Fervent opposition to a governor's budget cuts is not at all unusual. But one group in particular says it has been cut to the bone-and now it's a public safety problem. Virginia Public Radio's Tommie McNeil explains why the state chapter of the National Coalition of Public Safety Officers tells the General Assembly’s budget committees that it's time to restore, NOT cut funding.
While the public enjoys relative comfort knowing violent offenders are tucked away in correctional facilities, the Coalition’s Donald Baylor says Governor McAuliffe’s cuts change that dynamic.
“It’s not a question of ‘if’ – something is going to happen in one of these places. It’s just a question of when.”
He references the Mecklenburg prison “great escape.” He says while facilities are being closed and staff reduced, the remaining staff bears the brunt of harsh conditions.
“They’re overworked, they’re severely understaffed and it’s a danger to the people that work in those facilities and to the people that live in those facilities, and to the public at large.”
Baylor says because of this, there's a high turnover rate- which means they not only must spend more money to train new officers, but the new recruits’ lack of experience intensifies the problem.
