Attacks on staff by D.C. Jail inmates are escalating, and the Department of Corrections blames an “aging workforce” and a growing number of prisoners with mental illness as parts of the problem.
There were 48 assaults on staff in fiscal 2005, up from 33 in 2004. The assaults are defined as an inmate purposely attacking an officer or other staff member using a weapon — including fluids, body parts, sharp or blunt objects — in a manner that results in medical attention.
In budget documents, the department calls it a “small, but steady, increase,” citing a “rapidly aging workforce” combined with more accurate counting and an increase in inmates with behavioral and mental health issues. Roughly 33 percent of all new inmates require mental health services.
Corrections Department Director Devon Brown said his agency has embarked on a comprehensive analysis of the assaults, taking into account everything from the age of the inmate to the time of day of the attack. The assault rate, he said, is lower than other comparable jurisdictions, but disturbing nonetheless.
A lower “tolerance for frustration” as a person gets older might play a role, Brown said, as could the aging guard population.
“The older we get, our reaction time is not as good, so if something is happening, a younger correctional force may be able to respond to it quicker before it escalates,” he said. “We’re looking at that.”
D.C. Council Member Phil Mendelson, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said the assaults are a serious problem and are “indicative of overcrowding at the jail.” But he can’t explain why aging guards seem to correlate with more attacks.
“It might be that inmates think they can take advantage of these older guys,” Mendelson said. “But I’ve been to the cell blocks, and I wouldn’t want to take on the older guys or the younger guys.”
Mendelson is eyeing early retirement packages, a committee staffer said. Among corrections staff, 95 percent are 40 years or older.
The department is pairing with a nonprofit health provider and national philanthropy organization to launch a new health care program in the jail. Officials hope it will reduce the number of people with substance abuse and mental problems moving through the system.
