Alabama Prison Staff Shortage Worsens Despite Court Order - Alabama News

“We had horrendous understaffing in this department and something has to be done,” U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson said during a status conference Friday in the long-running lawsuit over prison health care.

The state has used pay raises and recruitment efforts to boost officer numbers, but has been hindered by a tight labor market, Bill Lunsford, a lawyer for the state argued. “It has kind of fallen off a cliff for lack of a better word. It has dropped from 1,800 officers down to a little over 1,300 in the last year-and-a-half … They are a lower number today than they have ever been,” Van Der Pol said.He said the tight labor market has many industries searching for workers and that that is a “difficult headwind” for the state’s effort to hire and retain staff. Increasing staffing has been a priority for the department, said Lunsford.

Alabama has the worse corrections in the world. Pay isn’t sufficient. Facilities are horrendous. Violence is high. It’s warehousing-not corrections.

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Alabama prison staff shortage worsens despite court orderA federal judge said Alabama prisons remain critically understaffed as the number of officers working in state lockups dropped to the lowest point in years despite a court order to increase numbers But what can they do to increase numbers? The environment needs to change. Much of the leadership is toxic. They don’t listen to line staff and supervisors regarding how to treat people. Plus you have to work so much overtime it doesn’t make sense. Money isn’t a motivator.
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