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.

September 24, 2026

"How understaffed are you?" Why answering this question is a challenge for corrections leaders

Getting by? Dangerously understaffed? The same prison could fit both descriptions on the same day, depending on how the staffing vacancy rate is calculated.
September 23, 2026

Federal prison staffing and safety data mirrors state trends

A new analysis of federal Bureau of Prisons data shows similar high vacancy rates, escalating overtime costs, and rising institutional violence.
Data Collection
September 24, 2026

Fixing Broken Prisons, with Mike Thompson

Retention data shows that corrections officers quickly quit their jobs after starting. In states such as Florida, the majority of corrections officers has fewer than 3 years on the job, which often means that on average, a person incarcerated has more experience being inside a prison than the people who work there.
Facility Trends
September 23, 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.

This project is 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 authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
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Arnold Ventures provides additional support for Safe Inside, which is conducted in partnership with the Correctional Leaders Association.