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
November 12, 2025
Watchdog: New Jersey prisons face deepening staffing crisis, growing humanitarian concerns
The New Jersey Department of Corrections has made progress on long-standing problems in the state’s prisons but still has a long way to go, especially when it comes to persistent staffing shortages, according to the latest annual report from the state corrections watchdog.
Many of the 1,100 inmates interviewed by staffers from the state Office of the Corrections Ombudsperson complained about the same issues, including their personal items and money disappearing, inconsistent or inadequate medical care, problems getting in touch with friends and family back home, and squalid conditions inside the prison facilities.
Read ArticleNovember 11, 2025
Bills aim to address ‘inhumane’ conditions in Wisconsin prisons and jails
On Monday, a group of state and local lawmakers expected to see firsthand the conditions within the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility (MSDF), a state-run facility imprisoning people for things like probation and parole violations. Lawmakers said the Department of Corrections (DOC) approved the tour, only to back out. It wasn’t the first time that elected officials have reported being denied tours of prisons and jails around the state, many of which continue to produce troubling accounts of the conditions inside their walls.
Read ArticleNovember 2, 2025
Argall bill to fight corrections officer shortage passes Senate
Legislation introduced by state Sen. Dave Argall, R-29, Rush Twp., at the request of the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association was passed by the Senate with bipartisan support to address the staffing crisis facing the state’s correctional institutions.
Senate Bill 111 permits qualified candidates across state lines to help fill critical vacancies in Pennsylvania’s correctional facilities, while ensuring Pennsylvania residents continue to receive hiring preference.
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