Crowding, continued staffing shortages and lack of programming that keeps inmates from timely parole remain the top problems facing Nebraska prisons, a report issued Thursday showed.
The state Department of Correctional Services is trying to dig out from a pile of problems that grows with every report of inmate unrest, assaults on corrections officers and loss of key staff.
Doug Koebernick, the inspector general watching over Nebraska's prisons, outlined his concerns and offered a long list of recommendations in his first annual report.
He was chosen to be the state's official watchdog of prisons by State Ombudsman Marshall Lux a year ago. The job was created as part of a prison reform law after investigations into sentencing miscalculations and other problems.
At any given time, more than 300 vacancies among front-line prison staff plague the department, Koebernick said in the report. Add in crowded conditions, an increase in the number of inmate assaults on corrections officers and the need for program funding.
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"(This) is an agency that clearly does not have the necessary resources needed to fulfill its mission," he said.
Today, 1,321 inmates eligible for parole are still sitting in prison, many of them waiting for programs they need to complete to meet conditions of their parole, he said.
Recently, inmates Koebernick talked to in the minimum custody unit at the Nebraska State Penitentiary shared this concern: I’m past my parole eligibility date and have done what has been asked of me. However there is one more program I have to take in order to have the board parole me and I’m not scheduled to get into it for months or longer.
"To say they were frustrated is an understatement," he said.
Failure to have the inmates prepared for parole may cost the state of Nebraska $35,000 to $40,000 per year for each of those inmates, he said.Ìý
Crowding contributes to the agency's problems.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Nebraska was the fourth most overcrowded prison system in the country behind Alabama, Delaware and Illinois.
This month, 5,289 inmates are in custody, including 151 housed in county jails. That is 161 percent of design capacity, Koebernick said. Jail inmates are included because that program will end next year, he said.
Other highlights of the report:
* The May 9 suicide at Tecumseh State Correctional Institution of Aslin Nabarro, 44, shows the need for mental health treatment, training, use of interpreters and emergency response.
A critical incident review team made a thorough and professional report on the suicide, Koebernick said. The inspector general observed Nabarro was kept in restrictive confinement too long, was not provided the care or treatment he required, and that his cries for help were not heard or were ignored.
Better communication and coordination of care for inmates is needed, he said, as are enhanced training of staff so they recognize requests for assistance and better use of interpreters, including face-to-face contacts with inmates.
* The June 10 escape of two prisoners from Lincoln Correctional Center was the result of failures in security and oversight. Koebernick said his review of the escapes will be completed by Oct. 1.
His preliminary concerns include the effect of staff shortages on security, the impact of crowding, staff complacency that led to practices that did not meet departmental or public expectations and a lack of security and accountability audits.
At this time, Koebernick said, no staff or administrators -- including Warden Mario Peart, who was reassigned following the escape and retired July 1 -- have been disciplined, although that may be pending.Ìý
The question of where accountability starts and ends regarding the escape needs to be answered by the department, Koebernick said in the report.Ìý
* The department should increase recruitment and employment of minority staff, including those who speak Spanish and other languages prominent among inmates.Ìý
A relatively steady 10 percent of Nebraska prison employees, or 231, are minorities. In 2014, 100 were African-American, 75 Latino, seven Native and 24 Asian. Few minorities are in leadership positions.Ìý
Currently, about 45 percent of inmates are minorities.
Other highlights of Koebernick's report include these.
* Vocation and life skills programs need significant funding.
* At least six counties are interested in working with the state Corrections Department to house work release inmates in their home counties.
* The Corrections Department is unable to keep up with travel orders for medical consult requests despite efforts by a work group in 2015 and 2016 to solve the problem.
In February, Koebernick completed a needs assessment on which his report is based. Those needs include staff salary increases, including possible reclassification of positions and consideration of extra duty pay, more beds for low-level, nonviolent offenders and the potential for work release inmates to stay in their communities, a $50 million backlog in maintenance and a need for adding core services, such as kitchen and eating space, day rooms, classrooms, recreation areas and yard space.
Here are recommendations included in Koebernick's report.
* Present salary proposals that would include longevity pay or a plan to reward employees for reaching certain work goals, achievements or certifications.
* Provide additional pay for extra duties that require more training.
* End the $250 bonus program that is part of a $1.5 million retention plan and use remaining funds to provide bonuses to employees who did not get a $500 bonus this month.
* Place limits on overtime and consider stopping back-to-back 16-hour shifts.
* Develop plans to bring "new blood" into the agency's staff.
* Continue to develop more program options for inmates to assist in them being paroled, including programs provided in foreign languages.