New Report Highlights Impact of Staffing Crisis in Colorado Prisons

A new report from a justice reform group details how staffing shortages inside the Colorado Department of Corrections are causing major problems for thousands of state prisoners, ranging from reduced access to medical care and education programs to a surge in drug use, assaults, and other crimes.

The report, issued by the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, draws on survey responses from more than 400 inmates, who were asked a series of questions about how the shortage has impacted their ability to obtain services and prepare for release. The CDOC currently has a staff vacancy rate of around 20 percent — and, the report claims, nearly a quarter of its present workforce is within five years of retirement eligibility. (A DOC spokesperson says the retirement eligibility number is closer to 16 percent.)

The staffing crisis was the focus of “The Hard Cell,” our November 8 cover story, which examined the controversial ways the state prison system has sought to beef up its post-pandemic depleted ranks, including spending millions on overtime, reassigning teachers and counselors to security teams, lowering training and age requirements, and luring new recruits from as far away as Puerto Rico with signing bonuses and the promise of low-cost housing.

Respondents to the CCJRC report mentioned several ways the crisis has made their lives tougher. One complained of not seeing a case manager for a full twelve months. Others described witnessing deaths by suicide, beatings, or medical neglect.

The CCJRC report was presented on January 10 to state lawmakers, who are considering a proposed $1.2 billion budget for prisons in the next fiscal year, including a request for an additional 500 beds. Christie Donner, the group’s executive director and a co-author of the report, urged the lawmakers to seek ways to boost staff-to-inmate ratios and end the upward spiral of a growing inmate population.

“We are not moving the needle on improving this crisis, particularly for inmates who are not accessing care,” she said. “Reducing the prison population absolutely has to be put on the table.”