How to Lower Costs Without Putting Staff at Higher Risk

HOW TO LOWER COSTSWITHOUT PUTTING STAFFAT HIGHER RISKTHE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH STAFFING IS A

VICIOUS CYCLE. LEARN HOW TO SUSTAINABLY

CUT COSTS ON THE STAFFING BUDGET LINE

ITEM WITHOUT ADDING TO ANOTHER.

The costs associated with correctional staffing is a vicious cycle that

only results in more cost if not accounting for the entire problem.

Operators dealing with budget cuts have reduced staff, put a freeze

on hiring, reduced salaries and benefits and eliminated pay

increases. While looking good in the books, these solutions only

solve half the equation and actually add more cost when taking into

account injury and stress corrections employees encounter when

dealing with the ever-growing inmate population.

For operators who desperately need to reduce staffing costs, this

eBook presents sustainable solutions that cut costs without shuffling

Reduce Injury,

Reduce Stress

eBook presents sustainable solutions that cut costs without shuffling

costs to another budget line item. If not implementing the ideas in

this eBook, operators will continue down the path of cutting staffing

costs, only to incur more with injury and turnover.

In two chapters, this eBook will present several ways to reduce the

risk of injury and lessen the stress correctional staff experience on

the job- saving operators money.

Please use the ideas presented in this eBook.

How to Lower Costs Without Putting Staff at

Higher Riskwww.performainc.com 1

Reduce

Injury“The threat of violence against officers, actual violence committed by inmates, inmate demands and violence committed by inmates, inmate demands and manipulation and problems with co-workers are conditions that officers have reported in recent years can cause stress.”

-Addressing Correctional Officer Addressing Correctional Officer Addressing Correctional Officer Addressing Correctional Officer StressStressStressStress, NIJ


Higher Risk2www.performainc.com

According the Bureau of Labor Statistics, correctional officers have

the highest rate of nonfatal on-the-job injuries than any other

career. What is the impact to correctional facilities? An injury

removes an employee from an already lean staff- resulting in

required overtime for remaining employees. Operators are left

paying double- the overtime rate of pay and workers’

compensation.

This section will provide several ways to reduce the risk of injury:

• Eliminate contraband

How to Reduce the

Risk Injury

• Eliminate contraband

• Prevent overcrowding

• Strategically assign inmates to housing

• Design to prevent conflict



From drugs to cell phones, contraband causes real conflict behind

bars. According to the Arkansas Department of Corrections, in the

summer of 2009, two convicted murderers plotted their escapes

with contraband cell phones.

Restricting interaction between visitors and weekend visitors from

standard prison population is proven to reduce the amount of

contraband throughout the prison.

White County Law Enforcement Center, in Arkansas, serves as a

judicial, enforcement and detention justice facility. Operators

Eliminate

Contraband

judicial, enforcement and detention justice facility. Operators

needed a building that provided an operational flow encompassing

safety and security, along with accessibility to the public.

During the design process:

• Planners established two major interior traffic flows: one

for the public and one for justice. The two traffic flows

meet only at the necessary points of interaction.

• Directly correlated with this design, levels of contraband

among inmates has decreased significantly. The design

cuts interaction between weekend inmates and visitors,

who regularly supply contraband to the rest of the jail

population.



Video conferencing is another way to eliminate physical interface

between inmates and visitors. Technologies such as Jpay, ATM

looking kiosks, allow inmates and visitors to interact without the

possibility of security breeches. In addition to this, inmates who

have regular interaction with friends and family are more likely to

behave better.

Eliminate

Contraband



Overcrowded conditions stands as the cause of nearly every prison

riot. The riot in Chino, Calif., fueled by overcrowding issues, has

many corrections professionals predicting more U.S. prisons are

ticking time bombs. Overcrowding prevents the basic needs of

inmates to be fulfilled and requires inmates to be locked up with

nothing to do- increasing their resentment toward the facility and

staff.

Cutting programs and trimming staff that only leaves the needed

few to deal with a swelled inmate population is a one-sided

solution. While cost is saved on the staffing line item, other line

Prevent

Overcrowding

solution. While cost is saved on the staffing line item, other line

items such as facility repair and workers’ compensation, are

slammed with more cost.

Prevent overcrowding by:

• Outsourcing to a private operator

• Contracting housing from county jails and other state

penitentiaries



At Rappahannock Security Center Regional Jail, Morton J.

Leibowitz, superintendent, decreased the number of hostile

incidents by instituting an inmate housing strategy that grouped

similar inmates together. The National Institute of Corrections

(NIC) report, InmateInmateInmateInmate BehaviorBehaviorBehaviorBehavior ManagementManagementManagementManagement:::: TheTheTheThe KeyKeyKeyKey totototo aaaa SafeSafeSafeSafeandandandand SecureSecureSecureSecure JailJailJailJail, defines a clear strategy for housing inmates of

similar category.

