‘We’ve got something special going on’: DOC morale high, staffing near pre-pandemic levels
Salary increases, hiring incentives and internal efforts to boost employee confidence are paying off for the Department of Corrections (DOC), according to Secretary Ricky Dixon.
Correctional officer vacancies are bordering on pre-COVID levels, he said, due in large part to “historic” increases to officer salaries and $5,000 hiring and retention bonuses for guards in hard-to-fill locations.
That’s not to say there aren’t “geographical problems” that still need addressing, he told members of the House Justice Appropriations Subcommittee. But things are moving in the right direction, and people across the Department are feeling it.
“We’ve never seen morale this high,” said Dixon, who took over...
