We are in the midst of a profound crisis in our nation’s correctional system.
Across the country, our nation’s prisons are dangerously understaffed and overcrowded.
Policymakers must act now to protect the health and safety of correctional staff, incarcerated people, and the public at large.
Prisons across the country are dangerously understaffed, overcrowded, and plagued by rapidly deteriorating conditions.
One Voice United (OVU) and FAMM, two leading organizations representing correctional staff (OVU) and incarcerated people and their families (FAMM), have joined together to form the Safer Prisons, Safer Communities campaign.
For too long, our constituencies have been pitted against one another while the safety and wellbeing of our colleagues, friends, and loved ones has suffered. While it may be surprising to some people that we would work together to draw attention to this crisis, we know our fates are intertwined and we have a shared goal of ensuring the health and safety of everyone who works and lives in prison.
EndorseFor too long, our constituencies have been pitted against one another while the safety and wellbeing of our colleagues, friends, and loved ones has suffered. While it may be surprising to some people that we would work together to draw attention to this crisis, we know our fates are intertwined and we have a shared goal of ensuring the health and safety of everyone who works and lives in prison.
SAFER PRISONS SAFER COMMUNITIES
In The News
October 20, 2025
Inside Oregon’s oldest prison: 114-degree cells and $13M annual repairs
Leaders of the Oregon Department of Corrections this year floated for the first time the idea of eventually replacing Oregon State Penitentiary, Oregon’s oldest and second largest, citing sweltering summer heat, an outdated design dating to the 1860s and the spiraling costs of maintentance.
The storied prison — the site of dozens of executions, notorious escapes and a historic riot — houses about 1,900 prisoners, including the state’s most severely mentally ill prisoners who bunk in windowless cells deep within the prison walls.
Officials rattle off environmental hazards found throughout the prison, including asbestos woven into ceilings and concrete, lead paint and buildings that are literally crumbling.
Read ArticleOctober 17, 2025
An Unseen Epidemic: Correctional Officers Dying By Suicide
"Most people don't realize what correctional officers go through," Jon Zumkehr, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 4070, which represents employees at Thomson Federal Prison in Illinois, said in an interview with Law360. "We're kind of like the forgotten law enforcement."
This statement is backed up by research from professors at Northeastern University's School of Criminology and Criminal Justice and Florida State University's College of Criminology and Criminal Justice. In a March 2023 paper, they wrote there is a "dearth of research" on correctional officers dying by suicide, "in part because they are not traditional 'first responders'" like police officers or firefighters.
Read ArticleOctober 15, 2025
Report: Summer heat a threat to health at CT prisons
High indoor temperatures combined with a lack of cold drinking water and cooling fans in three of the state’s prisons during the summer months is risking the health of incarcerated individuals and may violate their constitutional rights, according to a new report from the correction ombuds.
The report, released Wednesday, details observations from the three facilities without air conditioning — Hartford Correctional Center, Bridgeport Correctional Center and Osborn Correctional Institution — during late June and July. Combined, the three facilities house about 2,700 people.
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