PRISON SYSTEM FUNDING

Adequate funding for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is needed. The public cannot be safe when a single correction officer, without a radio, is placed in charge of 120 inmates. A safety concern exists when the correctional officers do not have adequate on-the-job experience because of a high turn-over rate due to the low salaries. This is a pending crisis as a several thousand correctional officers are nearing retirement age and will have to be replaced. A safety concern is the equipment that the TDCJ is forced to use. The buses used for transportation have long sense passed their expected life. The correction officers never know if the vehicle will be able to get out of the unit much less arrive at its intended destination. The security camera and computer systems used are so antiquated that parts to repair them are not available. For the safety of the citizens of Texas action is needed now not in the future.