America's federal prisons face a massive shortage of workers

Name: America's federal prisons face a massive shortage of workers
Uploaded: 2021-08-16T18:58:07.000Z
Duration: 3 min 46 s
Description: Federal prisons in the United States face a massive labor shortage. It's gotten so bad, that prison officials across the country have resorted to the practice of augmentation—assigning prison workers such as chefs or counselors to monitor inmates because there aren't enough correctional officers. Here's how the staffing shortage got so bad, and what's being done to fix it.

Federal prisons in the United States face a massive labor shortage. It's gotten so bad, that prison officials across the country have resorted to the practice of augmentation—assigning prison workers such as chefs or counselors to monitor inmates because there aren't enough correctional officers. Here's how the staffing shortage got so bad, and what's being done to fix it.

03:46

Mon, Aug 16 20212:58 PM EDT

Alexandra Marquez

Jordan Smith

America's federal prisons face a massive shortage of workers.

The Bureau of Prisons budgeted for 20,446 full-time correctional officer positions in 2021, according to the Associated Press. As of May 2021, only 13,762 of those positions were filled.

One outcome of this severe worker shortage is what's called augmentation. That's where prison workers like cooks and counselors get forced to work as correctional officers because there's no one else to monitor inmates. According to the Government Accountability Office, the Bureau of Prisons augmented staff for more than 300,000 hours in 2018 and 2019, compared to about 225,000 hours in 2015.

Overtime spending has also become a way to keep up with staff shortages. Overtime expenditures at the Bureau of Prisons increased 102 percent from 2015 through 2019, when the BOP spent $250 million in overtime expenditures.

Low wages among correctional officers, which can start at $43,495 per year, have exacerbated the labor shortage at federal prisons. Correctional officer jobs and salaries can't compete with the industries around them, union officials told CNBC.

The Bureau of Prisons told CNBC that 1,967 new BOP employees have been hired since July 17, 2021. In a statement, the agency said, "The BOP is taking a multi-platform approach to attract qualified job applicants which includes using social media for awareness and recruitment, hosting and participating in recruitment fairs, and collaborating with other federal agencies to identify prospective candidates."