Staff Stress

[IDOCO]

The inmate population continues to increase, resulting in our prisons and jails becoming more like warehouses and less like Correctional facilities. With fewer Officers and more inmates the stress on staff, which is already substantial in such an environment, rises dramatically. One of the results of this imbalance has been increased inmate violence on staff and on each other. A heavy toll is being extracted on the Correctional Officers who protect the public from society’s predators. On average 33,000 Correctional Officers are assaulted each year. The incredible stress this places on these Officers has resulted in higher turnover rates, substance abuse, suicides, and domestic violence. This has become a serious public safety issue and needs to be addressed.

Brian Dawe
Executive Director
Corrections USA