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New Hampshire State prison struggles to recruit guards

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Posted by: USMCMP5811

State prison struggles to recruit guards
Sunday June 12, 2005
By ANNE SAUNDERS
Associated Press Writer
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) Cpl. Marvin Burnette can tell something is wrong by watching how an inmate walks across the yard or observing how inmates congregate.

His experienced eye has enabled him to alert others at the New Hampshire State Prison and prevent problems before they spread. His retirement last month, at age 60, marked yet another loss for the Department of Corrections, which is struggling to find and keep experienced corrections officers, especially in Concord.

Statewide, the number of guards working for the department dropped from 638 in 2001 to 560 despite an increase of about 180 inmates. The number of unfilled guard jobs rose from nine to around 70 during the period, which included a dramatic 2003 escape in Concord blamed partly on staffing shortages.

Corrections Commissioner Stephen Curry said he's beginning to turn the situation around. The last class to graduate from the 8-week training academy produced 23 new guards, compared with earlier classes that generated 10 to 15.

But Curry has much to overcome, including budget problems, low morale, high turnover and a high proportion of applicants who don't make the grade.

``In 15 years, this is the worst it's ever been,'' said Corrections Officer Mike Robichaud, who works in Concord. ``Morale is the worst ever. Staffing is the worst ever.''

He said stress is part of the problem.

``It's just the tension of the job, the bulls--t from the inmates,'' he said.

The department says the staffing shortages, aggravated by turnover of about 10 percent a year, leads to problems with mandatory overtime and denied vacations.

Corrections Officer Kelly Audut remembers being told she'd have to work overtime on her birthday. Officials found someone to replace her, but the upheaval pretty much ruined her day, she said.

Relations between the department and the union also have been strained since before Curry took the job 11 months ago. The union has twice voted no confidence in Curry, filed two unfair labor practice complaints and picketed outside the Concord prison, the system's largest.

The State Employees Association says the department is failing to adequately staff the Concord prison, has fired longtime employees with little reason, has violated the contract and has refused to settle grievances.

The budget is still in flux, but both House and Senate versions would cut what the department can spent on personnel. Spokesman Jeff Lyons said the department probably would cut elsewhere before it stopped hiring guards, but it might leave some guard positions unfilled to pay for overtime.

Staffing shortages were partly responsible the escape of three inmates, including a convicted murderer, from the building trades area of the Concord prison on June 4, 2003. The problems included no one manning a security tower that had an unobstructed view of the area.

Capt. Jon Fouts said running prisons with a minimum staff requires limiting inmates' access to educational and other programs.

``An idle inmate is a problematic inmate. They're bored. They're trying to alleviate their boredom,'' Fouts said.

``You'll often see a rise in assaults,'' he added.

The Concord prison already is overcrowded and holds the most dangerous inmates in the system, whose other prisons are in Berlin, Laconia and Goffstown. Rated for 975 inmates, Concord sometimes houses more than 1,400.

The department has difficulty attracting qualified applicants to be guards. It typically needs 40 applicants to get one or two good recruits, who then must successfully complete training.

Applicants must be at least 20 years old, have a high school equivalency degree and pass a background check, psychological and medical screening and a physical fitness test. The fitness test causes the most trouble, a trend that began about three years ago, according to recruiter Lt. Rod Greenwood.

But Greenwood doesn't recommend relaxing the requirements. ``You've got to be ready to grapple a person to the ground. You've got to be able to take care of yourself,'' he said.

Robichaud was an unemployed carpenter when he came to work for the prison. Job security and good retirement benefits attracted him, he said. Kelly Audut, who joined two years ago, was interested in a law enforcement career and saw this as a step in the right direction, she said. Both are common reasons for people to apply, Greenwood said.

Pay and benefits are not the problem, he said. New employees earn a salary of $32,000 and get full health and dental benefits. They also are eligible to retire after 20 years. ``It's a pretty good gig,'' he said.

In Berlin, where there's high unemployment, there's no problem with recruitment. ``The need is for Concord,'' Greenwood said.

The staffing situation has gotten slightly better as corrections officers serving in the military in Iraq have returned home. At one point more than 40 positions were vacant and held open for returning reservists and National Guard members.

That gain has provided some sliver of hope to guards.

``I think we're on the right track,'' Robichaud said. ``We're just having a hard time getting back to where we were.''< ^ =

On the Net:

Corrections Department: www.state.nh.us/nhdoc/

Guard vacancies by prison in New Hampshire
Sunday June 12, 2005
Inmates, guards and vacancies by prison in New Hampshire as of June 6:


Men's prison, Concord

1,287 inmates, 33 security vacancies out of 293 total.

