According to a new state report, the Alabama Department of Corrections’ recent pay increases have resulted in improved prison staff turnover rates and, although still early, appear to be increasing hiring.
The Alabama Commission on Evaluation of Services conducted a study that examined the effects of numerous salary increases on recruitment and retention from fiscal year 2015 to fiscal year 2023. One of the causes for violent conditions in several prisons is the vacancy rate of over 60% in the prison system in recent years.
However, ACES indicates that Alabama is not the sole state experiencing employment challenges in prisons.
“The staffing of correctional officers has decreased in nearly every state in recent years,” stated Marcus Morgan, Executive Director of ACES, in an interview with Alabama Daily News. Alabama’s correctional officer turnover rate is consistently lower than that of neighboring states, and correctional officers have been less inclined to resign following recent changes in compensation and classification. This has resulted in a nearly 30% decrease in voluntary turnover.
Therefore, it is too early to determine how these changes have affected hiring rates, but there is some indication that they are improving post-study.”
Despite historically low unemployment and labor market participation rates, the department has increased security staffing by 15.43% since the 2023 pay adjustments, according to Alabama Daily News.
Since 2018, the state has provided correctional officers with a one-time incentive of $7,500, increased salaries by 5% across the board, expanded salary ranges for various job classifications, and created an additional promotion opportunity by adding an additional classification. In March 2023, ADOC significantly raised its initial salaries. A new correctional officer intern’s starting salary at a maximum security prison has increased by approximately $20,000 to nearly $57,000. Simultaneously, existing personnel were granted a 10% salary increase.
Correctional officer resignations have decreased by an average of over 4% annually since 2019, according to the ACES report. Voluntary turnover among correctional officer trainees also decreased by over 5%.
According to the report, the increase resulted in the retention of approximately 140 officers, which is nearly 17% of the current correctional officers.
Over the past decade, Alabama’s overcrowded and lethal prisons, as well as staffing shortages, have been the subject of federal litigation. Prior to now, the state was unable to meet the 2022 deadline that a federal judge had set for increasing the number of correctional officers by 2,000. The state will be unable to fulfill an extended 2025 deadline, according to officials.
ADOC Commissioner John Hamm recently informed ADN that the state’s recruiting initiatives are yielding positive results; however, additional time is required. According to him, the department increased its security personnel by 210 between August 2023 and August 2024.
Hamm expressed his optimism regarding the department, which was previously experiencing significant employee turnover. “Plus 210 is not overwhelming, but it is a positive development,” he stated.
Hamm stated that the new figure does not account for the 55 new officer trainees who matriculated from the Alabama Criminal Justice Training Center last week. Later this month, approximately 100 students will take an additional course.
The first half of 2024 has seen an increase in recruiting, as confirmed by court-mandated quarterly staffing reports.
ADOC’s overall vacancy rate decreased by 1.8 percentage points in the second quarter of this year. Correctional staff numbers increased by 4.48%, correctional supervisors by 3.66%, and the total number of correctional staff, including supervisors, increased by 4.33%.
The aggregate vacancy rate continued to decrease, reaching 57.1%. Bullock, Easterling, and Ventress were the three prisons that maintained vacancy rates exceeding 70%.
Legislation established the evaluation commission in 2019 to investigate a variety of state services. Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, chairs the commission and expressed his satisfaction with the report and the state’s financial commitment, which is beginning to yield results.
“I haveOrr told ADN, “I have concluded that the changes implemented by the Legislature, the governor, and the department have resulted in substantial enhancements, and, as evidenced by more recent data, we expect them to persist.”d, they are challenging to fill, but they are making progress.”
The report also emphasized the department’s turnover cost. Recruiting and training new employees, as well as paying overtime to cover vacant duties, incurs an annual expense of approximately $11 million for the ADOC. ADN repoIn July, ADN reported that the ADOC was on track to spend over $50 million on overtime this fiscal year.ing to the report, the Alabama Department of Corrections may need to investigate alternative strategies to maintain its efforts to reduce attrition and increase hiring, as correctional officer compensation is now comparable to that of other state law enforcement positions. Additionally, hiring is on the rise.
Hamm has consistently informed legislators and other state leaders that the department is “all ears” when it comes to additional recruitment suggestions. It has recently collaborated with the Alabama Community College System to provide a complimentary six-week program that is intended to assist participants in fulfilling the physical and educational prerequisites for admission to the ADOC academy. Additionally, it has increased its advertising and job fair participation throughout the state.
According to Hamm, the summer-announced initiative is making a difference and has prepared 23 people to join ADOC’s academy.
Hamm stated, “It is yet another pipeline.”
So far, Reid State Community College in Evergreen and Jefferson State Community College in Birmingham have been the only institutions to offer the program. It will soon be available at Calhoun Community College in Decatur to equip individuals with the necessary skills to secure employment at the Limestone Correctional Facility in northern Alabama.
When asked about alternative recruitment strategies, Hamm responded that there have been discussions regarding retirement benefits and regulations. In 2023, lawmakers established a “Tier II” category of retirement benefits for new state employees. This category necessitates that ADOC staff be 57 years old before they can retire and receive their benefits.
In recent years, other state and education agencies have attempted to reduce the age requirements for Tier II, claiming that they are a barrier to recruitment.
