Maine’s prison system has had a tough time finding and keeping guards, with as many as three dozen officer positions unfilled at the Maine State Prison. A pay raise approved by the Legislature last year has helped the recruitment effort, but now the system faces a new challenge.
Guards complained about long hours and low pay, and they told lawmakers they could make better money as private security guards.
Gov. Paul LePage proposed shifting funds to the department, a move that provided a couple of dollars per hour more. That has made a difference filling staff vacancies at the Maine Correctional Center and Long Creek facilities, corrections commissioner Joe Fitzpatrick said.
“I think we are just about fully staffed there, if not fully staffed. At Maine State Prison I believe we were running in the 30s, in terms of vacancies — in fact, maybe 33 or 39. I think we are currently running around 12 to 15 vacancies, so you can see that it is working,” he said.
Jim Mackie, a union representative for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 93, acknowledged the pay increase has helped. But he still worries about the retention of young guards, some just out of high school, who are shocked by the reality of the prison environment.
“When I see the younger workforce in there, it’s so intense in corrections that it is literally a culture shock for them when they get inside,” he said.
Many decide a career as a prison guard is not for them, even with the increase in pay.
Fitzpatrick said the department is also facing new challenges. Last week, when it was expected that inmate populations would start to decline for the summer, instead 45 new inmates entered to the system.
“We have been sitting on a unit of 80 beds, and we need them, because as of today we have exceeded 2,300 prisoners in the Maine State System. That has never happened before,” he said.
Many of these inmates are in for drug-related crimes, and while opening an existing but unstaffed unit at Maine State Prison in Warren helped to accommodate the influx of inmates, it hasn’t been easy, Fitzpatrick said.
“Addiction is such an enormous challenge because the relapse potential is par for the course. These individuals are not hopefully coming to us because it is the first time they have had a shot at treatment and it failed,” he said, adding that the drug crisis is having a serious effect on the corrections system, as it has on all of society.
Vassalboro Rep. Lori Fowle, a Democrat and the co-chair of the Legislature’s Criminal Justice Committee, said lawmakers knew tougher penalties for drug crimes would result in more inmates entering the system.
“We knew — our end result was for them to end up in prison. These people are doing the worst crimes that are causing deaths in our state. And that this was the intent of the laws we passed,” she said.
Sen. Kim Rosen, R-Bucksport, co-chair of the committee, said that while she’s pleased pay raises have improved recruitment and retention, she’s worried about the growing pressure on the system from drug and drug-related crimes. Rosen and Fowle, who are seeking re-election, say this will be a major issue for the new Legislature to contend with in January.
“There are more and more people coming in. It will be a problem,” Rosen said. “But we will be able to address it when we come back in January. We will be able to look over the last six months and see where the numbers are.”
Meanwhile, the rebuild of the Correctional Center in Windham approved by lawmakers last year will ease the situation, with its 200 substance abuse treatment beds and overall additional capacity. But it’s at least three years away from completion.
This article appears through a media partnership with Maine Public Broadcasting Network.