Inspector general again finds Nebraska prisons are overcrowded and understaffed

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — The inspector general of Nebraska’s prison system released his annual report on Thursday.

Inspector General Doug Koebernick found that the state’s prisons are still plagued by the same problems they’ve faced for years.

The inmate population has continued increasing and is now over 5,800.

That’s 147% of capacity, which means the correctional system is still under an overcrowding emergency.

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The report notes that some future projects will expand the system’s capacity, but Koebernick says it’s unclear what impact they will have because projections of inmate population growth have been inaccurate.

The inspector general recommended that the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services update its population projection to provide “much needed data and insight.”

Meanwhile, staff vacancies are on the rise again after a brief decline.

The number of vacancies peaked at 527 in 2021, fell to 359 in 2023 and increased to 452 this June.

One of the brighter spots of the report is that turnover is much lower from several years ago, though it has increased slightly in the last couple of years.

Staff turnover decreased from 606 in 2021 to 405 in 2022. It’s projected to rise to 448 this year.

Koebernick also highlighted the “significant” overtime costs in the department, an issue raised by State Auditor Mike Foley last month.

Foley’s audit found that the department spent $21.9 million on overtime in 2023.

That’s a decrease from previous years, but Koebernick said the number of overtime hours worked by guards has actually increased.

He said the discrepancy is due to the fact that guards are no longer paid double for overtime.