State prisons struggle to keep staff

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) - Wyoming Department of Corrections Director Dan Shannon says the state’s prisons are having a hard time hiring and keeping staff.

The department has lost 173 more correctional officers than it has hired over the past seven years.

That included a net loss of 56 in 2021. The Casper Star-Tribune reports the Wyoming State Penitentiary in Rawlins has taken the hardest hit but the women’s center in Lusk has also had trouble recruiting and retaining staff in recent years.

Department spokesman Paul Martin says the most common reason corrections staff leave is for better career opportunities. Retirement is the second-most-cited reason.