Safer Prisons. Safer Communities.

Prisons focused on rehabilitation create safer environments for everyone. By focusing our prison system on rehabilitation, not just punishment, we can reduce recidivism and create safer and more rewarding working environments for corrections staff. This shift requires investing in programs and resources that support personal growth, education, and re-entry preparation. As co-founder of Sistas in Prison Reform Santia Nance says, by centering rehabilitation in our prison system, we can reduce violence, support personal growth, and create safer communities for all.

“Correctional officers and staff have one of the most difficult and dangerous jobs in the federal government. They are also tremendously underpaid – which is why the Bureau of Prisons has had to offer this additional pay to recruit and retain qualified employees.” - American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) National President Everett Kelley. The announcement of cuts to retention bonuses for federal prison staff is already having an impact and further exacerbating a long-standing staffing crisis in correctional facilities across the country. Check out our press release to learn more: https://lnkd.in/eMBVfa8P

Prisons are facing a staffing crisis, which compromises the safety of the workforce and also the incarcerated individuals they are responsible for. Due to public perceptions of corrections staff, their work is often underappreciated and undervalued, which further worsens the issues they face. As Scott Semple, former commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Correction, says, “Correctional professionals never know the outcome of their engagement with people, which is often cited as having the biggest influence on those who are successfully rehabilitated and able to re-enter their communities.” Respecting their efforts, recognizing their dedication, and understanding their challenges are some of the first steps our leaders can take in addressing understaffing prisons across the country. By changing public perceptions, we can build safer prisons which will create safer communities.

SAVE THE DATE: We will be hosting our first ever LinkedIn Live event on Tuesday April 29 at 1:00PM ET featuring speakers Andy Potter, Shaneva D. McReynolds, Ph.D., Scott Semple, and moderated by Juliene James.

After #COVID19 was declared a worldwide pandemic five years ago today, prisons across the country entered into extended lockdowns. On #InternationalLongCovidAwarenessDay, we remember the thousands of incarcerated people and staff who died during the pandemic and reflect on how the extended lockdowns deeply impacted the mental health, rehabilitation, and family connections for those living and working in these facilities. Co-founder of Sistas in Prison Reform, Santia Nance, speaks about how 18-month isolation affected her fiancé’s well-being, highlighting the lasting emotional toll a lockdown has on incarcerated people and their loved ones. “He was having a hard time just keeping up with everyday life.” The impacts of this pandemic continue to reverberate in communities across the country, which are experiencing high rates of incarceration, backed-up criminal justice dockets, and severely understaffed prisons. Visit our website to learn more about these crises: https://lnkd.in/ekV6N8x4

Family connection through visitation plays a crucial role in rehabilitation and successful reentry for incarcerated people. Santia Nance, co-founder of Sistas in Prison Reform, knows just how important these connections are. Her fiancé, Quadaire, is incarcerated and he has told her just how much experiences like visits mean to him. “He would even say so himself, that having the hope and the chance to see a bit of light in visitation and the hope of coming home, made him more motivated.” Despite the positive impact visitation has on the mental health of incarcerated people, due to severe staffing shortages in correctional facilities, visitations are frequently canceled or restricted, cutting incarcerated individuals off from their loved ones. Without this support, rehabilitation becomes even more difficult. Addressing the staffing crisis is essential to ensuring people who are incarcerated can maintain these critical ties and work toward a successful future. ?? Support our campaign by sharing this post and visiting our website: https://lnkd.in/ekV6N8x4?

Santia Nance, co-founder of Sistas in Prison Reform, has seen firsthand the impact prison staffing crises can have on incarcerated people. Watch as she shares about her incarcerated fiancé Quadair and the motivation he receives through phone calls with loved ones. When he's denied that connection, as he is during lockdowns, he feels less like a person and more like a number. Frequent lockdowns due to understaffing disrupts vital connections, making rehabilitation even harder for incarcerated people. Without access to the outside world, these individuals can struggle to maintain hope and build up the confidence necessary to eventually reintegrate into communities across the country. As Santia’s experience shows us, this staffing crisis is causing irreparable harm, not only to incarcerated individuals, but also to their families and our communities. https://lnkd.in/ekV6N8x4

The Associated Press reports how severe staffing shortages in prisons put both officers and incarcerated individuals at risk. Research conducted by our campaign and featured in the article shows: ? With state-employed corrections officers dropping from 237,000 in 2012 to just 182,000 in 2023, prisons across the country are struggling to maintain safety. In Illinois alone, nearly 400 frontline security positions remain unfilled, leaving 1,750 maximum-security beds vacant while inmates are improperly placed in lower-security facilities. This crisis forces overworked officers into excessive overtime and creates dangerous conditions inside prisons. Urgent action is needed to address this growing threat. https://lnkd.in/e4PZcB5n

Lockdowns prevent incarcerated people from receiving the support they need, and with the staffing crisis worsening in prisons across the country they are becoming more common than ever. Watch the co-founder of Sistas in Prison Reform, Santia Nance, describe the poor conditions people in prison must endure during these lockdown events, which keep them from accessing a variety of services. We must address these staffing shortages so corrections staff and incarcerated people can both experience safer, more rehabilitative environments. Stay tuned as we continue to share more insights on this issue. https://lnkd.in/ekV6N8x4

The plan to eliminate staff retention bonuses in the Federal Bureau of Prisons is out of step with what is needed to reduce understaffing and improve conditions in the federal prison system. Staff retention bonuses have helped ease some of the significant federal prison staffing gaps, which have been at critical levels for years. Without these bonuses, federal prisons will be even further understaffed with deadly consequences for corrections officers and incarcerated people alike. We need to be adding more tools to fix the ongoing prison understaffing crisis – not taking them away. Read our full statement in this press release: https://bit.ly/4gYuxsA