Introduction
Correctional facilities form an integral part of any country’s criminal justice system. Such institutions employ and train professionals who are able to maintain security and help incarcerated citizens transform their behaviors. This field has helped support social and economic goals by punishing criminals and discouraging members of the community from engaging in such vices. Unfortunately, most of the prisons in the United States are facing numerous challenges that have the potential to disorient their objectives. One of them revolves around the question of attracting, hiring, training, and retaining correctional officers. This paper provides a detailed analysis of this predicament and its implications for the wider process of criminal justice.
Background and History
The United States is one of the countries with many people serving sentences in different prisons. According to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, this country had over 700,000 citizens in local jails while over 1.1 million were found various state prisons (LeMasters et al., 2022). Federal prisons were reported to have over 174,000 inmates (LeMasters et al., 2022). From an historical perspective, the last four decades have seen a sharp rise in the percent of incarcerated individuals by around 500 (Schuster, 2022). This trend has increased the demand for correctional workforce in the country than ever before. Over the years, experts have observed that the level of turnover rates have averaged 55 percent in different states across the country (LeMasters et al., 2022). In most cases, individuals who choose to quit the field tend to serve for five years or even less (LeMasters et al., 2022). The absence of proper strategies to retain most of these professionals has also worsened this present challenge.
The government and state agencies have failed to consider sustainable measures to make the working environments for correctional officers attractive. Individuals planning to pursue better careers have also been keen to avoid the profession. The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) have worsened the situation since more workers have been quitting their jobs. Schuster (2022) indicates that the possible occupational risks have triggered such an outcome. Additionally, individuals working as correctional officers have for many years complained of poor psychological support, improper work-life balance arrangements, and uncompetitive remunerations (Schuster, 2022). Much recently, some officers have also been fearful that the profession could expose them to the risk of COVID-19. LeMasters et al. (2022) support this argument by revealing that 142,469 workers in different prisons were found to have contracted the disease in January 2022 (LeMasters et al., 2022). The report went further to indicate that around 256 professionals had died while on duty (LeMasters et al., 2022). Coupled with historical problems, the existing gaps in regulation and health mandates have led to increasing levels of staff turnover.
Current Challenges
The increasing level of staff turnover in correctional facilities is a serious concern that calls for evidence-based solutions. Without a good inmate-officer ratio, chances are high that the current professionals will remain overwhelmed and incapable of providing their services efficiently (Seiter, 2017). The inmates will also be unable to transition accordingly or record the much needed behavioral changes. The inadequacy of the hiring and retention procedures in place today continues to make it impossible for the country to overcome the present shortage.
The selected problem is systemic in nature since it is widespread across all regions in the country. More prisons are finding it hard to attract and retain most of the officers. This problematic issue is making it impossible for the country to achieve most of the targeted goals. A number of reasons could explain the nature of this predicament in the country today. First, the existing policies lack adequate guidelines for attracting more people to work as officers. Second, most of the prisons are associated with unfriendly working environments that worsen the experiences of more professionals (LeMasters et al., 2022). Third, poor remunerations and motivation strategies exist, thereby discouraging more officers from continuing providing their services. Fourth, the government lacks proper strategies for retaining individuals working in most of the facilities.
Within the past two years, this challenge has become more pronounced in this country than ever before. The wave of COVID-19 has helped expose most of the occupational risks associated with this career. Consequently, the level of turnover has continued to rise as more people are no longer willing to contract the disease. Pivoney (2021) believes that the sector will continue to experience similar challenges in the coming years. This new reality has come at a time when historical issues associated with correctional profession have received little attention from different agencies and policymakers.
Comparative Analysis
Correctional centers need to have skilled officers who understand the challenges many offenders go through in their lives. Such workers should have access to the relevant resources and support systems to complete their duties diligently. Within the past two years, more American prisons are losing workers at an alarming rate. Blakinger et al. (2021) observe that the rate of turnover could be around 70 percent in some of the facilities. This problem appears to be worsening when compared with the statistics of 1950 to 2010. During these years, annual turnover rates in most of the institutions fell between 40 and 50 percent (LeMasters et al., 2022). Analysts observed that such occurrences were directly linked to the risks of the job and the absence of sustainable support strategies. In some institutions, the relevant leaders had gone ahead to introduce a number of measures to attract new talent. However, such approaches have been unsustainable and incapable of addressing the issue.
