TL;DR
Almost half of all prison guard jobs in Georgia are empty. Some prisons have only 1 out of every 5 guard spots filled. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) found that this leaves people in prison with no one watching over them. Guards who stay are forced to work 16-hour days. Georgia pays some of the lowest guard wages in the country.
Why This Matters
If your loved one is in a Georgia prison, this matters to you right now.
When guard jobs sit empty, no one is there to keep people safe. The DOJ found that gangs take control of housing units when guards aren’t present. That means your family member may be living in a space with no staff to stop fights, get them medical help, or respond to a crisis.
At Smith State Prison, only about 15 guards show up most days to watch over about 1,500 people. That’s 1 guard for every 100 people. At Valdosta State Prison, 80% of guard jobs are empty — and that prison holds the most people with mental health needs and the most gang members.
This isn’t just a budget problem. It’s a safety crisis that puts real people — your people — in danger every single day.
Key Takeaway: When prisons don’t have enough staff, the people inside suffer the most — through more violence, less medical care, and fewer protections.
The Numbers: How Bad Is the Staffing Shortage?
Georgia’s prison system has 5,991 guard jobs on the books. But 2,985 of those jobs are empty. That’s nearly 50% — almost half.
Here’s how it breaks down:
- 18 prisons have more than 60% of guard jobs empty
- Up to 10 prisons have more than 70% of guard jobs empty
- Valdosta State Prison has 80% of guard jobs empty as of April 2024
To put it simply: many prisons are trying to run with a skeleton crew. Some barely have any guards at all.
Key Takeaway: Nearly half of all guard jobs across Georgia’s prisons sit empty, and some prisons are running with only 20-30% of the staff they need.
Why Can’t They Keep Guards?
Guards are leaving almost as fast as Georgia can hire them.
In fiscal year 2022, the turnover rate was 47%. That means almost half of all guards quit or were let go in one year. By 2024, the rate dropped to 32%. But that still means about 1 in 3 guards leaves each year.
Even hiring is hard. Out of every 10 people who apply, 8 never finish the hiring process. Georgia hired 670 guards since November 2022. But with 2,985 empty jobs, that barely makes a dent.
Why do guards leave?
- Low pay: Guards at low-level prisons start at $40,000 a year. At high-level prisons, they start at $43,000. Georgia pays some of the lowest guard wages in the country.
- Burnout: Guards often work 16-hour days, 5 days a week, because there aren’t enough people to cover shifts.
- Safety fears: With so few guards, the DOJ found that the ones who stay face real danger with no backup.
Key Takeaway: Low pay, forced overtime, and unsafe conditions drive guards away — and 8 out of 10 job applicants never finish the hiring process.
What Happens When Prisons Don’t Have Enough Staff
The U.S. DOJ looked into Georgia’s prisons in October 2024. What they found was alarming.
The DOJ said Georgia’s “grossly inadequate staffing” leaves people in prison with no one watching over them. Here’s what that looks like:
- Guards watch hundreds of people with no backup. If something goes wrong, help may not come in time.
- Many guard posts go unfilled. Whole housing units have no staff at all.
- Gangs take control. The DOJ found that staff shortages let gangs run housing units.
- Response to violence is slow. When fights or attacks happen, there aren’t enough guards to respond quickly.
Smith State Prison example: Each shift should have 30 guards for about 1,500 people. Most days, only about 15 guards show up. That’s half the staff needed.
Valdosta State Prison example: With 80% of guard jobs empty, this prison also holds the highest share of people with mental health needs and gang members. The state is failing to protect the most at-risk people.
Key Takeaway: The DOJ found that Georgia’s extreme staff shortages leave people in prison unprotected and allow gangs to control housing units.
The Overtime Problem
When there aren’t enough guards, the ones who stay have to work more. A lot more.
Guards often work 16-hour days, 5 days a week. That’s double a normal shift.
The cost of all this extra work has exploded. Between 2019 and 2022, the state spent more than $4 million on overtime. That’s 11 times more than what it spent before the pandemic.
