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
March 7, 2025
More than 2 years later, National Guard remains stationed in Florida prisons. Will they ever leave?
For more than two years, members of the Florida National Guard have been dispatched to the chronically understaffed Florida prison system.
The emergency measure was originally meant to be on a “temporary short-term basis,” when Gov. Ron DeSantis issued the original Executive Order in September 2022, has stretched longer than planned, leaving some wondering if there will ever be a draw down.
The governor has extended the “short-term” order four times since then, most recently in December 2024.
Read ArticleMarch 5, 2025
Corrections officers warn public about risks of staffing levels at prisons
Unions representing federal correctional officers at the penitentiary at Allenwood say they are facing a crisis point with pay cuts and hiring incentive freezes making a dangerous job even more so.
The guards said they are losing incentives and say the morale is low at a time when there are staff shortages and the prisons are struggling to remain competitive with jobs in the private sector, including new plants at Great Stream Commons, a business park across U.S. Route 15 from the prison complex.
Read ArticleMarch 4, 2025
‘Dangerously understaffed:’ Inmates describe fear and violence behind Red Onion’s walls
An investigation into Red Onion by the state’s new corrections ombudsman is pending, while an internal review is also underway at Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center in Chesterfield County, where a fire broke out during an outbreak last month. However state reports have already identified one issue that may be contributing to problems across Virginia’s prison system: staffing shortages.
A November 2024 report to state lawmakers confirmed that staffing levels in Virginia’s correctional facilities remain dangerously low, with “very few” educational programs operating and some facilities unable to provide the legally-required out-of-cell time for inmates. The consulting firm CGL concluded that many of the VADOC’s facilities are “critically and dangerously understaffed.”
Read Article