A top corrections official offered a stark picture of Florida鈥檚 prison system Wednesday, warning that lawmakers must boost salaries of corrections workers to avert a looming disaster as the system grapples with high turnover rates, dangerously low staffing levels and fatigued employees.
Department of Corrections Deputy Secretary Ricky Dixon said the agency wants to increase prison officers鈥� starting salaries from the current $33,400 a year --- $16.70 per hour --- to $41,600 a year, or $20 per hour, to address staffing issues that have prompted officials to temporarily shutter two prisons, close hundreds of prison dorms and suspend work squads throughout the state.
鈥淗ere鈥檚 the bottom line. I鈥檝e been doing this for over 25 years in this system, in this state. The difference is, back then we had the given resources to do the job right,鈥� Dixon, who began his career as a corrections officer, told the House Criminal Justice & Public Safety Subcommittee on Wednesday. 鈥淭oday, this evening and tonight, many of those officers working in dormitories throughout our state, they have no one to back them up. They鈥檙e alone and they鈥檙e at the mercy of other inmates --- not staff, but other inmates --- to come to the rescue should other inmates intend to cause them harm.鈥�
Statewide, corrections facilities have an average job-vacancy rate of 28 percent, Dixon said, with some prisons experiencing rates up to 50 percent. 鈥淎dequately and safely staffing鈥� prisons requires a vacancy rate of around 3 percent, he told the panel.
Dixon said the corrections agency is hiring an average of 200 employees a month but losing 400 workers, resulting in a 鈥渘et loss of 200 staff every month.鈥�
The department is seeking $171 million during the 2022 legislative session to increase starting salaries for correctional officers and another $9 million to hike pay for probation officers, according to a budget request filed last week.
The agency spent more than $103 million on overtime during the fiscal year that ended June 30, compared to about $35 million five years earlier. It houses about 80,000 inmates and has 24,418 authorized positions, including 18,354 security positions. More than 5,200 of the security positions are vacant, Dixon said.
The department鈥檚 problems have been exacerbated by hiring in the service and tourism industries, as employers scramble to fill jobs amid an economic rebound following last year鈥檚 widespread shutdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Starting pay at prisons is comparable to wages offered by convenience stores and warehouse distribution centers, where the working conditions are not as challenging and the overtime hours are not as grueling.
鈥淗ere鈥檚 the reality. We hire someone at $16 an hour at a time when $15 or $18 is easy to come by,鈥� Dixon told the House panel. 鈥淲e ask them to work in this environment that鈥檚 inherently dangerous even under the best of circumstances. 鈥� We escalate that danger by working with less staff required to operate safely. Those staff we do have on duty are exhausted from working excessive overtime hours, and then we tell that staff member at the end of their shift they can鈥檛 go home to a kid鈥檚 birthday party or ballgame because they have to work another shift, and we do that three and four days a week. It鈥檚 just pretty clear why they鈥檙e leaving.鈥�
Dixon attributed part of the high turnover rate to corrections officers who, after being trained by the state agency, quickly depart for more lucrative jobs with county sheriffs鈥� offices or municipal police departments.
鈥淏asically right now, we鈥檙e just the training ground for county jails and other law enforcement,鈥� he said.
Members of the House panel expressed support for the beleaguered corrections department.
Rep. John Snyder, R-Stuart, said he recently visited a prison and urged his colleagues to do the same.
鈥淚鈥檝e been rocket-attacked in Afghanistan, so I know what it鈥檚 like to be scared. Walking into that prison was nothing short of scary. It was extremely eye-opening,鈥� said Snyder, whose father, William, is the Martin County sheriff.
Rep. Spencer Roach, R-North Fort Myers, appeared dismayed by the scenario depicted by Dixon.
鈥淚t鈥檚 appalling, it鈥檚 alarming and, quite frankly, as a policymaker and an appropriator, I鈥檓 embarrassed,鈥� Roach said.
The union that represents corrections officers has argued for years that the state needs to increase wages.
鈥淚f correctional officers could be here, they would tell you two things: They are overworked and underpaid,鈥� James Baiardi, who leads the state corrections chapter of the Florida Police Benevolent Association, told lawmakers.
Baiardi has suggested that lawmakers should address the issue in a special session before the regular legislative session begins on Jan. 11.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e tired and they need help, and, unfortunately, I鈥檓 not sure if waiting for the session to come in is going to be enough time on this,鈥� he said.
During the 2021 session, lawmakers signed off on a plan to shorten correctional officers鈥� hourly shifts, in what Department of Corrections Secretary Mark Inch called the 鈥渓ynchpin鈥� of the department鈥檚 efforts to address chronic staffing shortages.
But the department announced last month that it was temporarily closing Baker Correctional Institution in Baker County and New River Correctional Institution in Bradford County because of staffing shortages. Also, it announced it was keeping closed Cross City Correctional Institution, which had been evacuated earlier because of flooding in Dixie County.
Dixon said Wednesday that some prisons are so short-staffed that corrections officers are single-handedly staffing dorms, which house between 140 and 200 inmates, at night.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the case at this moment. That will be the case this evening when the inmates are most active, and that will be the case tonight when we鈥檙e all sleeping in our beds,鈥� he said.
The prison system is also anticipating a major increase in the inmate population as courts begin clearing up cases put on hold due to the pandemic and prisons receive an uptick in transfers from county jails, Dixon said.
鈥淭he problem for all of us now is, now that we know the population is going to increase, we鈥檙e in a race to fill the staff vacancies at a faster pace than the population growth. If we don鈥檛, there鈥檚 absolutely no way to open up dorms to accommodate those coming back into the system,鈥� he said.
Copyright 2021 WFSU. To see more, visit . 9(MDAyNDY5MjM1MDEyODE2MzMyMTZmZDQwMg001))
