The U.S. Marshals Service has removed federal prisoners from Cumberland County’s chronically understaffed jail.
That decision comes as the Cumberland County Jail faces 87 vacancies out of 185 authorized positions, not including those officers on temporary leave, according to the Portland Press Herald.
In an attempt to make up for the shortfall, Cumberland County has been requiring corrections officers to work up to three overtime shifts a week. It also has stopped accepting new people who have been arrested, except for those charged with violent crimes, the Press Herald reported.
The contract with the Marshals Service is worth about $2.65 million out of the jail’s projected $21.5 million revenue for the current fiscal year. The removal of federal prisoners is costing the jail $5,600 a day, according to the Portland newspaper.
Officials did not specify how many inmates have been removed, but Sheriff Kevin Joyce told the Press Herald that it was a temporary situation.
It’s not just the Portland jail that is struggling to hire new corrections officers. Officials told the newspaper that jails and prisons across the state and country have been struggling to recruit people and are getting few applications.
