Texas is facing a dangerous staffing crisis in its sprawling prison, putting inmates and staff at risk, The Associated Press reports. A 189-page report by the state commission that reviews the performance of Texas agencies documents costly and severe staffing shortages among correctional and parole officers that have diminished public safety. Some prisons are operating with up to 70% of prison guard positions unfilled and the turnover rate among all Texas Department of Criminal Justice staff is 26%. The staffing challenges come as the prison population is expected to exceed bed capacity by the end of next year. The Texas Sunset Advisory Commission staff, which published the report, recommends TDCJ reallocate its staff, close the facilities with persistent staffing challenges and retrofit existing units to add more beds. In selecting facilities that should be shuttered, the report suggested prioritizing closing prisons that lack air conditioning.
The system also faces other grave problems. Over the past decade, the prison system has wrongfully released 34 inmates, which the report connects to outdated record-keeping practices, which largely rely on paper-based processes and manual data entry. The system also doesn’t fully record the type of force used in guards’ physical altercations with inmates, doesn’t completely track the types of employee grievances, and is not fully tracking the use or effectiveness of rehabilitation and reentry programs that cost taxpayers millions of dollars.
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