4 Arizona prisons, including Lewis, up overtime hours amid security issues
May 10, 2019, 4:21 PM | Updated: 4:23 pm
(Pixabay Photo)
(Pixabay Photo)
PHOENIX — The Arizona Department of Corrections has approved an increase in overtime hours for four prisons amid reports of security issues, including the stabbing of a correctional officer on Wednesday.
Staff at the Lewis, Florence, Eyman and Winslow prisons will now be able to work 32 overtime hours per week, up from 24.
Lewis Prison in Buckeye, where Wednesday’s stabbing and at least six other assaults occurred between June and December 2018 according to ABC 15, has been the center of the safety problems, largely thought to be caused by faulty cell locks.
Darren Sikes, president of the Arizona Correctional Peace Officers Association, told KTAR News on Wednesday that the increased hours will help keep the prisons safe.
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“It puts more staff on the grounds to do the job that we need to do, and in the event that there’s a disruption, we have an additional staffing level to help against the inmates population,” he said.
Jorge Hernandez, a former Arizona correctional officer, told KTAR News on Wednesday that the overtime increase looks good on paper but doesn’t totally solve staffing issues.
“Because it is so short-staffed, they’ve been having to send out emails everyday letting everybody know how many people they need to stay for overtime just to make sure that their numbers on paper look like the facility is being ran correctly,” he said.
Sikes called that a “fictitious report” and said the increased hours allow staff who live paycheck to paycheck to voluntarily work more hours.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has authorized two investigations into security and safety issues at the Lewis Prison.
Officials began to transfer close-custody inmates at the prison to other facilities Monday.
KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Ali Vetnar contributed to this report.
