George Camp, co-president of the Criminal Justice Institute, an independent group that studies prisons, says that every state is being affected. In some jurisdictions it s a matter of wages, Camp said. In others it s simply a lack of potential workers. Staff turnover rates in U.S. prisons have risen steadily in recent years, with several states losing more people a year than they are able to hire. An average of 16 percent of officers left in 1999, up from 9.6 percent in 1991, according to the Corrections Yearbook, published by the Criminal Justice Institute.
Turnover is especially high among new staff.
And in Alabama, which is short 412 corrections officers, even after lowering its minimum age to 20 from 21, John Hamm, a corrections department spokesman, estimated that last year 180 officers were hired, but 240 quit. In Ontario, the minimum age for provincial correctional officers is 18 years old. However, younger officers were entering a workplace that had a large contingent of experienced officers. With less than 50 officers willing to risk working for a private company, at least 75 per cent of the staff at Penetanguishene will be young, inexperienced and, if the U.S. example holds true, likely to quit within the first year. This could spell disaster for the remaining staff and the town itself.