Outside Raleigh’s Central Prison, a poster advertises open interviews for job seekers. The vacancy rate among North Carolina prison officers has now reached 40%. (Photo by Clayton Henkel)
Everyone understands that jail is a difficult place to be, both for the inmates serving time and for the experts hired by our government to manage them.
Of course, on one level, especially for those who are imprisoned, this is appropriate. A prison sentence is not a vacation; rather, it is punishment for major transgressions of societal rules.
However, it is also true that almost all persons who enter prison will eventually reintegrate into society and, hopefully, live productive lives.
Given this simple reality, it’s difficult to overstate how shortsighted and destructive our state’s current prison situation has become, with thousands of prisoners and security personnel forced to coexist and function in dreadfully underfunded, understaffed, overcrowded, and dangerous conditions.
The bottom line: The main solution to our jails’ crisis – allocating more resources to hire more personnel at fair salaries and enhance facilities – is apparent, and state politicians have all the money they need to pursue it. Act now, not later.