Critically Low Staffing Levels Create Safety Crisis in NH State Prisons

Concord, NH (June 29, 2017) – Teamsters Local 633 today urged people across New Hampshire to get behind correctional officers who are warning of a major safety crisis in the NH state prison system

The union representing more than 380 professionally trained correctional officers has launched ‘Safe Prisons Safe New Hampshire,” a campaign which will highlight the many serious challenges and threats arising from a shortage of corrections officers to safely staff New Hampshire’s five state prisons.

“Critically low staffing levels at New Hampshire prisons create unsafe conditions for correctional officers,” said Jeffrey Padellaro, Secretary-Treasurer/Principal Officer of Teamsters Local 633. “They also make it more difficult – if not impossible – to deliver critical programs and services to the inmate population.”

Padellaro added, “With staffing levels so low, New Hampshire prisons can’t effectively provide vital job training, education and other programs that help with rehabilitation and are essential safety tools to manage inmates.”

The shortage of corrections officers is also delaying the opening of the New Hampshire Correctional Facility for Women, which could sit vacant for a year or more. Corrections officers are currently working to secure a new contract that will take substantive steps to address the crisis. Negotiations between officers and state officials, which stalled earlier this spring, recently resumed with the help of a mediator. The current contract expires June 30, 2017.

“This prison staffing crisis is worse today than ever before, and we need to take serious steps to address this problem before tragedy strikes,” said Padellaro. “We’re disappointed that Governor Sununu, who pledged to fully fund the state corrections system, has reneged on that promise. The support of our elected officials is essential when it comes to such a critical public safety issue.”

The Concord Prison for Men currently has 187 uniformed staff. The required level of staffing according to the National Institute of Corrections, that was cited in the Performance Audit of 2012, “requires 371 staff to operate at a normal activity level and a minimum of 277 staff to maintain critical operations.” All the facilities are short-staffed but the Concord Prison illustrates the critical nature of the current staffing level that must be addressed immediately by this administration. The state’s attempt to address this shortage through outreach and recruitment has failed. Two years of numerous work fairs and advertising for new hires have resulted in a net loss of six corrections officers over the past two years, after factoring in retirements and attrition. The numbers continue to go in the wrong direction.

Between 2015 and 2016, corrections officers working at the Concord Prison, collectively worked more than 10,000 hours of overtime each month. In 2017, workers have been logging more than 12,000 hours of overtime each month. Excessive amounts of forced overtime are causing serious strain on the correctional officers; exhaustion, depression, divorce, alcoholism and other issues are common.

One of the key challenges to recruitment of corrections officers is the historically low unemployment rate in New Hampshire and poor compensation for workers. State correctional officer salaries start at around $34,000 a year, which is $10,000 less than salaries at local police departments. It’s also significantly less than the starting salaries of corrections officers at New Hampshire’s federal prison ($46,000) or in state prisons across the border in Massachusetts ($56,000 a year).

“The math is simple and the state’s math doesn’t add up – making recruitment very difficult,” said Padellaro. “Relaxing physical standards for new corrections officers is not the answer. More competitive compensation is. We hope to work with the state to come to an agreement to create a sustainable solution to address this crisis.”