Another set of safety concerns have come up at the Green Bay Correctional Institution. Some officers reaching out to NBC26 to tell us how their expected workload has dramatically increased lately.
After months of reporting on the growing safety concerns surrounding GBCI’s maximum security prison, officers are beginning to tell NBC26 that mandatory overtime is starting to be scaled back. But other problems according to officers are beginning to surface.
“It looks like they're headed in the wrong direction. Just when you think the job situation is going to get better and the overtime is going to go away,” said State Senator Dave Hansen in response to hearing from NBC26 about some of the increased workloads we have heard about.
NBC26 has been told from officers who work on the inside of the prison that in the last couple of weeks job responsibilities have changed drastically.
What we're hearing is that many officers are now required to do more.
"You're increasing the responsibilities for the people just to make it look like you're not cutting any positions," adds Senator Hansen.
For example while the cafeteria used to be patrolled by 8 to 10 officers, today it's allegedly only be watched by four to five officers according to sources. Another example of more responsibility being spread thinner according to sources is officer escorts for some inmates now need the assistance of half of the staff that used to require for the same transport.
"To me that's taking this in the wrong direction at a facility that's supposed to house 750 and now houses about 1100," says Senator Hansen.
So while the facility is nearly fully staffed today according to the Department of Corrections, for officers who work there many say they're discovering that they're doing the work that used to be required of a team and not just one person.
The DOC told NBC26 that they are not cutting staff or positions but they are conducting a review of the jail right now which may result in reallocation of certain posts.