This creates a vicious cycle:
- Not enough guards → the ones who stay work overtime
- Overtime leads to burnout → more guards quit
- More guards quit → even fewer staff → even more overtime
The state is spending huge amounts on overtime instead of hiring enough people at fair wages.
Key Takeaway: Overtime costs rose to 11 times the pre-pandemic level, as guards work 16-hour days to cover for empty positions — then burn out and quit.
The People Behind the Numbers
Georgia’s prisons hold nearly 52,000 people. Many have serious needs that require trained staff to be present:
- 14,000 people get mental health care
- About 19,000 people get treatment for long-term illnesses like diabetes or heart disease
- 99,000+ prescriptions are given out every month
When half the guards are gone, these people don’t get the help they need. Medical crises go unanswered. Mental health episodes happen with no trained person nearby.
The state has a duty to care for the people it locks up. Right now, it is failing that duty.
Key Takeaway: Nearly 52,000 people depend on Georgia’s prison system for safety and health care — and the state is not meeting that basic duty.
What Is the State Doing About It?
In January 2025, Governor Brian Kemp asked for more than $600 million in new prison funding. Here’s what the plan includes:
- 4% pay raise for all prison guard staff
- 8% pay raise for mental health counselors
- 330 new workers to be hired
- 446 new prison beds plus temporary housing units
- New hiring ads to recruit more guards
- New training plans for staff
The state also ran an ad campaign that more than doubled job applications — from about 300 a month to more than 700 a month. But since 8 out of 10 applicants don’t finish the process, more applications alone won’t solve the problem.
What’s missing: Even if the state hires all 330 new workers, that would still leave more than 2,600 guard jobs empty. A 4% raise on a $40,000 salary adds just $1,600 a year. That may not be enough to compete with other jobs.
The Senate Study Committee also found that rural prison locations make hiring harder. Many prisons are far from cities where workers live.
Key Takeaway: Governor Kemp proposed $600 million in new funding, but even the full plan would leave thousands of guard positions empty.
What Families Should Know
If you have a loved one in a Georgia prison, here are the key facts:
- Your loved one may be in a prison with very few guards. This means less safety and slower help in a crisis.
- Prisons with the worst staffing often hold the most at-risk people. Valdosta State Prison is the clearest example of this.
- The DOJ has found these conditions to be dangerously inadequate. This is not just our view — the federal government agrees.
- The state has made promises but has not yet fixed the problem. New money has been proposed, but the crisis continues.
You have a right to know what’s happening where your family member is held. You can:
- Ask which prison your loved one is at and look up its staffing data
- Contact your state lawmakers and demand action
- Follow GPS for updates on this crisis
Key Takeaway: Families deserve to know that Georgia’s prison staffing crisis directly threatens the safety of their loved ones — and they can take action.
Glossary
- Vacancy rate: The share of jobs that are empty. If a prison needs 100 guards but only has 20, the vacancy rate is 80%.
- Turnover rate: How many workers leave their jobs in a year. A 47% rate means almost half the guards left in one year.
- Overtime: Extra hours workers are forced to put in beyond their normal shift.
- DOJ (Department of Justice): The part of the federal government that can look into state prisons for rights abuses.
- GDC (Georgia Department of Corrections): The state agency that runs Georgia’s prisons.
- POST-certified: A guard who has finished the required law enforcement training in Georgia.
- Fiscal year: A 12-month budget period. Georgia’s runs from July 1 to June 30.
- Housing unit: A building or section of a prison where people live and sleep.
- Mental health counselor: A trained person who provides mental health care to people in prison.
- Chronic illness: A long-term health problem like diabetes, heart disease, or HIV that needs ongoing care.
Read the Source Document
Download the full research compilation (PDF) — This document brings together data from the Georgia Department of Corrections, the U.S. Department of Justice, Governor Kemp’s office, the Georgia Senate Study Committee, and GDC Board of Corrections meeting minutes.