After inmates' behaviors and histories are assessed and classified,

jail staff should assign housing based on the following factors:

Strategically Assign

Inmates to Housing

• The level of security risk the inmate presents

• The inmate's ability to function with other inmates

• The level of supervision the inmate requires

• The types of services the inmate requires

• The types of programs that should be made available to

the inmate

• Legal requirements for separating certain categories of

inmates



When building a new facility design to prevent conflict, choose an

architect that can virtually walk you through the design to make

sure there are no unsupervised areas.

Implement a design which incorporates direct supervision. Data

gathered by the NIC to analyze the success of podular, direct-

supervision jails indicates sharp reductions in vandalism, escape,

disturbances, suicides, murders, and sexual and aggravated

assaults. Less violence directly results in safer work environments

as required force is reduced. The direct supervision also allows

correction officers to readily avert situations before they escalate.

Design to Prevent

Conflict

correction officers to readily avert situations before they escalate.

As an added bonus to operators- the number of security officers

required to monitor each pod is reduced to three or four.



Reduce

Stress“These factors, combined with understaffing, extensive overtime, rotating shift work, low pay, poor public image and other sources of stress, can impair public image and other sources of stress, can impair officers’ health, cause them to burn out or retire prematurely and impair their family life.”

-Addressing Correctional Officer Addressing Correctional Officer Addressing Correctional Officer Addressing Correctional Officer

StressStressStressStress, NIJ



Due to the nature of the job, operators are continually trying to

manage with high staff turnover rates. When one employee leaves,

remaining employees are required to pick up the slack with

overtime- which only results in more stress. According to the

National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS), in 2000, the

average national turnover rate for correctional officers was 16.1

percent. The American Corrections Association (ACA) concluded

stress and burnout among the reasons for the high rate.

Corrections staff read about crimes in offender files, they view

assault and riot videos for training purposes. They witness first-

How to Reduce Stress

and Prevent Trouble

assault and riot videos for training purposes. They witness first-

hand riots and assaults or have been victims. Gradually this

exposure, coupled with the high stress and need for continual

watchfulness, breeds symptoms of psychological disturbance such

as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress and secondary

traumatic stress.

To reduce stress:

• Retain staff

• Reduce conflicts

• Build to meet user needs

• Institute an employee stress program


Higher Risk10

The American

Corrections

Association (ACA)

concluded stress

and burnout among

the reasons for the high rate.

www.performainc.com

High turnover rates result in large training and overtime expenses

and add to the already present stress to the remaining correctional

officers and staff. A report prepared for the Vermont Department

of Corrections revealed several factors that correctional staff

selected as reasons they wouldn't select corrections as a career or

for long-term employment:

• Pay/benefits not fair for the work performed

• Forced overtime with no thanks (summer the worst)

• Work stress

• Safety

Retain Staff

• Safety

• Backbiting

• Petty office politics

• Lack of team work

• Favoritism



As mentioned in the previous chapter on reducing injury, reducing

conflicts also reduces stress. Conflicts can be prevented by:

• Eliminating contraband

• Preventing overcrowding

• Strategically assigning inmates to housing

• Designing the facility to prevent conflict

Reduce Conflicts



In the planning stage of any project, map staff movement and tasks

performed throughout the facility to gain an understanding of how

the new facility can enhance the job. When a facility makes the job

easier, the employee becomes more efficient. In the correctional

facility, an efficient employee is an employee with less stress.

When planning, here are ways to build a more positive

environment:

CreatingCreatingCreatingCreating consistencyconsistencyconsistencyconsistency withinwithinwithinwithin correctionalcorrectionalcorrectionalcorrectional facilitiesfacilitiesfacilitiesfacilities allowsallowsallowsallows staffstaffstaffstaff

totototo becomebecomebecomebecome accustomedaccustomedaccustomedaccustomed totototo spacespacespacespace andandandand supervisionsupervisionsupervisionsupervision taskstaskstaskstasks. The

Build With User

Needs at the Center

totototo becomebecomebecomebecome accustomedaccustomedaccustomedaccustomed totototo spacespacespacespace andandandand supervisionsupervisionsupervisionsupervision taskstaskstaskstasks. The

National Institute for Corrections (NIC) reported that when direct

supervision was introduced in the 80s, most correctional officers

had at least initial adjustment problems. Even though direct

supervision was proven to be safer, with fear at the root, officers

were not trained how to be in direct and solo contact with

prisoners. Creating consistency with prison systems will allow for

easy facility transfers and standard training.

BoostingBoostingBoostingBoosting staffstaffstaffstaff moralemoralemoralemorale throughthroughthroughthrough facilityfacilityfacilityfacility designdesigndesigndesign willwillwillwill alsoalsoalsoalso increaseincreaseincreaseincrease

retentionretentionretentionretention ratesratesratesrates.... In effort to reduce the feelings of being locked up,

correctional facility design should include adequately sized and

furnished locker and changing rooms, muster rooms and training

rooms, well-located staff restrooms, cheerful dining and break

rooms and natural lighting.



