Last week saw a series of protests at the Marquette Branch Prison in Marquette, with corrections officers saying they are understaffed and facing difficult working conditions.

The picketing was held by the Michigan Corrections Organization, who were aiming to make lawmakers aware of the conditions at Marquette and other prisons.

According to Byron Osborn of the MCO officers at the Marquette Branch Prison, a maximum-security state prison, work under severe stress and dangerous conditions. Officers are forced to work double shifts multiple times per week, according to a recent MCO report, which also says that every day, the prison runs with far fewer officers than required, resulting in prisoner activities being limited or canceled. This leads to disturbances and assaults on officers when prisoners get frustrated.

These issues are nothing new around the country.

Corrections officers often work in a hostile and dangerous environment, with reports of violence frequently coming out of prisons all around the country.

Marquette Branch Prison and Baraga Corrections Facility each have 34% of jobs vacant, Alger Correctional Facility is at 33% unfilled jobs, and Chippewa Corrections stands at 30%.

“These are the highest security level prisons in the state. These are generally not the most cooperative prisoners. There’s a reason they’re in Level 5. It’s because they’re dangerous and generally don’t follow the rules,” Osborn said.

While there aren’t always easy answers, we would encourage the prisons and the CO representatives to get together and work for the common good of everyone to get this situation figured out.

— The Mining Journal, Marquette