SALT LAKE CITY — A blistering audit said staffing shortages at the new Utah State Prison are so severe that it has impacted the ability to maintain safety and security within the facility.
The audit alleged that Utah's Department of Corrections "failed to sufficiently plan for the increased number of staff required at the new facility and a negative culture at UDC amplifies the existing staffing problems at USCF."
The audit was prepared for leadership in the Utah State Legislature and made public on Tuesday. It is the latest in a series of audits on problems within the Utah Department of Corrections.
Current staffing shortages have led to assaults of inmates and corrections officers, the audit said.
"USCF’s warden shared that he believes staffing shortages are a primary reason for recent officer assaults that have taken place at USCF, as well as frequent inmate-on- inmate assaults. UDC is aware of this but must make drastic changes to address these concerns," auditors wrote. "This will require leadership to be innovative and strategic in its efforts. Without a more focused approach on recruitment and retention, and a willingness by UDC management to be more responsive to the challenge, staffing USCF as intended may not be possible. It is critical that management focus on creating a culture of growth and retention."
The staffing of the prison has reached "crisis levels," the audit said. The Legislative Auditor-General's Office found that while the state has funded for 704 staffers, the new prison needs 895 and only has 323 now. It blamed prior Utah Department of Corrections leadership for not addressing it quickly enough, saying their actions for recruitment and retention were "minimal."
Utah Department of Corrections Executive Director Brian Nielson retired in May.
The Utah State Legislature funded and pushed for a prison relocation from its aging facility at Point of the Mountain in Draper to Salt Lake City's west side (the land in Draper is now being developed). The audit said that rather than increasing hiring to meet increased demand at the new prison, the Utah Department of Corrections lost 91 more officers.
"UDC management attributes the large dip in fiscal year 2022 hiring to low pay and the move to the new prison. A significant factor in the positive hiring spike for fiscal year 2023 is recent legislative appropriations that have allowed UDC management to increase the starting salary for [correctional officers]. This is a positive change, but also means that new officers may be paid more than tenured officers. UDC personnel spoke to us about salary compression and noted that it does not occur at correctional facilities in counties, and it impacts CO turnover," the audit said.
The new prison design doesn't help, either. It was built with a model of "direct supervision" but with staffing shortages it appears to not really work. Auditors wrote that many housing unit officers watch over two sections at once, officers are frequently called away from their sections leaving inmates unsupervised for extended periods of time and bigger workloads lead to fewer interactions with inmates.
The audit said Corrections leadership acknowledged "issues of officer inconsistency and reduced officer presence create greater opportunities for inmates to control what happens in the sections."
"We received multiple reports of these events occurring at USCF including one report that inmates are being forced by other inmates to provide them with goods. One inmate that we spoke with said that he is housed with gang members and is scared for his life. Another inmate told us that he believes there are more drugs and violence at the new prison than the old one in Draper," auditors wrote.
The culture of Corrections is a problem as well. The audit surveyed staffers and found "nearly half of UDC staff do not feel that senior leadership strives for excellence and innovation nor are staff given opportunities to innovate." Auditors documented a sharp increase in unplanned sick leave since moving to the new prison which it said "appears to be a symptom of staff burnout and low morale at USCF." Employees are looking for other jobs, the audit said, and management is not trusted.
Auditors noted that Governor Spencer Cox has appointed a new executive director, Brian Redd, and there were encouraging signs of change. In a formal response, Redd promised changes. He acknowledged that right now, prisons are working with "mandatory overtime" but it isn't sustainable. Redd wrote that they are looking at outside help with recruitment and retention.
He wrote that a safety and security plan would be coming before the end of the year to address staff and inmate concerns, but new security cameras and other measures were being taken. The direct supervision model "requires unit leadership to engage with staff and model best practices, particularly given the tenure of our correctional officers (approximately 40% have under two years experience)."
"Support from unit leadership will ensure quality officer interactions and consistent enforcement of unit rules and incentives," Redd wrote.
On the culture within Corrections of a "status quo" and an "entrenched negative culture," Redd promised things would change.
"Leaders set the culture of a team, and ultimately an organization," he wrote.
Read the audit here:
