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Deadly riot at federal prison in South Texas could have been prevented with adequate staffing

By Gritsforbreakfast

Was understaffing at a federal prison in South Texas responsible for yesterday's prison riot? It seems likely.Only 13 guards were on duty to oversee 1,160 inmates at a medium security federal prison in Three Rivers when a riot broke out yesterday, leaving one inmate dead and 22 injured. That's an 89-1 inmate to staff ratio. (See coverage from the Corpus Christi Caller Times.) A union representative said "the incident could have been prevented if the prison was more adequately staffed."At Texas jails, by contrast, 48-1 is considered minimum staffing, and I've long thought that ratio is too high to ensure guard and inmate safety in every circumstance. At 89-1, when the s%*t hits the fan, guards can do little but run for their lives.I've been paying attention to chronic understaffing at Texas prisons and jails, and the state's response, but it sounds like the problem may be even worse (and the prisons therefore even more unsafe) at federal facilities, if this absurdly high inmate to staff ratio is typical...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on March 29, 2008 (boomark / email).