Staff shortages and high staff turnover continued to cause major disruption and poorer conditions in many prison systems. They inevitably lead to problems for both staff and people detained. In New Zealand, for example, it was reported in 2023 that only one prison in the country was fully staffed, with nearly 500 vacant positions across the prison service, and more than 350 employees unable to work due to sickness, injury, leave or other reason. The staffing crisis has led to people in prison being confined to their cells for 23 hours a day, long delays in parole hearings, lack of rehabilitation opportunities and reduced family visiting hours. In Slovenia, 456 escorts to court were cancelled during 2022 due to a lack of staff with in-person hearings being replaced by video link. In Australia, a mental health hospital for people in prison had to close for several months because there were not enough staff, with people in prison in need of specialised care being transferred to regular prison cells as a result.
In some cases, armed forces are called on to fill the gap of staff.
Responses to staff shortages often looked to short term solutions instead of tackling the underlying causes of poor staff recruitment and retention. In some cases, armed forces are called on to fill the gap of staff, as seen in at least two States in the US and in Belgium in recent years. Technology is also being turned to where workforce shortages are persistent. A trial in the US state of Nevada tested parts of a ‘corrections command and control platform’ utilising technology to replace staff, including live video streams, drones, thermal cameras, geospatial mapping and location tracking devices to provide staff with a real time view of what is happening in the facility. The Department of Corrections in Montana, where there have been 900 staff vacancies, are looking to adopting a similar model. Organisations representing the interests of staff have pointed out that while technology serves as an important tool, it should not be used as a replacement for a robust workforce.
Poor terms and conditions for prison staff continue to lead to staff protests and industrial action. In the Central African Republic, prison officers were on strike for more than two weeks in 2022 in protest of poor working conditions, exacerbated by prison overcrowding, and to demand back pay. Prison staff in Côte d’Ivoire also took industrial action in 2022 because of working conditions. In Australia, staff at a youth detention centre have demanded better health and safety protections. In Zaballa prison in the Basque autonomous region within Spain, staff also went out on strike during 2022 following allegations of unequal labour conditions after the recent transfer of prison administration from the national to the Basque government, denouncing precarious staff terms and conditions. In Ukraine, prison staff are reported to have ‘rioted’ over corruption within the prison management.
Prison authorities are also looking at different ways to attract interest in staff recruitment.
There is increasing recognition that while pay increases and improved employment terms and conditions are important factors in the successful recruitment and retention of good prison staff, these measures must be matched with a culture change within prison systems. This includes accountability at the senior leadership level, a much broader review of prison service delivery and an overall reduction in the use of imprisonment, including a decrease in the use of pre-trial detention. One example of a more holistic approach is seen in Kenya. At the end of 2022, the President of Kenya established a national taskforce on the improvement of terms and conditions and other reforms for police and prison officers in response to ongoing challenges which impact the ability of both services to deliver their mandate effectively. This will include looking at legal, policy, administrative, institutional and operational reforms as well as a review of staff terms and conditions of service and a review of matters related to the welfare of staff. The taskforce has been travelling around the country to collect input from staff members as well as the public on prison service delivery.
Prison authorities are also looking at different ways to attract interest in staff recruitment. In Belgium, authorities are addressing the workforce shortage by recruiting at music festivals and there have been recruitment drives through television adverts in several countries in recent years. Schemes to fast-track applicants have been introduced in some places, for example in England and Wales where people leaving the armed forces can be fast tracked and retrained as prison officers, and in Texas, new career centre is to be opened where applicants can be screened immediately to speed up the hiring process.