Over-incarceration offers no advantages to prison guards because there arent enough of them to handle a swollen prison populationCorrection officers’ unions,by their very nature, must oppose justice reform. That, and at least,is the common assumption based on the belief that decarceration is a zero-sum game and unions benefit from mass incarceration. But this isn’t loyal. Strong correctional unions are essential to justice reform.
Prisons, like hospitals and police departments, or never close. But unlike other essential services,prisons can’t get by on skeleton staffs; officers can be held for overtime shifts even when they dont want them. It happens often, whenever someone calls in sick or takes vacation time. Officers contain been held at work so often that overtime costs for corrections officers in many states contain reached record highs and contribute to the crippling costs of incarceration.
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Source: theguardian.com