Alabama corrections chief discusses prison construction, staffing numbers

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) —

Alabama Corrections Commissioner John Hamm said Tuesday that the state is making progress in increasing prison security staff but will not meet a federal judge’s directive to add 2,000 more officers within a year.

The state’s new $1 billion 4,000-bed prison is scheduled to be completed in 2026, Hamm said, but building a second new prison, as the state had planned, will require additional funding.

The state prison chief gave lawmakers an overview of department operations during legislative budget hearings at the Alabama Statehouse. The Alabama prison system, which faces an ongoing U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit, has come under criticism for high rates of violence, crowding and understaffing.

Hamm said pay raises and new recruiting efforts have helped reverse a downward trend in prison staffing numbers.

The number of full-time security staff for the 20,000-inmate system was 2,102 in January of 2022 but dropped to 1,705 in April of last year. It has risen again to 1,953 in June, according to numbers given to the committee.

“We are certainly proud of how we are coming about on hiring. It’s very difficult,” Hamm said. “We’re doing everything we can to hire correctional officers. If anybody has any suggestions, please let us know.”

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