Recruitment
This topic provides essential information on hiring practices, strategies, and trends in the corrections field. This resource is ideal for corrections administrators looking to attract, hire, and retain the best talent in a challenging and essential industry.
New York DOCCS determined it could safely close Great Meadow and Sullivan correctional facilities as both prisons are operating with incarcerated populations below capacity
The judge acknowledged the city’s good faith efforts to fix understaffing by recruiting more COs with better pay and incentives but emphasized that more needs to be done
The union’s president said in a letter that COs are being forced to work mandatory 16-hour overtime shifts and, at times, with “far less than the required numbers of officers”
Ala. DOC partners with college to help future COs meet physical, educational requirements at no cost
Participants who complete the ACTIVATE program may earn up to nine free college credit hours, as well as gain preparation for the academy and a career with the ADOC
“We have recruitment and retention incentives across the country. We have direct hire authority. The bottom line [...] we need to pay them more,” the BOP director said
The study analyzed data on the number of COs and the number of prisoners in each state to determine the states with the least staffed prisons
Secretary Jeffrey Macomber called the class “a stride toward fulfilling the ’30×30' pledge to increase the proportion of women in correctional cadet roles to 30 percent by 2030”
The workers have been vocal about the working conditions and the amount of mandated OT they have been working due to extreme understaffing, with some working 16-hour shifts four to five days a week
The lower age requirement will require more training and supervision, but it will make deputies better prepared, Capt. Jim Moore said
Following the staged escape that wounded three COs, IDOC is working with Centurion Health, its medical health care provider, to find ways to reduce the number of hospital transports
“It’s not a management issue,” the Ulster County Jail CO’s union said. “Honestly, the sheriff is phenomenal. Our supervisors are great. It’s a matter of getting people in here. It’s the job”
The warden was stabbed when Telfair State Prison COs were conducting a shakedown to remove contraband from one dorm, but those in the dorm refused to comply with the lockdown
Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams said his primary responsibility is to keep the Weld County Jail operational, and all other agency operations are secondary to this responsibility
During the escape attempt, 100 staff members were scheduled — the minimum needed to run Los Padrinos — for the shift, but only 40 showed up
The NYC DOC said 160 officers retired in 2023, 368 in 2022 and 403 in 2021 — a total of 931 over three years
The emergency plan will shift a minimum of 200 probation officers to Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall and at least 50 officers to the Barry J. Nidorf Secure Youth Treatment Facility on 90-day rotation
Retirement
The pension change means some people hired shortly after high school or college could now qualify for full retirement benefits while still in their 40s, a fact recruiters intend to promote
Compensation plan, recruitment efforts continue to reduce security staff vacancies
In an effort to boost staffing, the Pennsylvania DOC reduced the CO’s minimum age requirement to 18
The Maine Criminal Justice Academy welcomed 67 new correctional officers, marking the largest class to graduate from the Basic Corrections Training Program
“If we get more staff, then the working conditions would be better. If we got 10 more people, the working conditions would be astronomically better here. Most of the problems we have here come from our lack of staff,” the prison union’s president said
Staff Misconduct
The Florida Department of Corrections said the officers are now under criminal investigation
“This is noteworthy because it previously had a 30 percent vacancy rate in September of 2023,” Gov. Jim Justice said
“You would have to be sleeping under a rock in another country not to realize and not to understand the absolute danger that exists in the Georgia State Department of Corrections today,” said Sen. Randy Robertson
“It’s the only way to get anyone’s attention before one of you are calling one of our families to tell a father, a mother, daughter, son was killed in the line of duty,” a 14-year CO said
A new four-year contract was established for correctional officers, offering an annual salary increase of 3.5%, with the potential for further yearly adjustments
The DOC has eliminated the college requirement and slashed the length of training, but has had continuing trouble luring new officers
If approved, commissioners said it will help send the message to correctional officers that “we have their back”
The department said the adjustment “aligns the corrections officer classification with other DOC positions and with approximately 25 other states that hire corrections officers at the age of 18"
