Corrections officers protest staff cuts

IONIA, Mich. (WOOD) - Corrections officers walked the picket line not far from the Michigan Training Unit in Ionia to protest a proposed elimination of vehicles patrolling the perimeter of prison yards.

Cutting cost is behind a plan to do away with the perimeter patrol vehicle jobs and run prison facilities with fewer people.

The protest was a way to draw attention to correction officers' opposition to the plan.

Part of the state's plan is to get rid of patrol vehicles that circle the fences, which one corrections officer says will be a security risk for not only the officers and inmates, but also the community as well.

"(Prisoners are) going to be able to do just about anything they want as far as throwing weapons and drugs over the fence," said MTU officer Dennis Beecham. "We're going to have no response vehicles if people try to escape. It's going to be total chaos if this continues and goes through like the governor wants it to."