Women's prison, Goffstown

92 inmates, 3 security vacancices out of 29 total.

Laconia prison.

244 inmates, 20 security vacancies out of 95 total.

Berlin prison.

523 inmates, 7 security vacancies out of 140 total.

Other facilities

326 inmates, 7 security vacancies out of 73 total.< ^ =

Source: N.H. Department of Corrections


Posted by: KozmoKramer

Good story Kenny.

A few months ago I met a CO from the NH DOC at a gun range function and he (15 years in) concurred morale has never been worse.
When I told him I was thinking of taking the exam, he said stick with Mass.
The bullshit with the inmates is all the same, but the pay and bennies blow NH away...
Even with he lower cost of living, how well do they expect a guy with a family to live on $32k a year…


Posted by: GateKeeper

Mass is about 6 grand more. But the cost of living is far higher.

The bull sh#t sounds the same with management, inmates and low staffing.


Posted by: JGH_7223

Quote:
Originally Posted by KozmoKramer";p=&quot View Post
Good story Kenny.

A few months ago I met a CO from the NH DOC at a gun range function and he (15 years in) concurred morale has never been worse.
When I told him I was thinking of taking the exam, he said stick with Mass.
The bullshit with the inmates is all the same, but the pay and bennies blow NH away...
Even with he lower cost of living, how well do they expect a guy with a family to live on $32k a year…
Koz,
I know a couple of people from N.H. Corrections one is a retired Captain. The money is horrible.JGH


Posted by: KozmoKramer

Quote:
Originally Posted by JGH_7223";p=&quot View Post
...Koz, I know a couple of people from N.H. Corrections one is a retired Captain. The money is horrible...
Not too mention the working conditions at the State Prison in Concord are abissmal. It was built in 1878 for Gods sake!!

Look at this excerpt from the NH DOC Website.

"The New Hampshire State Prison for Men is the state's oldest prison facility. The original state prison was built in 1812. A new facility was constructed in 1878. Following extensive renovations and new construction in the 1980's, this facility remains in use today. The NH State Prison for Men is a multi-security level male only facility with the capacity of 1,205. The Secure Psychiatric Unit is also on the grounds.

Offender population on June 30, 2004: 1,397"

I suppose it is a state of the art facility; compared to what the Pilgrims had that is...

NH desperately needs a new 2,500-bed state prison, just like what Mass did with SBCC…


Posted by: lowellaux1

I worked at NH DOC- Concord for about 4 years. Stay AWAY! Go to Mass DOC or Burger King for christs sake. During my 4 year tenure.....saw 2 walks outs/sick ins ( actually got caught on the shift that the sick in was supposed to relieve. Morale is/was horrible and graft is the norm, I mean more so than any other place. Also...I knew CPL Marv Burnette, one of the best officers there.


Posted by: KozmoKramer

lowellaux1 - you're the type of new Masscops member I've been hoping would join up.
Please continue to fill us in on the NH DOC. There are at least 2 other members that I have been PM'ing with who have contemplated taking the NH exam, but withdrew consideration due to the low pay, working conditions, and hazzard.

It will be good to get an insight to the NHDOC and a perspective other than merely a pay-scale.
I think your are the only current or ex member of the department.

Take a stroll through the MASS DOC posts in the Corrections Forums and you can see the kinds of questions that some of us have posted.
WELCOME ABOARD and please post on!!


