CORYELL COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — The government shutdown is now in its sixth day, reaching into the federal prison system with correctional officers forced to work without pay.
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“They’re looking at, ‘OK, I can make it through this month. But if it hits November 1st and we’re not getting paid…’” said Jane Smith, a former corrections officer for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Smith said many officers are struggling with the same financial concerns other federal employees are facing.
“It’s like every other federal employee. You’re going to have to make phone calls about your debt, about your mortgage, your credit cards, your car bills,” she said.
While the effects of the shutdown have not reached the state level, Smith said she understands the impacts federal officers are facing.
“Whether you are state or federal, you are in there enduring — as a paid employee — the same exact conditions that offenders are. The only difference is, at some point, you get to go home. When you walk through the gate, it’s about walking back out the same way you came in,” Smith said.
Smith said if employees don’t show up, there is no relief, and that could lead to other concerns.
“It’s a prison. You get run over. So you always have to have that… you know, if you’re run over — and I’ve worked through that a lot of times — if you’re run over, then… and it’s usually due to shortage of staff,” she said.
Smith hopes when the shutdown ends, something might finally change inside the system.
“My hope, always, for correctional officers — whether you’re state or federal — and this just doesn’t pertain to the shutdown. It pertains to their working conditions needing to be considered more. The quality and how they’re treated. Whether you’re state or federal, it is like — within law enforcement — that is the lowest of the totem pole jobs you can have,” she said.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons issued an automated response to 25 News when asked for comment: “Due to the lapse in appropriations, the Office of Public Affairs is not available to respond.”
