” Texas prisons and jails are recruiting more teenagers to shore up guard shortage ” was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
When Justice Taylor began working at Smith County Jail last year, the inmates made fun of her, and her coworkers worried she wasn’t mature enough for the job.
She was, after all, still a teenager.
“People were skeptical of me being so young and coming straight out of high school,” said Taylor, an aspiring homicide detective who was 18 when she was hired as a corrections officer. “Some high schoolers don’t have their heads straight, but I’m one of the ones focused on my career.”
Taylor is among a small but growing number of teenagers taking jobs inside of Texas’ prisons and jails, which face persistent staffing shortages. Without enough guards, lock-ups throughout the state are keeping inmates in extended lockdowns and struggling to find the manpower to fulfill their promise to give inmates unlimited access to air-conditioned respite and cold showers during the summer months .