In the recent past, COVID-19 has led to additional challenges to most of the workers in different institutions. For instance, Blakinger et al. (2021) observes that most of these service providers have lacked adequate financial support to meet the needs of their families. Others have been exposed to the virus, thereby being in need of timely and personalized medical services (Blakinger et al., 2021). Those who had to be quarantined or hospitalized found it hard to meet their objectives. The working environment became risky and capable of triggering increasing levels of mental pressure and burnout. The absence of proper work-life balance arrangements affected the situation even further. Consequently, the turnover rate has increased to around 70 percent within the past two years (LeMasters et al., 2022). Most of the facilities have also failed to put in place practices measures to attract new workers and retain the current workforce.
Existing Solutions
The above sections have indicated that some facilities have various programs for recruiting and retaining their workers. The government also presents additional incentives and policies to allow institutions to identify new talent and provide desirable working environments. Unfortunately, most of these solutions have only offered temporary outcomes. This happens to be the case since the measures are not directly linked to the increasing percentages of inmates joining different prisons annually (Russo, 2019). The absence of additional study processes have made it hard for the sector to have progressive policies to deal with the concern.
The inefficiency of these solutions has resulted on varied impacts on some of the key stakeholders. For instance, the efforts have failed to improve the working experiences of correctional officers. Those who are unable to find better jobs are compelled to provide their services in risky environments. They also lack adequate incentives that could help them achieve their goals in life. Similarly, most of the inmates have been on the receiving end since the absence of adequate personnel exposes them to attacks from their colleagues (Blakinger et al., 2021). Some also lack the required guidelines and ideas that could result in transformation. Politicians have received the blame for failing to implement appropriate policies to meet the demands of these key stakeholders. Similarly, more citizens are impacted negatively, especially those who depend on these officers for support and food.
Insightful Thoughts
The insights emerging from this analysis support the notion that the recruitment and retention of correctional officers will always remain a problematic issue in this country. Most of the implemented solutions have failed to deliver sustainable results. This reality calls for evidence-based approaches that could eventually have a positive impact and help address this problem. For instance, it could be appropriate for the involved government agencies to focus more on releases rather than the process of sentencing more offenders (LeMasters et al., 2022). This strategy need to focus on individuals who could have reformed or served for at least a third of their jail terms. This strategy needs to be founded on the notion that incarceration is a terminal problem capable of harming all members of the community.
The relevant stakeholders could go further to invest more in programs that can support more offenders and expedite the process of reintegrating them in their respective communities. This effort needs a multifaceted approach whereby correctional officers, mental health professionals, and public health workers will collaborate to support these people (LeMasters et al., 2022). Such programs need to be pursued outside the criminal justice system if they are to deliver the much needed results. Through such programs, the country’s prisons will no longer be in need of an increasing number of correctional officers (Seiter, 2017). The strategies will allow the remaining ones to be more involved and willing to continue providing their services for longer. The government will allocate most of the available resources to such programs and eventually address the existing problem from an informed perspective.
Conclusion
Staffing shortages in correctional facilities across the country have been directly linked to poor hiring and retention strategies. The existing working environments and remunerations have been unacceptable, thereby compelling more workers to seek better opportunities elsewhere. COVID-19 has helped expose most of the predicaments and how they disorient the quality of services and support most o the inmates expect from such facilities. The introduction of new programs aimed at empowering and reintegrating offenders in the society can help reduce the need of more workers. The move to release most of the prisoners could also help mitigate this challenge and promote the effectiveness of incarceration facilities across the country.
References
Blakinger, K., Lartey, J., Schwartzapfel, B., & Thompson, C. (2021). US prisons face staff shortages as officers quit amid COVID. ABC News. Web.
LeMasters, K., Maner, M., Peterson, M., & Brinkley-Rubinstein, L. (2022). Staff shortages in prisons and jails highlight opportunities for decarceration. Health Affairs.
Pivoney, R. (2021). Corrections department wrangling with severe staffing shortages in some prisons, officials say. News Tribune.
Russo, J. (2019). Workforce issues in corrections. National Institute of Justice.
Schuster, K. (2022). Issues facing corrections officers in 2022. Benchmark Analytics.
Seiter, R. (2017). Correctional administration (3rd ed.). Pearson.