Prisons across the country have record high staff vacancies. It’s no wonder why. It’s hard to recruit and retain staff in places that breed tension and aren’t safe. The conditions are brutal and there are often mandates to work long shifts (even for 24 hours at a stretch) in facilities that lack fresh air, natural light or proper cooling and heating.
The toll of working in prisons is well-documented: Corrections officers suffer from poor health outcomes; have rates of post-traumatic stress disorder that are similar to war veterans; and suffer more than double the suicide rate of police officers.
If staff shortages are understandable, they’re also harmful to incarcerated people. Facilities become less safe and more chaotic. Without enough staff, those incarcerated are forced into long periods of lockdown — which means no school, no work and no time with family. This crisis has led to hunger strikes by incarcerated individuals and weekslong strikes by corrections professionals. Staff shortages are also expensive — requiring enormous sums in overtime.
To find a path forward, we must focus on the root cause: prison culture.
For the last 10 years, the Restoring Promise initiative at the Vera Institute of Justice has partnered with corrections departments across the country to improve their prisons’ cultures. Modeled on prisons in Germany and Norway, Restoring Promise uses an approach that empowers corrections officers and incarcerated people to mend divisions and co-create humane living spaces. Paired with educational workshops and opportunities for mentorship, Restoring Promise’s young adult housing units provide everyone living and working within them with access to basic human rights.
Our approach trains corrections officers on de-escalation techniques and “dynamic security” (cultivating safety through relationships between staff and incarcerated people); integrates restorative practices that replace punitive sanctions; and emphasizes the importance of family and community partnerships. Everyone is supported to focus on constructive communication, community, and individual accountability.
The initiative has been remarkably successful and the impact on staff is pronounced. A federally funded randomized control trial in South Carolina found that 88 percent of staff in Restoring Promise units reported feeling less stressed working on the units, with 97 percent reporting feeling safe.
That feeling of safety is real. Young adults in South Carolina’s Restoring Promise housing units were 73 percent less likely to commit violent infractions — and 83 percent less likely to be placed in solitary confinement than their peers in the general population.
Restoring Promise young adult housing units exist in Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Massachusetts, North Dakota and South Carolina. Regardless of a state’s political profile or the available resources, the results are indisputable. Improving prison culture makes everyone — staff and incarcerated people — feel safer. And, indeed, they are safer.
Moreover, job satisfaction is higher. Corrections officers in Restoring Promise units report high morale, a strong sense of purpose and a calmer, more predictable work environment that fosters a sense of community rather than conflict.
A commitment to human dignity remains a genuine pursuit among some U.S. corrections leaders. Elected officials and all departments of corrections need to embrace evidence-based strategies that support safety, wellness and jobs for corrections staff and incarcerated people.
Nick Turner is president and director of the Vera Institute, which combats mass incarceration.
Governing’s opinion columns reflect the views of their authors and not necessarily those of Governing’s editors or management.
