CUMBERLAND COUNTY, Maine — Nationwide staffing shortages are hitting county jails across Maine.
At Cumberland and York county jails, sheriffs report more than half of their potential workforce of corrections officers is vacant.
Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce said staffing shortages in jails are unique as it's a 24-hour endeavor.
"We can't limit hours; we can't shut down," Joyce said. "We're doing the bare minimum right now. We cut down visits. Inmates had access to a couple visits a week. We can barely get one in a month. That's not healthy."
Joyce said the staffing issues were so bad that federal authorities removed around 20-22 inmates from his jail to other facilities to offset the load.
"Everyone expects the jail to be what it was in 2010 or 2017, but in 2022 that expectation is difficult. We can't do that," Joyce said.
Joyce said in his years as sheriff, federal inmates were never removed due to staffing issues. He added programs for inmates have also been impacted.
"Every day is survival. It's trying to figure out how do you cover the mandatory shifts you need to do, and then tomorrow we start it all over again," Joyce said.
In York County, staffing issues are also plaguing the jail, according to Sheriff Bill King. He told NEWS CENTER Maine the jail is budgeted for 74 corrections officers but only has 28 on its roster.
"It's been bad since COVID," King said. "People leave because of the hours. We do mandate overtime. Some people have worked up to 70 hours a week, which is bad."
King said his staff is engaged in a large recruiting campaign to hire corrections officers.
"We’re out recruiting every day. We're really trying to get people to understand the great intrinsic rewards you can get in a corrections environment," King said.
King and Joyce both said the corrections officers they do have are working mandatory overtime, sometimes 16-hour shifts.
But for formerly incarcerated Mainers, the issues with staffing predate the pandemic.
"If there are behavioral issues, like, who is responding to that? You can't have corrections officers everywhere all at once in the pods, so, yeah, it is very concerning to me," Marion Anderson said, a formerly incarcerated Mainer who spent time in Cumberland County Jail.
Anderson said Maine's county jails have struggled to provide care for people overcoming drug addiction and said staffing shortages could make that worse.
"You can't put people in cages and expect it to be a wonderful workday, and then you mandate overtime. I can't imagine that does any benefit to the overall culture. You get burnt out," Anderson said. "It jeopardizes the safety and security of the jails."
NEWS CENTER Maine called the Kennebec County Sheriff's Office asking about correctional officer numbers, as well as Long Creek Youth Development, but did not hear back.