FLORIDA — The state could soon lower the age requirements for correctional officers in state prisons to deal with high job turnover rate. 9 Investigates has been following trouble inside state prisons for two months. In November, we exposed inmates using illegal cell phones, which were sometimes brought in by guards.
There are concerns about safety and the financial burden to the state, raised primarily by Rep. Jennifer Mae Sullivan. She represents parts of Orange and Lake Counties, and believes the state loses when its pays to train these officers, only for them to leave after a year or two and end up at places like the Orange County Jail or at the sheriff's office, where they're paid more. Even the Department of Corrections revealed during a hearing on the matter that the agency experiences greater turnover with its younger officers.