Texas Counties are Resorting to Teenagers to Solve Prison and Jail Guard Shortages

ALABAMA - For months, the Texas prison system has been operating with fewer guards than the ones needed to ensure the safety of its inmates. In that context, two Texas counties are leaning into teenagers to fill the role of correction officers.

Smith County, in East Texas, and Randall County have partnered with local high schools to house training programs that would allow recent graduates become officers as soon as they are done with high school.

In 2023, 68 18-year-olds obtained their jailers license, 17 times the number who did so a decade earlier, according to data from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, the agency in charge of certifying trainers and administering the jailer's license exam.

Supporters of training programs say hiring 18-year-olds is a win-win, as the recent graduates fill a critical staffing need while also starting their career right out of high school.

According to The Texas Tribune, correctional officers must receive 120 hours of training before taking their certification exam, which includes modules on mental illness and how to screen inmates for suicide risk. The training also teaches them how to assert their authority, as the training materials state that jailers "must make clear their role as leaders."

But critics contend that teenagers lack the emotional maturity needed to work with inmates, many of whom are older and struggle with mental illness or substance abuse issues.

"Criminals are crafty con artists, and 18 year-olds are naive," said Thomas Washburn, executive director of the Law and Public Safety Education Network, a national nonprofit that focuses on career and technical education. "They don't have the situational awareness and street smarts that you need," he said.

The possibility of obtaining college credit for coursework focused on law enforcement is one of the reasons why more teenagers are becoming interested in this field.

"People were skeptical of me being so young and coming straight out of high school," said Justtice Taylor, an aspiring homicide detective working at Smith County Jail. Taylor was hired as a correctional officer when she was 18. "Some high schoolers don't have their heads straight, but I'm one of the ones focused on my career," Taylor added.

According to Gretchen Grigsby, director of government relations for TCOLE, only Smith County and Randall County have piloted a program for high school students but said other departments have expressed interest in launching their own version.

As part of its efforts, TCOLE is asking the Texas Legislature to allocate $3.46 million over the next two years to fund new staff who would support school districts that want to create a jailer certification program.

"It's something we are seeing more demand for from the agencies," Grigsby said. "We need resources from the Legislature to have the staff to support it."