State Dems Call For Audit Of Portage Prison Understaffing

Two Democratic state legislators are asking for an audit of overtime and safety issues at a maximum security prison in Portage, but the Republican chair of the Legislature’s audit committee is asserting that the Legislative Audit Bureau has too much to do to address the issue right now.

Sen. Jon Erpenbach and Rep. Dave Considine visited the Columbia Correctional Institution last week and spoke with correctional officers who said they’ve been forced to work double shifts. Considine said understaffing at the prison means new guards are getting less training than they have in the past.

“Many times, new officers are being trained for less than a week in a facility when they get there, and then just put right out there to do the job,” he said. “In the past they’ve had at least four weeks of training. All of those things seem a little scary when you put them together.”

Audit Committee Chairwoman Samantha Kerkman said a massive transportation audit takes precedence over investigating the prison right now.

Considine said he hopes to meet soon with the prison’s warden and Department of Corrections Secretary Ed Wall to discuss the issue.