by Bob Walsh
The county slammer in Montgomery County, Ohio has some very serious staffing issues. In the last two years 48 corrections officers have quit and eight more have been terminated during probation or right after the end of their probation period according to the Dayton Daily News.
The jail has 127 funded positions as is routinely about ten bodies shy. The job starts at $16 an hour, which isn't great for shift work where you are likely to have shit thrown on you, literally, at pretty much any given time.
On new employee orientation the jail commander, Major Jeremy Roy, routinely shows "before and after" photos. The "before" is the bright and shiny new Correctional Officer on graduation. The "after" is that same now former officer's booking photo.
The rejected on probation cases were what one might expect. One wouldn't quit watching TV or talking on his cell phone while on duty. Another ducked overtime, including calling in sick for mandatory extra shifts. One caught a DUI. One just could not get her ass to work on time, including three no-shows in her first two weeks on the job. One didn't show up for his assigned shift because he was taking an entry level exam to work at a jail elsewhere.
The county is preparing a hiring push. It might help if they could get some more money for pay as well. I am unsure that $16 an hour is going to attract the cream of the crop.
6 comments:
You get what you pay for and working in a jail isn't easy. They could double the pay and still have problems. Some jailers supplement their income by smuggling contraband. It's a fairly common side hustle.
Heck, we had an Associate Warden catch a DUI at the California Men's Colony. Not only that but his wife, who worked there as a lieutenant, went down to the county jail and raised a ruckus. Enough of one so that it made the local paper. They both kept their jobs and are now retired.
In my experience Trey, bringing contraband to inmates was a fairly RARE side hustle. In my entire career, I personally knew only two schmucks that were ever accused of that. I discovered one of them, and reported him, myself.
I only knew of two personally, but the CDC paid a LOT better than most of the local jailers got. (In CA the deputies got paid OK, the jailers significantly less.) One got nailed for tobaacco smuggling (not illegal specifically) and one for cell phones, a much bigger deal.)
TDCJ once had a death row inmate call a Senator who was also the head of the Texas Criminal Justice Committee from a phone smuggled into death row. There is a big pay difference between CDC and TDCJ. I believe TDCJ employees may qualify for food stamps. The quality of the employees is far below what is needed.
I had a cousin who worked BRIEFLY for the New Mexico DOC, before the big riot 30-odd years ago. He said the only people who worked at the prison were people who couldn't get work picking lettuce. He wasn't joking. It has,in theory, gotten better since the riot.
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