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
May 28, 2025
As NC budget writers get down to brass tacks, a crisis in corrections looms large
When North Carolina House and Senate budget writers begin hammering out a compromise between their two proposed budgets, one of the more pressing problems will be how to address the crisis in North Carolina’s prisons.
During a confirmation hearing this month, Department of Adult Correction Secretary Leslie Dismukes told lawmakers the state is now faced with 40% vacancy rate for correctional officers.
The Department of Adult Correction (DAC) has almost 32,000 people in physical custody and another 77,000 under community supervision. State employees in the department are working 12-hour shifts and mandatory overtime to meet minimum staffing levels in the prisons.
“We are for correctional officers in the bottom three in the country, and certainly in all of our surrounding states, we are at lowest,” she said.
DAC urgently needs to keep qualified staff on board to train the new staff that are being recruited.
“Right now, we’re in great danger of losing a lot of our talented staff who know how to do the job because we cannot pay them equivalent to other states or other industries within North Carolina,” Dismukes added.
Read ArticleMay 27, 2025
Staffing shortages, old facilities, and ‘nothing to lose’: These are the factors that contribute to prison breaks across the country
The most consistent factor that contributes to prison or jail escapes is human error linked to staffing shortages, several experts told CNN.
Staff shortages have increased since the Covid-19 pandemic, he said, and some facilities have lowered their educational requirements to try to meet staffing targets. Russo was the lead author of a 2019 report that identified insufficient staffing as the primary threat to security at correctional facilities.
Similarly, Joe Russo, a program manager at the University of Denver whose research focuses on institutional and community corrections technologies, told CNN that correctional facilities “live and die by their staff.”
“When staff are stretched too thin, or tired, or fatigued, or overly stressed, or traumatized, whatever the case might be, you have lowered vigilance,” he added.
Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson has cited understaffing as a key contributor to the disaster. The jail is only about 60% staffed, and 150 more deputies are needed, the sheriff said.
Read ArticleMay 21, 2025
Arizona prisons director talks inmate violence, staffing and transparency
"Staffing is our number one challenge. Some of it is the dynamics of corrections, right, obviously an uptick in violence drives some staff out. An uptick in drugs being trafficked in through the mail or other things or being exposed to those substances drives staff out, but pay is also a big factor," Thornell said.
The department has implemented high-risk pay and increased overtime, but Thornell says additional funding would likely take away from other areas.
That's where the state budget comes into play with ADCRR proposing a 15% salary increase for correctional officers.
Read Article