State prisons are getting deadlier due to guard shortage

WASHINGTON — State prisons across the United States have become markedly more violent and nearly 50% deadlier over the past five years, even as many states reduced inmate populations, according to a government-funded review that points to chronic staffing shortages, high turnover and heavy overtime as major drivers of the decline in safety.

The analysis, produced through the Safe Inside initiative backed by the U.S. Department of Justice, examined data from 12 state prison systems from 2019 through 2024 and found a sharp rise in both deaths and assaults. The report documented a 47% increase in prison deaths, rising from 2.8 per 100,000 incarcerated people in 2019 to 4.1 in 2024.

Violence inside facilities also climbed. The review found assaults on incarcerated people rose 54% over that period, while assaults on staff rose 77%, highlighting how staffing gaps can feed a feedback loop: fewer officers on posts increases disorder, which increases injuries and burnout, which in turn worsens retention and recruitment.

The report’s findings come as corrections agencies nationwide struggle to fill jobs that are increasingly seen as dangerous and exhausting. According to Reuters’ summary of the review, some officers have worked multiple 18-hour shifts, and states spent more than $2 billion on overtime in 2024 — an 80% increase from five years earlier. The overtime spending is often framed as a stopgap, but the review suggests it can deepen the problem by accelerating burnout and increasing mistakes in high-stress environments.

The scale of the changes varied by state, but the report flagged especially dramatic increases in some systems. Alabama, for example, saw deaths increase from 99 to 337 during the period examined, according to the review’s data cited by Reuters.

The staffing crisis has also led some states to use extraordinary measures. Reuters reported that states including New York and Florida deployed National Guard troops to cover shortages, reflecting how thin the staffing cushion has become in some systems.

Advocates and reform groups argue the numbers underscore long-standing structural issues that go beyond headcounts. The review described deteriorating conditions as a product of systemic neglect and the continued incarceration of people who may not need to be in prison, pushing lawmakers to consider alternatives for certain offenses and to invest more in treatment, reentry and community supervision. Corrections officials, meanwhile, have often emphasized hiring pipelines, pay increases and retention bonuses — but the report suggests that staffing fixes alone may not be enough if violence continues to rise and working conditions remain unstable.

The report is likely to intensify an already heated debate over what “public safety” means inside prison walls. For corrections departments, rising assaults on staff can translate into higher workers’ compensation costs, higher turnover and reduced ability to run basic programming. For incarcerated people and their families, higher death rates raise questions about medical care, suicide prevention, contraband control and whether prisons are meeting constitutional standards.