Members of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Local 1175 held an informational picket outside Menard Correctional Center on Monday, calling out for workplace safety amid violent attacks from inmates.
Picketer's Message Is Clear: "Safety Matters!"
The picket took place outside the medium-security unit at Menard Correctional Center in Chester, with Correctional officers from the facility reporting that inadequate staffing levels have led to a rise in violent attacks by inmates.
"Safety Matters!" is the clear message they aim to convey to the management, other facilities, and the Department of Corrections, Heartland News reported.
The Menard Correctional Center Critical Staffing Shortage
Menard Correctional Center is a maximum-security facility that houses male prisoners. According to the Illinois Department of Corrections, the center currently holds 1,543 maximum-security prisoners, 323 at the medium-security unit and 51 at the reception and classification center within Menard Correctional Center.
The union asserts that Menard Correctional Center is facing a critical staffing shortage. Only 407 correctional officers are employed despite being budgeted for 657 and 748 frontline employees, with 321 positions remaining unfilled.
Violence escalates when staffing levels decrease, says Rick Hepp, a correctional sergeant at Menard Correctional Center and the current AFSCME union president. According to him, Menard houses some of the most dangerous inmates, receiving those transferred for assaults at other facilities and retaining those who commit assaults within Menard.
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Adequate staffing is critical to ensure safe and secure operations at the corrective, and that's not currently being achieved, Hepp added.
Increasing Rate of Violence Due to Short Staffing
In a statement released by AFSCME, 30 employees were assaulted by prisoners at Menard Correctional Center from January to March, involving an officer being headbutted by an inmate, resulting in a broken nose requiring surgery, and another instance where a prisoner used handcuffs as a weapon, leading to six officers being sent to an external hospital.
AFSCME asserts that the prison frequently operates with significantly fewer staff members than necessary to uphold safety protocols.
Union Calling for Illinois' Action
Such incidents tend to occur more frequently when there is insufficient staffing to provide mutual oversight, noting that this issue is widespread, affecting correctional centers across the entire state, Eddie Caumiant, the regional director of AFSCME Council 31, emphasized.
Caumiant knows that the state of Illinois can ensure safety within correctional facilities, as they have witnessed and experienced in the past. Caumiant highlighted their primary goal is for management at Menard Correctional Center, other facilities, and leaders within the Department of Corrections to address and prioritize their safety concerns.
Addressing the staffing shortages must be made a priority. Only until they get staffed will Hepp want to see a comprehensive plan put in place that ensures all facilities, including Menard Correctional Center and others, can operate safely and securely at their current staff levels.
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