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
February 11, 2026
Virginia prison reports 69th inmate death in 3 years amid staffing concerns
"The problem of understaffing in prisons is not endemic to just Virginia. It's nationwide," University of Virginia Professor Gerard Robinson said. "The largest state agency in Virginia is the Department of Corrections, approximately 11,000 employees. And so for a public institution to have that many employees and the millions of dollars we invest on face value, you would think, well, we should have enough money to pay people."
Robinson said correctional officers make less than they probably should for the work they do, but noted that money alone isn't the only issue.
"The suicide rate for American correctional officers is higher than the suicide rate for American police, then we realize we have a correctional problem," Robinson said. "Professional development, mental and social health and support for correctional officers is needed, because even though they leave prison, they bring that home to their families."
Read ArticleFebruary 8, 2026
When cold weather becomes a death sentence
Dozens of currently and formerly incarcerated people across the country have shared with researchers and media outlets their accounts of frigid showers, threadbare clothing and temperatures so low that they can see their breath inside their cells throughout the winter.
Even if a prison has a heating system, it often isn’t able to warm all parts of the facility quickly and adequately, said Ben Barron, author of a study on the climate risks to prison infrastructure in Colorado. “These buildings are not built to do anything beyond keep a population contained and controlled,” Barron said.
Read ArticleFebruary 5, 2026
North Carolina prisons face ‘dire’ staffing crisis
About one in four state prisons — 14 facilities — have half or more of their correctional officer positions vacant, according to December 2025 staffing data from the Department of Adult Correction provided to NC Health News. Vacancy rates by facility range from a low of about 5 percent to as high as nearly 69 percent.
N.C. Department of Adult Correction Secretary Leslie Cooley Dismukes told the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Justice and Public Safety on Jan. 15 that to fully staff all posts across North Carolina’s prisons, the department needs 9,682 officers — a shortfall of 4,703 people, or an overall vacancy rate of nearly 49 percent.
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