Stories from Mississippi prisons are grim, with evidence indicating that in the worst cases, shorthanded staffs have delegated inmate management to gangs. No chance of any problems arising from that cost-cutting idea, right?
Mississippi’s travails come to mind in light of a report on the Politico website whose second headline reads, “Prison staffing has grown so dire that governors in Florida and West Virginia have declared states of emergency in recent weeks.”
Even more interesting is the story’s main headline: “ Why Nevada wants to use drones inside prisons.”
According to Politico, all 50 states for years have struggled to find enough guards to oversee the nation’s 1.2 million inmates. “And in recent months the vacancy rates have skyrocketed as officers — frustrated by low pay, violent conditions, long hours, isolated work locations and routine exposure to Covid-19 — quit in droves,” it added.
Thus Nevada is ready to let technology take over. The state is going to deploy drones in prisons to keep an eye on inmates — literally. It also will make inmates wear surveillance bracelets even though they’re already behind bars.
Nevada actually got the drone idea from a police department in Arizona that’s using the program on a smaller scale. Nevada corrections officials envision a prison security system with a command center where one person can monitor video feeds and decibel levels inside each prison housing unit, along with outdoor areas of the property.
When a situation escalates to an emergency, the monitor can deploy prison guards to that area. As for the bracelets, they would be useful when an inmate escapes, as would the drones, which could provide an immediate airborne view of the area.
There are plenty of unanswered questions about this plan — starting with how much it will cost. One lawmaker observed that state prison officials appear to be building a house without knowing what it’s going to look like.
Also, for all of the world’s technological advances — from simple stuff like the TV remote to extremely complicated equipment — things do go wrong sometimes. The real test of Nevada’s plan will be what happens at the prison when the equipment goes out. The corrections industry also will learn whether inmates really can be managed with limited human intervention.
Politico also reports that other states are filling prison jobs the old-fashioned way — with higher salaries. In 2021, Nebraska raised the average salary of prison officers to $58,200 — a 40% jump from the prior rate of $41,600.
A year later, Nebraska’s number of vacant positions have declined significantly. Now the state’s biggest prison staffing problem is attracting qualified medical caregivers.
Looking 20 years ahead, it will not be a surprise if Nevada’s drone approach works and is copied elsewhere. Even if its plans require a lot of adjustments, there is no getting around the fact that being a prison guard is dangerous work. States will have to pay these employees a premium — or replace them with machines.
