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Staff Shortages

Colette Peters, a White woman in a red suit jacket and short brown hair, speaks, as Michael Horowitz, a White man in a navy suit jacket and white hair, looks on.
Closing Argument March 2
How Federal Prisons Are Getting Worse
Government watchdog agencies found hundreds of preventable deaths and excessive use of solitary confinement.
By and
A collage illustration shows three layered scenes: on the left, light-skinned hands place a bumper sticker on the back of a car that reads “NOW HIRING” circled in red. In the center, the back of a man with light skin tone shows him wearing a white T-shirt that says “ACADEMY” on the back. He holds his hands clasped behind his head and looks downward. On the right, over a textural layer of barbed wire, a line of corrections officers representing diverse genders and ethnicities walks away. A red hand-drawn scribble underlays the image, which is also toned red.
News January 10
New Data Shows How Dire the Prison Staffing Shortage Really Is
The stubborn staffing crisis affects almost every aspect of life in prison, for employees and the incarcerated alike.
By and
An illustration shows a correctional officer in uniform standing among four cardboard cutouts of correctional officers. A sketch of a prison is visible in the background.
News September 18
Mississippi Auditor: Prison Company Must Pay $2 Million for No-Show Workers
A 2020 investigation by The Marshall Project exposed how prison operator MTC billed the state millions for ghost workers.
By and
An instructor with a long black beard looks at a screen as he lectures in a classroom filled with students sitting in their desks.
News June 26
Help Wanted (in Prison): Texas Recruits High School Kids To Be Corrections Officers
Short on guards, the state hopes to attract students enrolled in career training programs once they turn 18.
By Anya Slepyan
Lance Lowry, who recently retired after 20 years as a corrections officer, outside the Huntsville Unit in Texas.
News November 1, 2021
As Corrections Officers Quit in Droves, Prisons Get Even More Dangerous
Fewer guards lead to more lockdowns, rising tensions and scant access to healthcare.
By , , , Mike Sisak and
Members of the National Guard headed into the Marion Correctional Institution in Marion, Ohio, to help during the COVID-19 pandemic on April 20, 2020.
News December 21, 2020
The National Guard Is Using Force on Prisoners After Little Training
Ohio guard members patrolling inside prisons trained for a fraction of the 5 weeks required of correction officers.
By
An illustration shows a correctional officer in uniform standing among four cardboard cutouts of correctional officers. A sketch of a prison is visible in the background.
Feature December 9, 2020
No-Show Prison Workers Cost Mississippi Taxpayers Millions
Prisoners, guards face danger from chronic understaffing by MTC
By and
Three out of five prisoners who were stabbed or beaten to death last week in Mississippi prisons were at the State Penitentiary in Parchman.
News January 8, 2020
Mississippi Prison Killings: Five Factors Behind the Deadly Violence
Understaffing, powerful gangs and constant lockdowns brew tensions that exploded last week.
By and
Feature June 26, 2019
Corporate Confession: Gangs Ran This Private Prison
What happened in Mississippi when no one wanted dangerous, low-paying guard jobs.
By and
In response to a reduction in police officers in Memphis, Tenn., the Blue Suede Brigade, a private security force, patrols the city’s tourist areas. From left, Blue Suede Brigade members Kcbena Cash, Tamala Johnson and Nathaniel Lewis worked the night shift.
Feature February 13, 2019
Is the Answer to Crime More Cops?
It’s not how many, it’s how you use them.
By and Wendi C. Thomas
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