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Field Notes

Field Notes are brief, timely updates, read in five minutes or less. They highlight one aspect of staff recruitment, staff retention, and working and living conditions in state prisons.

How do state departments of corrections target retention bonuses for maximum impact?

August 17, 2026

Fixing Broken Prisons, with Mike Thompson

August 17, 2026

The number of correctional officer vacancies declined in Texas after TDCJ hired FEWER officers.

August 17, 2026

Data Collection
August 18, 2026

Fixing Broken Prisons, with Mike Thompson

Retention data shows that corrections officers quickly quit their jobs after starting. On average, COs spend far less time working in the prison than the average incarcerated person has living there.
Facility Trends
August 18, 2026

How do state departments of corrections target retention bonuses for maximum impact?

Bonus structures vary widely from state to state. What works?
Quality Hiring
August 18, 2026

The number of correctional officer vacancies declined in Texas after TDCJ hired FEWER officers.

New recruits are staying longer since TDCJ became more selective in its hiring.
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This project was supported by Grant No. 15PBJA-23-GK-05377-MUMU awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance.  The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Office for Victims of Crime, and the SMART Office.  Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.

This work is supported in part by Arnold Ventures. Safe Inside is conducted in partnership with the Correctional Leaders Association.