More correctional officers will be hired at Supermax in Florence after an outcry by the union and local officials about understaffing at the prison that houses some of the nation’s most dangerous criminals.
Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., said U.S. Bureau of Prisons director Harley G. Lappin told him Thursday that 11 officers had been hired since August and that seven more officers will be hired by the end of the month.
“It is still well below the 40 or 50 we need to ensure safe staffing levels,” said state Rep. Buffie McFadyen, D-Pueblo West.
Supermax is authorized to have 216 correctional officers; 197 were on board at the end of October, prison spokeswoman Krista Rear said.
Union officials tempered enthusiasm for new hires with concern for workers in other parts of the prison.
“We are a bit concerned that the money being used to hire staff is being taken away from the facilities part of the operations,” said Mike Schnobrich, legislative liaison for the prison union, part of the American Federation of Government Employees.
Allard said federal budget increases in the past few years have gone to the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense.
“It’s had a particularly profound impact in the U.S. Bureau of Prisons,” he said.
Staff writer Erin Emery can be reached at 719-522-1360 or eemery@denverpost.com.
