Title: Overcrowded Prisons and Officer Safety
Headings: Overcrowded Prisons and Officer Safety
Overcrowded Prisons and Officer Safety
Inmate classification
Heath care and mental heath care
Telephone availability
Inmate recreation
Clothing exchange
Increase in sickness and diseases
Visiting
Inmate stores
Increased assaults on officers and increased inmate on inmate assaults
Lack of equipment
Emergency response teams
Housing areas
Feeding
Evacuations
Security checks and counts
Searches
Discipline housing
Inmates sleeping in "canoes"
Supervision
Training
Staffing
Conclusion

Content: A lack of fire suppression alarms/sprinklers affects the officers as well as the inmates. Feeding
Feeding inmates in overcrowded jails and prisons can be problematic. Some times when the food finally reaches the inmates, it is not at regulation temperature. Besides the possibility of the food being unsafe to eat, it causes the inmates to become angry over food not being served at the right temperature. Angry inmates pose a greater threat to the staff. Evacuations
If a mass evacuation is needed, overcrowding increases the danger to inmates and staff. Security checks and counts
Correctional officers are at greater risk performing security checks and counts in overcrowded prisons due to the staff being outnumbered and inmates possibly being housed in less secure areas not designed for inmate housing. If the inmates are housed in conference rooms, gyms, theaters, etc., the staff is at greater risk when they walk through the living areas because the inmates are not separated from the staff and are more difficult to lock down. Additionally, overcrowded prisons may mean fewer security checks performed by the officers.