Posted by: lowellaux1

Hey Kozmo Thanx,

I worked for NHDOC for close to 4 years and during that time was a Field Training Officer and member of the Crisis Negotiation Team. I will admit I am not a Guru to every aspect of NH DOC administration, but saw enough to get an holistic view.
The pay....starting...with differentials...is like 15/hr. You max out after three years at NH DOC at about 18 hour. The place is horrible but calling it as it is, there are a few pluses. It is EXTREMELY easy to get hired asssuming you can pass the PT test. If you cant pass the PT test, depending on how hard up they are, they may even give you a waiver and hire you, but by the time you enter the academy you MUST pass the PT test, or instant termination. In rare circumstances you can get waivers up to 1 year ( again this depends on how many people have quit that month). One of the biggest reasons people get terminated within their first year is that they will hire a person who is obese, and is clearly unable to loose enough weight within a year to pass the PT test. The department will put you on uncertified positions, and stick you in low contact positions, just to fill spots. They figure that this will ease the staffing problem temporarily. Then when you hit your 1 year waiver, still obese, will just call you in 1 day and fire you. They can do this because you are still on probation and uncertified. Assuming you have no PT problems, the back ground check is non existent. Occasionaly, they may hire you and start you, and if they run into an issue with you, will then conduct a background on you and use that as grounds for termination, b4 your 1 year point. They MAY, but not necessarily, check your work references, and even that is not certain. We have hired people who have been fired as police officers/corrections officers from other agencies. One gentleman even was hired by the agency whilst they knew he had a suspended license in another state. Now you might be thinking, OK...these people may have had connections. That is not the case...LOL. These were just regular joes, off the street and the departments hiring standards are often dictaterd by how fast they need to hire people. One of the only good things about NH DOC is that you can call in sick up to 10 days/year sick without a doctors note, without anything showing up on an eval. Another good things is, it is very easy to get time off approved. Also....if you are mildyly literate, it is not unheard of to make CPL within a year of your hire date. Also...there is so much overtime, if you are in need of fast cash, there is unlimited potential for OT. With that being said, I still would never recommend anyone putting their paperwork in. I was never mistreated, partly due to luck and another part, just knowing when to hide, but have seen countless other officers fall victim to administrative malfeasance. I know corrections gets a bad rap, but not all agencies are bad. I have a few buddies who work for MASS DOC..and from what I have heard, it is like a KINGDOM OF LOVE comparred to NH. Mass sounds like there is some transparency as to how the agency is run. IN NH, "what happens behind walls...stays behind the walls". Just a really poor way to run a law enforcement agency. I could go on and on and on..but eventually it would start sounding boring or scary. If anyone is still thinking about joining, PM me.


Posted by: the jeff

where can i apply to take the exam?


Posted by: KozmoKramer

Quote:
Originally Posted by the jeff
where can i apply to take the exam?
Unless your just trying to be a smartass;
http://www.nh.gov/nhdoc/careeropportunities.html
http://www.nh.gov/hr/classspec_c/2275.htm
http://www.nh.gov/nhdoc/
http://www.state.nh.us/hr/docs/jobapp.doc


Posted by: KozmoKramer

lowellaux1 - thanks pal..
That is great information. Like some of my discussions with current MA DOC Officers have gone; this is a very hard job to understand unless you actually know someone who is or has done the job. Most of us havent even driven by a prison, let alone know what its like to work in one. Thanks again bro...


Posted by: no$.10

Corrections Officer Kelly Audut remembers being told she'd have to work overtime on her birthday. Officials found someone to replace her, but the upheaval pretty much ruined her day, she said.



Is she turning 5?

I couldn't just let that one pass.

Booh-goddam-hoo


Posted by: Big Daddy 45acp

Quote:
Originally Posted by KozmoKramer
lowellaux1 - you're the type of new Masscops member I've been hoping would join up.
Please continue to fill us in on the NH DOC. There are at least 2 other members that I have been PM'ing with who have contemplated taking the NH exam, but withdrew consideration due to the low pay, working conditions, and hazzard.

It will be good to get an insight to the NHDOC and a perspective other than merely a pay-scale.
I think your are the only current or ex member of the department.

Take a stroll through the MASS DOC posts in the Corrections Forums and you can see the kinds of questions that some of us have posted.
WELCOME ABOARD and please post on!!
Kozmo,
It actually started getting bad up there almost 20 years ago (198. I worked there for 6 months (before coming back to Mass.) At the time there was a lot of construction going on and you could pick and choose your own overtime. That made it easier to take the low pay. They had so much, in fact, that they limited us to 48 hours every 2 week pay period. Then they started to cut back the OT and I could see the writing on the wall.

Hey Lowellaux1, I worked with Burnette also. Let me throw some names at you. Capt. Metalious, Ernie Perkins, Roger Morrisette, John Wescott. You work with any of those guys?


Posted by: lowellaux1

Hey BIg Daddy,


Ernie Perkins is still there. He is great guy. He is now the deparments only department sniper ( I think they sent him to a sniper school at FLETC), a fire arms instructor and permantly assigned to transportation, I think ( I have been gone a year). Ernie is a funny guy, really gruff, a true marine, but will kill himself to help you if you need a hand. A few years ago they changed the firearms quals. and made them more difficult. I am talking about "sniper" requirements. These new quals were so hard. He took me off duty to a range and got me squared away in an hour. I went from being barely able to qualify to a perfect shot. Before that Ernie and I werent even that tight, but he still offered to help me just because he knew I needed it. As far as Morrisette, he left about 3 years ago. I am not familiar with the other names. Oh yeah..I am sure you will know this name, Capt Jerry Benard ( the troll...5'3 240 lbs), well he was trespassed from Honey Dew Donuts for going in on duty and telling a 15 yo clerk she had "nice tits". A year or so after that, he grabbed Fran the nurses bum. He was fired....lol...with only 6 months to go to retirement..so perfect. Here's another, Dragon, Lt Dragon, nutted out about 6 months ago. He literally started to get anorexic nd went from near 220 lbs to 140. It literally became an obsession, started thinking people were trying to kill him, then ran out one day screaming. When the DOC tried to get him mental health permanent disability they found ou he had withdrawn his retirement and basically disappearred. I know what you mean about the crazy overtime rules. They still have them. Infact it got so crazy and out of control...a bunch of staff members were demoted/fired because for like a year, the transportation department was dummying up fake OT slips, that were NEVER worked. I think that happened under the SNowman, Sgt Snow. Anyways.....glad to hear yuo made it back to Mass


