ALLEN COUNTY, OH (WLIO) - More than a week after two inmates escaped from the Allen Oakwood Correctional Institution here in Lima, comes accusations on why the escape occurred.
The president of the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association Chris Mabe says too few staff and mandatory overtime were the cause of the escape. Mabe says the Lima prison is running 70 correction officers short and posts are routinely closed, putting more pressure on officers to oversee more inmates. Mabe says Ohio prisons are 2,000 officers short.
The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction sees it differently. Stating they have a little more than 1,000 officer vacancies statewide, not 2,000. Lima has 48 vacancies. Spokesperson Jo Ellen Smith says all posts were fully staffed at the time of the escape and recruitment efforts for more officers are ongoing. She says the investigation into the escape continues.
You can read the comments from both sides below:
May 31, 2023 Press Release from Sally Meckling, Ohio Civil Service Employees Association (OCSEA): Leaders of the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association (OCSEA), the largest state employees’ union, say the recent escapes from Allen-Oakwood Correctional Institution (AOCI) didn’t have to happen, and were a result of too few staff and too much mandatory overtime.
“It’s a perfect storm. You can’t be 70 officers short and mandate entire shifts to work 16 hours a day over and over in a prison. It’s not safe for staff or inmates. It has consequences. And in this instance, serious consequences. We’ve said it before, and we’ll keep saying it. Something’s got to give,” said OCSEA President Chris Mabe, who worked for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction as a Correction Officer and Sergeant for more than 25 years.
AOCI is running 70 Correction Officers short, and staff are being mandated to work back-to-back overtime. Due to excessive staff shortages, posts are routinely closed, putting more pressure on staff to oversee more and more inmates.
“Minimally, ODR&C should be reducing the number of inmate programs, curbing inmate movement, reconfiguring visitation, all those activities that require extra staffing,” said Mabe. “We can’t continue to operate as if it’s business as usual,” he remarked.
Statewide, Ohio’s prisons are 2,000 officers short, a number that rivals the days before the infamous Lucasville riot at the Southern Correctional Facility that caused the death of Correction Officer Bobby Vallandingham and nine inmates. It was widely understood that understaffing was a major factor in that uprising. In fact, “staffing levels” was one of the main considerations in a commission report outlining steps to take to avoid future occurrences.
Mabe also said ODR&C’s focus on purchasing new technologies, such as body cams for Correction Officers, has been misplaced. “They need to stop supplanting people with technology,” said Mabe. “First, technology like body cams is not going to stop inmates from escaping. It’s not going to keep officers from being tired. It’s not going to keep them safe. They’re not effective. Let’s spend our resources on what is effective: people,” he said. “Let’s focus on helping bring new officers into the field and supporting those already in the trenches,” he said.
The union says ODR&C specifically needs to incentivize Corrections jobs by increasing the wage and compensation and making the jobs more attractive. “We can’t get people in the door at the current wage rate,” explained Mabe. “Remember, just a couple years ago Ohio’s Correction Officers were staying in hotels, being exposed multiple times to COVID and working around the clock,” he said. “And don’t forget, they also were denied emergency pay. All these things have made it nearly impossible to hire and retain Correction Officers. And that’s made the system more dangerous,” said Mabe. “We don’t have a problem paying police officers. Why do we have a problem paying Corrections staff? It’s time to pony up and fix this issue,” he said.
June 1, 2023 Update - JoEllen Smith from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction had this response to the release from the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association: The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction shares the same priorities as our union partners – the safety of our staff and the secure operation of Ohio’s facilities. An internal investigation is underway into the escape, and appropriate actions will be taken based on the findings of that investigation.
I’d like to offer a few points of clarification based on the information in the press release.
- At the time of the incident, all posts were fully staffed at the Allen Oakwood Correctional Institution.
- As of yesterday, there were 48 total correction officer vacancies at Allen Oakwood Correctional Institution and 1,063 correction officer vacancies statewide, not 2,000 as stated in the union’s press release. The overall vacancy rate is 13.59 percent.
- There has been a decrease of approximately 4,500 in Ohio’s prison population since January 2019, not an increase.
Staff recruitment continues to be a top priority for our agency. We have engaged in various recruitment efforts across the state, including radio and streaming radio, advertising services, billboard advertisements, social media advertising, hiring events, recruitment in partnership with local schools and colleges, and more.
Other recruitment efforts include:
- A “teamwork incentive” was implemented where correction officers who work overtime earn an additional $50 per overtime shift – this is on top of the overtime pay. This creates more volunteering and less mandated overtime.
- In April 2022, Director Chambers-Smith and union leadership announced a new, increased pay structure for our correction officers. This new pay range was constructed to recognize the value of our most experienced officers and what they bring to this agency, including serving as on-the-job mentors for our newer officers. The new pay structure included (as stated in the April 2022 announcement):
- The first step of pay range CO increases wages by approximately 5.3% now, with an additional 3.0% general wage increase in July. Our most senior officers will see an approximate 13.8% increase now and with the general wage increase of 3.0% in July, will be making approximately 17.2% more than they do today. For those Correction Officers who made the decision to leave, we welcome them back and will hire them at the same step they were when they left.
- When staffing shortages do happen, and staff are mandated to work overtime, we understand those situations may create a hardship for our staff, and they may be tired after working a double shift. To help alleviate some of that burden, we offer food and lodging for our staff who are mandated to work overtime.
