Despite a massive increase in prison officer salaries, the Tennessee Department of Corrections has hit a staffing shortage and is forcing the introduction of “floating security forces” at state facilities.
A group of five corrections officers volunteered to assist staff at Tiptonville’s Northwest Correctional Facility in March. It has the capacity of 1,776 male prisoners, including juvenile offenders convicted as adults.
The state employs 20 corrections officers to serve the “floating security crew,” and depending on their experience, their salaries range from $4,675-5,300 a month, up to $63,600 a year, potentially increasing by about 20% over the average salary of executives.
Crew officers will be moved where required based on staffing level and job applications are available on the Office of Amendment website.
The department will not say whether Northwest Correction suffered from security breakdowns or major incidents due to a lack of personnel.
The shortage requires prisoners to serve longer terms in support of so-called “truth and judgment” laws and constitutional reforms that allow judges to deny bail to more criminals.
Republican Sen. Ed Jackson, chairman of the Legislative Committee on Prisons, said Northwest Corrections Officer has a history of vacant corrections officers.
“It’s hard to get people in that part of the state to be corrections officers. I know they’ve been struggling quite a bit over the past three or four years,” Jackson said.
The state increased its executive salaries and held recruitment events in West Tennessee to hire more executives, but failed to maintain staffing to the standard, Jackson added. He wasn’t sure if an additional salary increase would resolve the issue.
The department announced in January that it had put $37 million in increased pay for corrections officers and security officers, effective February 16, and increased its starting salary to $51,204 with an additional increase paid to $60,720 in 18 months. According to the department, current staff members were seeing a 10% increase or being raised to a new base salary.
The salary increase came just after the 35% pay booster two years ago.
Corrections Chair Frank Strada said in February that correctional officers have a 26% vacancy rate compared to 33.7% at Trousdale Turner, a facility run by the state’s private contractor, Corecivic. Torsdale Prison remains under a civil rights investigation by the US Department of Justice.
“This investment in our people recognizes the value of correctional professionals and demonstrates the support we received from the governor’s office and the general meeting,” Strada said in a letter to employees in January.
Strada said in the letter that wage increases would make the Department of Corrections one of the most paid correctional institutions in the Southeast.
The Tennessee Employee Association has called “critical steps” to recruit employees and address the challenge of keeping employees in state prisons.
The department is demanding a $6.8 million contract rise from private prison operators, despite penalizing contract shortages, $15 million last month alone and $44.78 million since 2022.
Corecivic refuses to disclose what it pays for its officers, and will like states to boost staff when there is a shortage of staff in other states. Trousdale Turner maintained a turnover rate of 146% in 2023.
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