William Marshall, commissioner of the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said some improvements are being seen in West Virginia’s prisons and jail. (Photo courtesy pf WV Legislative Photography)
CHARLESTON — Officials with the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Monday it is too soon to say whether funding to recruit and retain correctional officers and staff is making a difference, but vacancy numbers are coming down.
William Marshall, commissioner of the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, gave a presentation Monday afternoon to the Legislative Oversight Committee on Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority.
According to Marshall, vacancies within the state’s 11 prisons, 10 regional jails, 10 juvenile centers, and three work-release sites are now below 990 after rising as high as 1,100 at one point during the second state of emergency called by Gov. Jim Justice in August 2022.
“As of right now, the retention efforts are probably too small of a sample size right now — being that we just started the new pay plan this month – to give you retention numbers, but I am happy to report that today for the first time since COVID, our vacancies are under 1,000,” Marshall said.
Justice called a special session earlier this summer, with the Legislature passing six bills addressing correctional issues. These included Senate Bill 1005, providing $21.1 million to increase the starting pay and change pay scales for correctional. Two other bills, Senate Bills 1003 and 1004, provide nearly $6 million for one-time bonuses for support staff in the correctional system.
One year earlier, Justice issued his second state of emergency to address severe staffing shortages in state regional jails and prisons.
Justice also ordered the West Virginia National Guard to help fill staffing shortages. The original MOU was for one year, but Marshall said a memorandum of understanding between the division and the National Guard was renewed.
Marshall said DCR has also received more than $60 million in deferred maintenance appropriations set aside in the general revenue budget for jails, prisons, and juvenile centers. DCR has submitted specific projects to the Governor’s Office for approval and get bids out as quickly as possible to begin work.
“We’re trying to maximize every bit of dollar and every opportunity we have in order to get as many projects completed and worked on as soon as possible,” Marshall said.
The state’s prisons and jails are suffering from overcrowding. For example, the North Central Regional Jail in Doddridge County is has 300 more inmates than it was designed to hold, with approximately 800 inmates at the facility.
“We’ve made efforts to adjust some of the counties that North Central serves in order to alleviate some of those numbers, but it’s such a hotbed area right now when it comes to drug crimes and crimes in general that they are feeding into North Central,” Marshall said.
The state is defending itself against a class action lawsuit over the funding levels, overcrowding, staffing, and physical condition of jails and prisons.
Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com
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2023-10-17 04:04:28
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