Excessive noise levels in correctional settings are associated with

increased levels of stress and heightened safety and security

concerns among staff.

Noise was studied at the Oshkosh Correction Institution in Oshkosh,

Wis. The Wisconsin Department of Corrections Noise Study

concluded that:

• High noise levels contribute significantly to staff concerns

about safety, assault and maintaining control of their housing

units. In housing units with the highest noise levels, reducing

Build With User

Needs at the Center

units. In housing units with the highest noise levels, reducing

noise was ranked as the single most important strategy for

addressing staff concerns about safety and control.

• Correctional staff also identified noise as a major

contributor to stress and tension over staffing levels, lack of

program resources and co-workers' management

techniques.

According to the American Correctional Association's noise standard,

inmate housing should not exceed 70 decibels during daytime hours

and should stay below 45 decibels (dBA) at night. In Oshkosh, when

noise levels were reduced below 65 dBA, staff tended not to

consider their unit noisy and reported they were less concerned with

inmate behavior as it affects their safety.


Higher Risk14

Inmate housing

should not exceed

70 decibels during daytime hours

www.performainc.com

In their report AddressingAddressingAddressingAddressing CorrectionalCorrectionalCorrectionalCorrectional OfficerOfficerOfficerOfficer StressStressStressStress, the

National Institute of Justice (NIJ) states that a stress program can:

• Save correctional administrators money by reducing

overtime costs incurred when officers take sick time or

quit because of job-related stress

• Improve officer performance by enhancing staff morale

• Increase institutional safety by reducing distractions

caused by stress

• Improve relations with the union by working together on a

program that can mutually benefit both parties

Institute an Employee

Stress Program

program that can mutually benefit both parties

• Show concern for employees by demonstrating that the

department cares about its staff as human beings, not just

employees



In the same report, NIJ recommended several action steps that will

result in a successful program

• Appoint talented and dedicated staff who can stand the

stress of helping others who experience stress.

• Get the whole-hearted participation of top

administrators, union officers, line officers, and family

members.

• Maintain confidentiality; provide an array of services, not

just debriefings, after critical incidents; train supervisors

to spot and refer officers who may be experiencing stress;

Institute an Employee

Stress Program

to spot and refer officers who may be experiencing stress;

and change the correctional organization itself in ways

that will reduce officer stress.

• Monitor program activities and evaluate their

effectiveness in reducing stress and saving the

department money.



Cutting positions, not filling vacant positions, freezing pay increases

and new hires seem very enticing when taking into account staffing

can consume 75 to 80 percent of corrections budgets. When looking

at the affect, however, costs are simply shuffled around. This eBook

presented sustainable solutions that cut costs by reducing the

injuries and stress corrections employees encounter daily.

ReducingReducingReducingReducing injuryinjuryinjuryinjury bybybyby::::

• Eliminating contraband


Reduce Injury,

Reduce Stress


• Strategically assigning inmates to housing

• Designing facilities that prevent conflict

Reducing stress by:Reducing stress by:Reducing stress by:Reducing stress by:

• Retaining staff

• Reducing conflict

• Building with user needs at the center

• Instituting an employee stress program



Let Performa show you how your facility can reduce staffing costs.

Their free initial planning session will lead your team through a

Jump start your

project with a free

correctional project

scoping work

session. Let Performa show you how your facility can reduce staffing costs.

Their free initial planning session will lead your team through a

day-long work session that will help define a high-level project

scope plan. Lead by David Robillard, President of Performa's

Federal Programs Group, the free initial planning session reduces

risk, provides a solid strategic-decision-making tool and helps

ensure the project meets or exceeds cost-schedule and

performance objectives. The work session will examine:

• Facility staff/ space requirements

• Site selection and acquisition/ evaluation criteria

• Site configuration/ land use plan alternatives

• Project’s order or magnitude cost estimate

Sign up to receive the free initial planning session HERE.



Performa Inc.

Performa, Inc. is a complete planning, design and engineering firm located inDe Pere, Wis. As the premier consultant for the Department of HomelandSecurity (DHS), Performa has established national design standards forservice processing centers located throughout the country and has providedvarious services from strategic planning to design for DHS agencies whichvarious services from strategic planning to design for DHS agencies whichinclude: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and BorderProtection (CBP) and US-VISIT.

www.performainc.com

David Robillard

David Robillard is the President of Performa’s Justice Program. He has workedwith numerous local, county, state, federal agencies and private sector clients,providing them with strategic business, land and facilities consulting services.

David’s 25 years of commitment and dedication to justice work has allowedhim to be a strategic resource, helping clients achieve their goals by bringingto them the most recent organizational, operational and functionalstandards/guidelines and industry trends. He is personally involved intechnical studies in the areas of design guidelines, proto-type facility models,site master planning, needs assessment, architectural programming anddesign.

www.performainc.com