Governor Kay Ivey recently applauded the graduation of 55 correctional officer trainees on Thursday in the third class of 2024 as the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) strives to meet federally mandated staffing requirements.
The class will graduate from the Alabama Criminal Justice Training Center on the Wallace State Community College campus in Selma after completing 10 consecutive weeks of training to obtain Alabama Peace Officers’ Standard and Training Commission certification and become Correctional Officers.
Ivey celebrated the graduating class by hosting them at the governor’s mansion. She also boasted of the upcoming class, slated to be the largest since she took office.
“I am proud of the 55 Correctional Officers graduating from the Academy this week and was honored to host them at the Alabama Governor’s Mansion,” Ivey said. “These men and women have chosen a career of true public service. I reminded them that being a Corrections Officer is highly critical and really important to public safety in our state. Here in Alabama, we strongly back the blue, and that includes our Corrections Officers, and I was proud to personally share that with these officers today.”
For years, ADOC has struggled to maintain recruitment numbers in Alabama prisons. The overcrowded nature of state prisons, combined with a lack of sufficient staff, has proven to have harmful effects on prison conditions and security.
Last year, ADOC increased the starting pay for corrections officers by $12,000-15,000, depending on the level of academy training and the security level of the prison. The raises brought slight improvement, as ADOC halted the years-long trend of net losses in prison staff in May 2023.
The staffing shortages were addressed by the federal government in 2019 after the DOJ filed suit against the State, alleging that conditions in Alabama's prisons constitute "cruel and unusual punishment" banned by the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The complaint, filed by the Trump administration, cites chronic understaffing, high violence rates (including deaths and sexual assault), inadequate mental and drug treatment programs, and the dilapidated conditions of prison facilities.
According to the court's mandate, ADOC must hire 2,000 more correctional officers by July 2025.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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