http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/03-14-2007/0004546182&EDATE= Federal Prison Workers Union Warns Attorney General of Critical Staffing Shortages Within Bureau of Prisons
AFGE Council of Prison Locals Requests Meeting With AG to Resolve Issue
WASHINGTON, March 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Federation
of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents federal correctional
officers nationwide, including the federal Supermax facility in Florence,
Colo., sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales requesting a
meeting to increase the dangerously low staffing levels within the federal
Bureau of Prisons (BOP). AFGE Council of Prison Locals President Bryan
Lowry made the request in an effort to reverse a trend consisting of
cutbacks, vacating Mission Critical Posts, and an overall lack of staffing
throughout the BOP.
"This concept of 'doing more with less' is destroying the sanctity of
our security within the BOP," said Lowry. "We can no longer sit back and
remain idle while our staffing levels continue to drop and our inmate
levels rise. Proper staffing levels within our federal prisons are
essential to maintaining the safety and security of our correctional
officers, inmates, and surrounding communities."
In addition, a recent unpublicized outbreak of assaults at the United
States Penitentiary in Florence, Colo., which is located in the same
complex as Supermax, resulted in numerous injuries to federal correctional
officers who secure the high-security facility. Other facilities nationwide
have also seen an increase in assaults, both inmate-on-inmate and
inmate-on-staff, which is a direct result of the grave staffing levels
throughout the BOP.
Convicted terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui was sentenced last year to six
life sentences in the Supermax prison, a BOP facility that has seen
significant decreases in the staffing of its Mission Critical Posts since
September 2005. Mission Critical Posts are posts deemed by BOP as essential
to the safe and secure operation of its facilities. AFGE represents BOP
workers at Supermax, and again calls on Congress to grant full funding to
all federal prison facilities in an effort to assure the safety and
well-being of all inmates, correctional officers, and surrounding
communities.
From Sept. 25, 2005 to May 7, 2006, one particular unit at the Supermax
facility was fully staffed on all three shifts for just 31 days, leaving
the unit to be inadequately staffed the remainder of the time. "The 114
facilities that make up the BOP system are not adequately staffed, and
Supermax is no different," said Lowry. "We've reached a critical point and
something needs to change. Convicted terrorists such as Moussaoui going to
understaffed facilities should be a concern to everyone."
AFGE says serious inmate overcrowding and correctional worker
understaffing such as that at Supermax plague the BOP system, and create
hazardous conditions for federal prison inmates, federal correctional
workers, and the communities in which they work.
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest
federal employee union, representing 600,000 workers in the federal
government and government of the District of Columbia.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/03-14-2007/0004546182&EDATE=SOURCE American Federation of Government Employees
LET THE NON VIOLENT DRUG OFFENDERS GO!
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