instead of doing their jobs they spent their time kissing up to higher-ups. These higher-ups wanted people who would just agree with everything they said or did and would not take input from those of us who actually did the job. They didn’t like the fact that there were subordinates who knew more than them
- CDOC needs to update policies regarding equipment. The department is stuck in the 1970s with policies in those regards.
- Micromanagement, low moral, no servant leadership.
- Earlier retirement instead of 65 when most correctional officers only make it to 64, change to 50 or 55.
- Proper training is also an issue. Some facilities have great training that consists of weeks of extensive training while others don’t. Poor training is something that flows downhill from poor management. If the management doesn’t know what they’re doing then how are the officers expected to know what they’re doing. I worked in one facility for two weeks and had to leave for the sake of my safety. They had no training structure and the captain was completely clueless on how to train officers properly. The captain literally had the new officers reading books and wasn’t spending any time on the actual physicality of the job. You can’t expect people to know what to do in a high stress situation if they’re not getting proper training from the start.
