By Guy Page 

The union representing Vermont correctional officers is accusing a longtime House committee chair of failing to provide adequate legislative oversight as state prisons struggle with staffing shortages and guards working mandatory 16-hour shifts.

Vermont State Employees’ Association President Margaret Crowley issued an open letter Thursday to Rep. Alice Emmons, chair of both the House Committee on Corrections and Institutions and the Joint Legislative Justice Oversight Committee.

Crowley said Vermont prisons have been operating with fewer than half the recommended number of security staff, forcing correctional officers to routinely work 16-hour shifts. She accused lawmakers of spending too much time on other corrections-related matters while failing to address what the union considers the central problem.

“Your job as a legislative oversight committee is to hold Governor Scott accountable for these unsafe staffing levels. As far as I can tell, you have failed,” Crowley wrote.

VDC asked Emmons to respond to Crowley’s criticism. As of Monday, she has not responded. 

The agendas of the two most recent Joint Legislative Justice Oversight Committee meetings show a focus on a gender equity, a proposed new juvenile facility, sentencing guidelines, parole, and community supervision guidelines. While the latter three initiatives could presumably reduce inmate population, they do not directly address increasing staff.

Legislative records, however, show Emmons’ committee has taken up correctional staffing in recent years. In December 2024, the Joint Legislative Justice Oversight Committee recommended that VSEA and the Department of Corrections work with legislative committees overseeing government operations to address staffing and recruitment.

The Department of Corrections also reported to Emmons and other lawmakers in late 2024 that facility staff vacancies had peaked at 32% in summer 2022 and said more than $30 million in state investments had helped cut vacancies by half over the following two years. The department acknowledged that staffing shortages burden employees and affect their physical and mental health.

And in October 2025, the Joint Legislative Justice Oversight Committee devoted part of a meeting to “staffing concerns,” with VSEA Executive Director Steve Howard appearing before lawmakers.

The union argues the staffing shortage affects incarcerated people as well as employees because inadequate staffing can lead to prison lockdowns, canceling programming, recreation and sometimes visits.

“When there are unsafe staffing levels, facilities go into lockdown,” Crowley wrote. “That means no programming, no recreation, and sometimes no visitors.”

VSEA has raised similar concerns previously. Written feedback submitted to the House Committee on Corrections and Institutions in May 2025 said correctional staff were enduring mandatory 16-hour shifts and frequently being required to work scheduled days off.

Crowley said the staffing problems have persisted for more than a decade and called on Emmons and the committee to make staffing a priority.

“I implore you, at long last, to shift the focus to the core issue of staffing, rather than endless discussions about virtually any topic other than the unsafe working and living conditions in our correctional facilities,” Crowley wrote. “Enough talk—it is time for you to finally take action before someone gets killed because there was no backup to come save them when an inevitable attack occurs.”

The Joint Legislative Justice Oversight Committee is scheduled to meet again Oct. 16.