WV HAS CORRECTION OFFICER SHORTAGE - Vacancies Remain Unfilled

(07/28/2015)
West Virginia's prisons, regional jails and juvenile justice facilities are in a "constant mode" of recruiting, hiring and training, according to Joe Thornton, secretary of the state Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety.

"It's challenging at some facilities more than it is at others," Thornton admitted, noting how quickly the available workforce can be tapped out in many parts of the Mountain State.

Currently, Thornton said, there are 217 correctional officer vacancies statewide and 110 of those jobs, 51 percent, are at two facilities — Huttonsville Correctional Center in Randolph County, a medium-security prison, and Mount Olive Correctional Complex in Fayette County, a maximum-security prison.