Officers,
As previously mentioned, ACOA’s staff met with Governor Dunleavy last month. Randy and Jacob met with him again last week and there have been other discussions with Juneau officials. We can tell you that Governor Dunleavy listened intently to our concerns about what was happening within Alaska’s institutions. He was sincerely troubled upon hearing of the hardship caused by low staffing on Officers and their families, and he promised to act.
Staffing has two important components: recruitment and retention. One of the many issues discussed with the Governor was privatization. Privatization affects both recruitment and retention. Who wants to come to work for an organization that might privatize your job, and who wants to continue in a career that might be transferred out of state?
During our meetings, the Governor led discussions on strategies to improve recruitment and retention. We look forward to his future efforts, but he promised to act, and now he has. We just received the statement below:
“I strongly support the important and difficult jobs that Alaska’s Correctional Officers and staff perform. I have confidence in their professionalism and training. Although there are occasional situations that may warrant the transfer of an Alaskan inmate to a Lower-48 facility, privatizing Alaska’s Correctional Facilities and operations will not be pursued by our Administration.”
– Governor Dunleavy
The Governor has made it clear that he considers Correctional Officers to be Law Enforcement and wants them to be treated as such. Continuing to meet with us and rejecting the possibility of privatization are tangible steps that he has taken to enforce that belief. We are appreciative of the Governor’s concern for Officers and actions taken on Officers’ behalf. And we thank the Governor for it!
Brad
