Missouri Department of Corrections Can't Escape Failure; Why Officers Won't Stay

As we wrote previously, the largest number of staff leaving the Missouri DOC are those with years of experience. Not only is there a shortage of staff, but a shortage of experience. we can surmise that there is trouble on the horizon when those who know what's happening and can read the writing on the wall are choosing to make their exit. The question is why is this happening? What is it that experienced staff have seen in their time that makes them turn in their badge after years of service? We are dedicated to sharing the voices of those staff who feel abandoned by the department they serve. We have received a lot of feedback from former employees and are always looking for more people with a story to tell. The following was written by an Officer who left the department after over a decade of service.

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Where to begin

Corrections isn't pretty. It would be foolish to expect a job in a prison to be sunshine and smiles. People who haven't worked in the system might even think it's odd for staff to complain about their jobs, because after all, you knew it was a prison when you took the job, you knew what you were getting into. There is a grain of truth to this. If you go to work in a prison, you have to expect a certain amount of negativity and job stress. The issue, however, is that dealing with inmates and the dangers of a prison environment only account for a small fraction of the job stress for corrections staff.

The main issue impacting Officers has nothing to do with inmates, but rather everything to do with the culture of corrections. Missouri DOC has been criticized for decades for the "good ol' boy system" which incorporates favoritism, discrimination and retaliation in dealings with staff. Some staff would receive promotions because of who they new or who they were related to, while others would be blackballed because they were not a part of the click. Staff were subjected to sexual and other harassment and were retaliated against for speaking out. After the Pitch article about Missouri DOC's systematic discrimination went viral and drew national attention, changes were made. Unfortunately it seems that the good ol boys were replaced by the mean girls. The change in management seems to be a new face on an old snake.

The new administration has implemented changes but none seem geared toward staff. The administration has taken a position against staff. This is clear by their actions. In April 2018 a smoking ban was implemented in all Missouri Prisons. The Department says that this was the result of a court order based on an Offender lawsuit. In reality, the ban seemed to be nothing more than administration jumping on an opportunity to change Missouri DOC policy to mirror that of North Carolina. Director Anne Precythe was brought to Missouri to fix the state's broken corrections system. This change has involved the incorporation of Policies implemented during Precythe's tenure in North Carolina. It should be noted that The North Carolina prison system has been plagued with violence, and holds a much higher rate of line of duty deaths for corrections staff than that of Missouri. It feels as though those from a failing system were brought in to fix our failing system.






To make matters worse, staff are not allowed to voice their concerns without retaliation. Over the last year, numerous staff have been disciplined for social media posts. Some staff who spoke out about safety issues regarding implementation of the smoking ban during an emergency staff shortage report that they were actually threatened by the director herself for speaking out. A conversation began through the state email system in which staff from multiple institutions were speaking about the critical shortage, the mandatory overtime and the dire problems facing the department. Central Office shut this conversation down and disciplined those involved. These actions from administration show that staff are not valued. This is one of the biggest problems in terms of staff retention. This is one of many reasons I left the department. I will outline below what lead me to leave. I'm confident that many others would say the exact same thing.


Administration is against staff

DOC is notorious for using only negative reinforcement. It has been said before that you can work your entire career excelling and going above and beyond for your job and never get a positive note in your employee file or even a kind word, but if you mess up once, there will be a note in your file. This often holds true. Furthermore, policy is constantly changing to accommodate the wants and needs of offenders while staff concerns are ignored or worse. I personally witnessed an Officer forced to write a statement as to why an offender was released 10 minutes late for recreation after the offender's family contacted the warden to complain. Within hours of the call from the offender's family, the officer was summoned to do paperwork on the issue. I myself, sent multiple written reports to the warden and Major to address issues within the prison and never received a response. When administration bends over backwards for the offenders but can't be bothered to address issues of safety, harassment and discrimination in the institution, it is clear that staff are not on their list of concerns.


The Missouri Department of Corrections is essentially a pyramid scheme, as is the State as a whole

People often talk about the low pay of State employees (especially corrections) but that is not the whole picture. The thing is, some states have a lower economy across the board and no one is well paid. That is not Missouri. Missouri is around the bottom in employee salaries and near the top in upper level government. If you have a state with the highest paid governor and the lowest paid employees, there is something wrong. In terms of DOC, there is a lot of dishonesty involved so that the department heads can keep the money earned by the staff. According to Salary.com the average pay for a corrections officer in Missouri is over $42,000 per year. This figure is laughable. The State website lists the payrate for COI's as $28,824.00 – $39,864.00. The problem with these numbers is that they are made up. Starting pay for Correctional Officers is around 28k-29k a year. The department does not provide step raises so an officer who starts now at $29,000 a year will be making $29,000 a year in 15 years. The higher end of the pay scale is a fantasy. The reason the department falsely reports the pay as such is that this allows them to budget for the upper end while paying at the lower end. This means they get to keep the extra money allocated for staff pay. The fact that staff is so short now, means even more "excess funds." This money goes to people in central office holding fake jobs, or to pay the salary of two people doing one job with four assistants. The department is run by thieves. There is no other way to put it.




Administration does not care about staff safety

At this point I have established the fact that the department does not care about staff, but it is still hard to understand that human life could mean so little to those lost in their own greed. Staff numbers are dangerously low, and administration refuses to take steps to address this. In fact Director Precythe decided to change the numbers required to consider an institution fully staffed rather then increase staff or change operations to make facilities safer for employees. Everyone who works in the Missouri Prison System knows that violence is coming and staff are going to get hurt or likely killed. It has been referred to as the lottery. We don't know when, or who but it is inevitable that someone is going to take the hit for the department's failures. Someone won't go home to their family because of the unsafe conditions the department is aware of and refuses to deal with. This is not a could happen...this is a will happen. Everyone knows it and the department does not show any sign that it is anything more than a calculated business loss.

Corrections is a killer

Corrections has the highest rate of PTSD and a disturbingly low life expectancy for Officers. The stress of the job leads to many physical and mental health problems. A number staff turn to substance abuse to deal with their PTSD. Officers sacrifice their health and their family, marriages fall apart, parents miss their kids growing up as they work long hours at the prison and lives crumble around the job. Personally, I saw a man die in front of me. I've seen people stabbed. I've seen heads split open. I have had myself and my family threatened in ways that would shock the common person. I have seen a lot in my time, but not near as much as other Officers who have been through much worse. The experiences Officers are subject to affect their health negatively. But I don't think that is the real killer. It's the fact that Corrections staff make these sacrifices for a department and society that will never acknowledge them or their service. For me it came down to one thing. Every time I would pick up my son and he would look at me with love in his eyes, I thought about how he could, any day, begin a new life without his dad in it because I went to work and won the lottery, and to the department it would only be another family to pay and another uniform to fill.

Lastly, I want to say, If you work for DOC and your life and your family are worth more than a file in central office and a dollar store badge, get up and do something. Stand up and say something.

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Related posts:

Former Missouri Corrections Officer Speaks Out


Missouri Department of Corrections Exposed


Missouri Department of Corrections covering up dangers While Luring Young People to Work in Failing Prison System


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