MN DOC Looking To Add Staff As Prison Assaults Continue

(St. Paul, MN)  —  The Minnesota Department of Corrections is looking to add officers as the number of prison guard assaults keeps rising.  Commissioner Paul Schnell told 5 Eyewitness News that his agency is working to close an employment gap that has led to shortages.  Schnell says the department is authorized to have 21-hundred officers in facilities across the state, but the agency is often between 200 and 300 officers short on any given day.  Hiring bonuses and increased pay have not been successful so far at attracting new workers.  The DOC says there have been eight assaults on prison guards since the month began.