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
January 31, 2025
Texas Prisons Suffer From Dangerous Understaffing
Understaffed and overcrowded, Texas prisons are experiencing worsening conditions that leave both staff and the incarcerated at risk.
Read ArticleJanuary 31, 2025
Virginia prisons 'dangerously understaffed,' state report finds
An internal report on Virginia’s prisons substantiates that what Reynolds detailed at Nottoway is a systemwide crisis. At least three state prisons have a 50% vacancy rate, the report details, with some so short-staffed that they have been incapable of complying with the department’s own strict policies on medical treatment, staff and inmate safety, and solitary confinement.
“This habitual low staffing is dangerous and may lead to critical mistakes and/or impact patient safety,” Reynolds wrote in an email to superiors in Richmond. “Please help.”
Read ArticleJanuary 31, 2025
Wisconsin DOC undergoing external review of prison conditions, use of solitary confinement
With a mixture of hope and skepticism from families and advocates, an external review of the state's beleaguered Department of Corrections is underway. The review comes after a series of in-custody prisoner and staff deaths, an alleged illegal drug and contraband smuggling ring, the charging of multiple Waupun prison workers, including the former warden, extended lockdown periods, and a long-simmering staffing crisis across the system.
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