Officials, guards disagree over prison staffing crisis

By D.E. Smoot
Phoenix Staff Writer

May 05, 2008 10:48 pm

— Area correctional facilities are operating with staffing levels that fall short of a full staff by about 25 percent.
The Oklahoma Public Employees Association blames inadequate funding for the Department of Corrections’ apparent inability to attract and retain workers.
OPEA Executive Director Sterling Zearley said members employed as correctional officers warn the state’s prison “system has reached a breaking point.”
Local prison officials say staffing levels are less than optimal, noting pay scales may be too low to attract and retain good employees.
But Cheryl Bryan, warden’s assistant and DOC spokeswoman at Jess Dunn Correction Center in Taft, rejected OPEA claims that a staffing crisis exists.
“Even though we are considered short staffed, we do pretty good with what we have,” Bryan said. “But we do have a lot of staffing needs.”
According to data provided by Bryan, Jess Dunn presently operates at 75 percent of its authorized staffing level. The men’s minimum-security facility, Bryan said, is authorized to employ 212 correctional and support workers but has only 158 employees.
The employment situation at Eddie Warrior Correctional Center, a minimum-security women’s facility at Taft, faces a similar staffing shortage. Figures provided by Bryan show Eddie Warrior is authorized to hire 146 full-time employees but has 114 staff members working full time, indicating a 22 percent staffing shortfall.
Bryan said prison staffing is divided into two subgroups: security and support. Figures show staffing levels for security workers at both Taft facilities reveal an even greater worker shortfall.
Jess Dunn, Bryan said, is authorized to hire 133 full-time security workers but presently has only 94, or 70.7 percent of its authorized staffing level. Eddie Warrior is authorized to have 84 full-time security workers but has only 60, or 71.4 percent, on the payroll.
Bryan said policies and procedures set out minimum staffing levels that must be met for all security shifts at both prisons. When regular schedules fall short of meeting those mandatory minimums, Bryan said, workers must be held “over from a previous shift” or workers are called in on their days off.
Mike Rogers, an 18-year DOC veteran who works as a unit manager at James Crabtree Correctional Center, a medium-security facility at Helena, said security staff having to work double shifts and overtime exacerbates problems caused by the shortage of DOC employees.
“Employees working double shifts are too often exhausted,” Rogers said recently while urging lawmakers to fund pay raises for state employees. “In a job where alertness is a matter of life or death, that is a dangerous situation.”
When there are no security officers available to work at state prisons, Rogers said, support staffers are being asked to fill the void. Rogers said many of those support staffers substituting for security duty lack proper training.
Bryan said there have been times at Jess Dunn and Eddie Warrior when support staffers at the two local facilities have been asked to fill security positions.
So far, Bryan said, the worker shortage has had no negative effect on prison operations. Bryan did, however, acknowledge compensation rates are a problem for DOC when it comes to recruiting and retention.
“Pay is a cause of concern for many people,” Bryan said. “One of our selling points is job security — once you get in you can obviously move up into better paying positions.”
Reach D.E. Smoot at 918-684-2903 or Click Here to Send Email

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