County prisons across New Mexico are “besieged” as they grapple with staff shortages amid a growing inmate population who are largely unvaccinated – coupled with a 31 percent increase in COVID-19 infections since late July.
Grace Philips, general counsel for New Mexico Counties, an association of the state’s 33 county governments, told lawmakers Wednesday that the detention situation was “really frightening” from both a safety and security perspective.
“We have many, many facilities that are understaffed [and] have open positions, “she said, adding that the average vacancy rate in the state is nearly 23 percent.
“There are five districts with more than 30 percent vacancy. We have a county [Curry] that has a vacancy rate of almost 45 percent. This is a crisis, “she said.” We have increasing [inmate] Population and we don’t have enough staff. “
Santa Fe County Prison is one of the prisons in the state with the highest vacancy rates. Spokeswoman Carmelina Hart wrote in an email that 66 of 207 vacancies were vacant. That is almost 32 percent vacancy.
“The care and safety of our facility is a priority,” she wrote. “We are able to do this by increasing the opportunities for staff to work overtime and changing internal operations and schedules in response to fluctuations in the number of inmates. In addition, Santa Fe County has continued to work with the courts to offer video hearings, which will be introduced as a COVID-safe practice in 2020. This reduces transportation and other burdens associated with face-to-face hearings. “
The county detention center currently has 371 inmates. In 2020 there were an average of 348 prisoners. So far this year there have been an average of 378 prisoners.
The trend in Santa Fe County is a reflection of what is happening across the country.
District prisons held 3,853 inmates in May 2020. On Tuesday, the number of inmates in county jails had risen to 5,280 – an increase of 37 percent.
“That’s an incredible increase,” said Philips. “Unfortunately, population growth is also something that happens while we are experiencing the effects of the Delta variant. … It’s having a huge impact on our county prisons. “
In the first 16 months of the pandemic, from March 2020 to July, the county’s prisons identified 3,317 COVID-19 cases, or an average of 211 cases per month, Philips said.
“Although we have had some outbreaks, I think the detention centers have done a really good job of containing the cases that come in in one dwelling unit or capsule rather than having them all over the facility,” she said. “We have had a few, but given the many cases, I think our detention centers have done an excellent job of containing the cases they have.”
But the more contagious Delta variant led to an increase, Philips said. From July 21 through Monday, 551 cases of COVID-19 were identified in detention centers.
“That’s a 31 percent increase in the number of cases identified in our detention centers,” said Philips.
The rise in cases comes as prisons struggle with staff shortages.
Another of the five facilities with a vacancy rate of more than 30 percent is the Colfax County Vigil-Maldonado Detention Center in Raton.
“Every time there is a shortage of staff, it affects every aspect of the operation,” said prison director Monte Gore. “Everything from people taking time off, vacation, to tasks that are basically done the way they need to be done.”
Stephen Montoya, a spokesman for Sandoval County, which has a vacancy rate of 35 percent, or 65 jobs, said the problem mirrors what is happening in other industries.
“It’s been tough for any company, not just the detention center,” he said. “I mean, if you’re pretty much down the street and even check out McDonald’s or even Sonic … everyone just ‘wanted help’ signed off. So it’s basically a sign of the times. “
Despite the large number of vacancies, Sandoval County has managed to keep its Bernalillo detention facility operational, said Montoya.
“At the moment the operation is still up to date,” he said. “We have enough prison staff that things are still going. We’d love to have more people, of course, and we’ve done our best to put out some promotional videos to promote the prison to see if ‘people want it.” come on board. “
Gore suspects that many people are still receiving unemployment insurance benefits and choosing not to find work.
“Everyone is looking for workers,” he said. “As in any situation, there are several parts of the cake, but I think there are still many benefits to the people who remain unemployed and I think one of the things that employers really need to consider to move forward is increasing the salaries to be more competitive. “
While Colfax County Jail has one of the highest vacancy rates at 35 percent, it also has one of the highest rates of fully vaccinated workers at 86 percent.
Nationwide, just over 61 percent of prison staff are vaccinated – well below New Mexico’s overall vaccination rate of 70.5 percent for adults.
Though they fluctuate with the changing population of inmates, vaccination rates among inmates are much further behind, at less than 40 percent, despite prisons providing vaccines for COVID-19.
“At the beginning of May, when prisoners were vaccinated … [single dose] Johnson & Johnson vaccine so there could be vaccination and not the need to follow up on that population, ”Philips said. “Since May, the detention centers in the district have housed 136 vaccination clinics. In addition, many counties offer vaccinations on request or continuously. “
More than 4,000 detainees have since received the vaccine through a detention facility, she said.
At the beginning of the pandemic, district governments worked with court officials and other stakeholders to reduce inmate numbers by restricting detainees’ arrests and freedom of movement through remote procedures.
Philips said the arrival of the Delta variant coincided with the state Supreme Court decision to reopen the in-person trial. At the same time, the number of COVID-19 infections began to rise, as did vacancy rates.
“Like I said, I think this is a crisis,” Philips told lawmakers. “It is certainly unprecedented in my tenure with [New Mexico] Counties. We have never seen such a broad nationwide vacancy rate among inmates. “
In a telephone interview, Philips said she wanted lawmakers to understand that county prisons “operate in extremely difficult circumstances.”
“People should know that prisons are under siege and the delta [variant] changed the game, “she said.” I mean, the very fact that the number of COVID cases we identify has increased over 30 percent in the past two months is very, very worrying. “
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