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
July 25, 2025
State department of corrections reports progress in addressing prison guard staffing shortages
The New York State Department of Corrections says their efforts to increase prison guard staffing are working.
The department says that from the first half of 2024 to the first half of 2025, Albany Training Academy Class appointments increased by 63%, while guard trainee graduates increased by 81%.
Additionally, they say they saw an increase of 137% in completed Training and Experience exams.
Staffing shortages have been an issue at prisons since before the unauthorized prison guard strike in February and March.
Read ArticleJuly 24, 2025
70 law enforcement jobs to be cut at federal prison, union leader says
The Federal Bureau of Prisons plans to cut 70 law enforcement jobs at Thomson Federal Prison, according to the union leader for federal employees.
Jon Zumkehr, president of AFGE Local 4070 said, “These cuts put everyone at risk. Just this Tuesday, we had to reassign 28 officers just to cover the basics. That’s 28 fewer people available if there’s an emergency. By axing these backup responders, the BOP is making the facility less safe for staff, inmates, and the entire community.”
Zumkehr called the cuts reckless and unnecessary, especially since Sen. Chuck Grassley delivered $3 billion in BOP staffing funds, signed into law by President Trump a few weeks ago.
Read ArticleJuly 20, 2025
Prisons drive $1.3 billion in NY overtime spending
Overtime pay is rising among New York state workers — and a struggle to recruit corrections officers to work in the state’s sprawling prison system is partially to blame.
State agencies paid out about $1.3 billion in overtime costs in 2024, marking a 10% increase over the prior year’s $1.2 billion, according to a new report from state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office. The spending falls short of 2022’s record $1.4 billion in overtime.
The biggest chunk of overtime spending came from the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, which oversees the state’s 42 prisons and has seen its workforce plummet by nearly a quarter over the last decade.
That’s partly due to a decline in the prison system’s workforce.
The corrections department’s workforce fell to 22,866 in 2024 — a drop of about 1,000 workers, or 4.4%, from the prior year, according to DiNapoli’s report. It continued a decadelong trend that has seen the department’s employee count fall by nearly a quarter.
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