Posted by: Big Daddy 45acp

Ernie is a SOLID dude! We used to be workout partners. Also, did you ever hear about the "Mickey Mouse Club"? We were "alleged" members. As a matter of fact, Ernie ended up marrying my ex-girlfriend, who then left him for another woman. I get a call from him every now and then. I am going to have to look him up.
Jerry Benard...troll is right...'nuff said.
Dragon, that name sounds familiar, I think I went to the academy with him.

Actually, I liked it up there. My reasons for leaving were purely financial. The politics down here just got worse when we opened the new jail. If they reopened the Old Salem Jail tomorrow, I would kill to be the first one inside!

I basically had SHU to myself. Capt. Metaliuous was my OIC on 2nd shift and he was the type of guy who knew his people. Even though I was the "rookie" right out of the academy, he recognized the training and experience I had in MA. My Sgt., Zelda Ziemer, was top notch. By the book, but "flexible" when necessary.

God I miss the old days!


Posted by: federal officer

Holy smokes, If I could only work 48 hours of overtime in two weeks pay there would be a problem. I personally average 3 a week .We have so much overtime guys here are pulling six figure incomes. no limit to what you can do here.


Posted by: lowellaux1

Hey Big Daddy,


I heard about Ernies wife turning lesbian, small world that she was your ex. I think, If i am not mistaken, there was also another lady whom he was involved with that turned lesbian too. Not to poop on Perkins, but strange luck...lol. Zelda Zeimer was dismissed in the late 90's because her and her lover were caught shop lifting video games from Ames. Also SHU is all messed up now, literally. It is all computerized, but the locks are messed and alot of cells are popping open on their own, while others you need a crowbar to open, really a dangerous mess. Do you remember Bill Schnyder? He is the tall, husky man who is severly dyslexic. He is now a 3rd shift Sgt. This is his 2nd time being a Sgt, because in the late 80's he was demoted after a CCU escape attempt, because he had lied about doing rounds on the 11-7, when he really hadnt. This may ring a bell, he used to say he was a Navy Seal, but really wasnt, then goty confronted about it in the parking lot by a real former Seal. He never told that story again he nikname was, when I was there was( Bill the Retard, Stuttering Bill and Billy F-ck Nuts).


Posted by: Big Daddy 45acp

Yeah, Ernie has all the luck! They don't turn lesbian until AFTER the fact! They just leave me in order to join a convent.

Schnyder, glasses and bad teeth? I think he went to my academy also! I don't know if it is the prison water or what, but a LOT of people who work there end up losing it either mentally, physically or criminally! Or, the really good screws up and leave, or get screwed over by not-so-good screws.

When I was up there, a buddy of Ernie's and mine was given a polygraph over and over until he failed, then they forced him to resign. Another "alleged" member of the Mickey Mouse Club.

The other guy I was tight with was Gerald Haney. Worked out with Ernie and me.

Another I remember is Ed Byerhoff (sp?). He was a little different.


Posted by: lowellaux1

Hey Big Daddy,



Yes I remember the stories of the Micky Mouse Club, just to screw with the warden. That was back in the days when Investigations had real power. Now, they are too afraid to do anything, because the warden kind of uses them as a scape goat, anytime a bad decision is made. Honestly, they let WAY to much stuff fly now, just out of fear of being booted out of investigations and put back in a uniform. Yes I remember Haney, he is good guy, now a LT, but I think the prison water was getting to him now too. The admin were nailing him HARD...REALLY HARD, for abuse of sick time. Nothing against Haney, but he actually had some type of sick time scam going for a bit. I think he was trying to get funny money=disability at 66.5 %, never really worked out for him though. Basically, they put him on probation and when he went for CAPT, shut the door on him and wouldnt let him lateral to another shift or switch days off for his sick time scams. He was good supervisor though, he never play "f-ck f-ck games". Oh yeah....Schynder did have funky teeth and glasses. He was banned from doing breifing for a bit, because he was starting to make stuff on the breifing board , because he couldnt read what was written. On nites that serious shit would happen on previous shifts...he would just stare at the breifing board and would say some thing like..."quiet nite".




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