Pilot program aims to help with prison staffing shortages in NC

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — North Carolina leaders are raising concerns about staffing shortages at state prisons, as officials roll out a pilot program aimed at boosting hiring for correctional officers.

“The Department of (Adult) Correction has only about half of the correctional officers needed to safely operate state prisons,” said Governor Josh Stein.

Those vacancies have impacted daily operations.

“My primary goal is to make sure that everyone working at the institution and everyone that’s incarcerated there stays safe. Having critical shortages of staff makes that much more difficult. Ten years ago, it was routine to have about 28 officers and five sergeants on shift and lineup. Today you may see seven or eight officers and three sergeants on shift,” said Captain Derrick Simmons of Neuse Correctional Facility.

Simmons said shortages can limit access to rehabilitation programs for inmates.

“If you don’t have the custody staff where they have the programs, that they won’t be able to have them because they don’t have that security there,” he said.

Officials point to pay as a key factor contributing to vacancies, an issue that would need to be addressed through the state budget process. Stein is calling for a 15% raise for correctional officers, in addition to step increases, while Republican leaders have proposed average 15.4% raises with their step increases.

“Twenty years ago, our correctional officers were among the best paid in the Southeast. Now we are second to last in the country,” Stein said.

As those budget discussions continue, the state has introduced a pilot program designed to streamline hiring. The initiative uses a contingent hiring model that allows applicants to begin working in certain roles while completing certification requirements.

“We are using now a contingent hiring model to address the problem,” Gov. Stein said. “Once someone passes through the initial steps of getting hired, we put them to work immediately in other roles as the certification steps continued to play out.”

Dismukes cited workers can fill roles in the gatehouse or control booth while their certification process moves forward.

“This will allow us to bring people inside the walls and allow them to experience what it’s like to work with us before we send them through basic training,” said Dismukes.

The program has been implemented at Central Prison, Harnett Correctional, and Pasquotank Correctional. Officials say it has led to 31 new hires at Central Prison, 43 hires at Harnett Correctional, and 21 hires at Pasquotank Correctional.

“We’re hiring people at a higher rate, and we reduced the time to hire by about ten days,” Dismukes said. “So fewer people are dropping out of the hiring process along the way.”

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