NASHVILLE — Responding to recommendations made in an independent review, Tennessee Correction Commissioner Derrick Schofield says he will revise controversial staff schedules and definitions of inmate-on-guard assaults that have led to unrest among correctional officers.
“This is not just a Band-Aid. This is a complete review,” Schofield assured members of the state Senate Corrections Subcommittee today.
The commissioner said he will work with the Tennessee State Employees Association to survey correctional officers at all prisons as to whether they prefer eight-hour or 12-hour shifts. That could be decided on a prison-by-prison basis, Schofield said.
Moreover, the department will begin working with attorneys to change the legal definitions of inmate assaults on guards and inmates assaults on fellow prisoners.
It has to be done thoughtfully, Schofield said, because it also requires carefully matching coding on incidents with resulting disciplinary actions.
For complete details, see tomorrow’s Chattanooga Times Free Press.