Staffing Shortage Means Long Shifts At NE Prisons

Employees at two Nebraska prisons will have to work longer shifts and may be asked to clock in at a facility where they don’t normally work to compensate for staffing shortages. Director Scott Frakes says he has declared a “staffing emergency” at the Lincoln Correctional Center and the Diagnostic Evaluation Center, located next to each other in Lincoln. Prison officials will implement 12-hour shifts for some employees, up from the usual 8. Frakes says the move was driven largely by a slowdown in hiring, similar to what employers have faced with the tight labor market in Nebraska and nationally.