SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s new prison cost a billion dollars, and since it opened in July, administrators have struggled to hire staff and to keep workers and inmates safe.
FOX 13 News and other local news outlets received a tour on Friday of the Utah State Correctional Facility — better known as the new Salt Lake City prison.
Administrators allowed us inside to discuss some of the challenges they’re dealing with.
Three corrections officers were assaulted over a two-and-a-half-week stretch beginning in late January.
“In every case, there have been action items that we can take immediately to mitigate from that happening in the future," said Brian Nielson, the director of the Utah Department of Corrections.
Nielson said cameras have been added and some other changes have been made to reduce the opportunities for assaults.
But the biggest safety improvement would be more corrections officers — the preferred term for guards.
"There’s been such a competitive marketplace for certified staff in the state of Utah. Until we address the shortage of public safety officers across the board in Utah, that’s going to be an issue," Nielson said.
Our tour took us to "Antelope," the maximum-security building for men. There are two corrections officers monitoring inmates there — covering two separate units because the prison doesn’t have enough staff to keep officers on both sides at all times.
One officer is actually a parole agent based 300 miles away in St. George. The corrections department has pulled her off the street and has personnel from across Utah working shifts at the prison.
“Being on mandatory overtime puts more stress on the system," Nielson said.
The prison actually has three housing units that aren’t open because there aren’t enough staff to fill them. That means the inmates are packed tighter together than they would be otherwise.
With more funding from the legislature, the department of corrections has been raising pay to entice recruits.
Nielson said the new prison still needs at least an additional 135 corrections officers. That’s about half as many as it has right now.