Tecumseh State Correctional Institution will begin operating on a four-day schedule in two weeks as it joins three other prisons with staffing emergencies.
The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services announced Monday that on Oct. 18 the 1,000-inmate Tecumseh prison will switch from a five-day operational schedule.
Primary prison activities, like activities, visitation and recreation, will take place Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Director Scott Frakes said in a news release that the consolidated schedule will allow the institution to maximize staffing during the four, 12-hour days.
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“TSCI is unique in that it has always required staffing support from Omaha and Lincoln in order to operate,” Frakes said. “When you compound that with the overall challenge in staffing that is occurring across the state, it has additional impact on that facility.”
Vans already transport corrections officers each day from Omaha to fill vacancies in Tecumseh and in Lincoln. The change in Tecumseh allows required security posts to be filled with fewer employees.
Staffing emergencies are now in effect in the state's two largest prisons, the State Penitentiary and the combined Lincoln Correctional Center and the Diagnostic and Evaluation Center.