By C1 Staff
BEEVILLE, Texas — In order to retain officers, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is offering dirt-cheap on-campus housing to help lower the cost of living for its employees.
The Texas Tribune reports that turnover among corrections officers in the state has been on the rise since 2006.
Other recruitment attempts include a 5 percent pay bump in 2013, bonuses and housing perks, but the department is having trouble keeping pace with energy companies that are recruiting workers for shale deposits and refineries that process oil in the state.
A difficult working environment also contributes to a high turnover rate, which in turn causes those who stay to work longer hours and the lower officer-to-inmate ratio means violence among offenders is on the rise.
There are currently 3,304 corrections officer vacancies through the 109 prison units in the state, even after the closure of two privately run facilities.