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 11, 2026
State prison custody staff could also fall under receivership
A receiver could potentially take control of the custody staff at the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry, as correctional officer staffing levels still lag behind the requirements set out in a court injunction.
According to a new monthly staffing report, the department is inching closer to complying with custody staffing levels but is still struggling with vacancies across its facilities.
Read ArticleMarch 6, 2026
Ky. jail tests new strategy to ease mandatory overtime for corrections officers
Officials at Louisville’s jail are testing a new staffing strategy designed to reduce the heavy reliance on mandatory overtime that has stretched corrections officers for years.
Metro Corrections leaders say the plan, introduced in February, will temporarily reassign staff from other jail operations to help cover housing unit security when staffing levels fall short, the Louisville Courier-Journal reports.
Read ArticleMarch 4, 2026
House Members Raise Alarm about Bureau of Prisons Understaffing
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee, which oversees the Bureau of Prisons, have raised an alarm about the “pervasive shortage of critical staff—particularly of correctional officers, healthcare professionals, and mental health specialists” at the agency, saying “we are concerned that staffing issues have reached a crisis point.”
“Insufficient staffing levels have led to lockdowns, heightening tensions among inmates, increasing instances of violence, limiting access to recidivism-reducing programming, further restricting the availability of medical and mental health care, and hindering institutional response to institutional emergencies such as assaults and suicide attempts,” they wrote.
Read Article