Join us on The Public Good. This week, we’re joined by UB law professor emeritus and activist Nan Haynes and Nick Ramirez, a public defender with Legal Aid. Our discussion will focus on Erie County jail staffing, a hot button issue over the past few months with many jail deputies and corrections officers working excessive mandated overtime.

Yet simultaneously, research and data have shown Erie County jails are overstaffed. As PPG community researcher Colleen Kristich writes, nationally about 25 correctional officers are employed per 100 inmates. In late 2021 upstate New York jails employed 66 officers per 100 inmates. And in Erie County, there are 93 officers per 100 inmates.

The episode will dive into what’s going on in the Erie County jails, what jail staffing looks like, and what should be done.