NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION James B. Hunt, Jr., Governor Joe Hamilton, Acting Secretary
Patty McQuillan, Director of Public Information (919) 733-4926

MARCH 31, 1999

Prisoners work more than 18 million hours inside prisons in 1998

Raleigh – North Carolina prisoners worked more than 18 million hours last year inside prisons in kitchen, janitorial and maintenance jobs.

"Inmates housed in our prisons are responsible for doing much of the day-to-day cooking, cleaning and maintenance so we are able to operate our prisons in an efficient and cost-effective manner," said Acting Correction Secretary Joe Hamilton.

In 1998, prisoners worked 7,356,636 hours as cooks, bakers and kitchen workers, 8,397,205 hours keeping prisons clean and 2,536,534 hours keeping prisons in repair.

Prisoners learn a variety of skills working in kitchens. Prison food service officers teach them to run an efficient, clean kitchen and to cook and bake from scratch for large numbers of people. They develop food service inventory and warehousing skills. They also learn to maintain and repair kitchen equipment. The officers make sure sanitary procedures and food preparation guidelines are followed.

"In the kitchen, we have a team of inmates that keep the place hygienically clean, meeting the same health standards as other large food service operations," said Randy Lee, superintendent of Caledonia Correctional Institution. "We have the inmates do the general housecleaning of their housing areas and our work areas. They scrub and clean floors and bars."

Prison managers identify prisoners who have construction and maintenance skills and put them to work with prison maintenance employees. The inmates develop their skills while helping prison staff accomplish more work.

"We normally work 18-20 prisoners in maintenance and we’re very careful about who we work there," said Dean Walker, superintendent of Marion Correctional Institution. "They work all shifts assisting our maintenance staff to paint, repair and clean, making sure the prison is in good working order."

Prisoners from 88 prisons worked a total of 18,290,375 hours last year. Pasquotank Correctional Institution prisoners worked 682,264 hours. Greene Correctional Center prisoners worked 500,066 hours. Nash Correctional Institution prisoners worked 494,136 hours.

-bp-

Prisoners Working in Prisons

18,290,375 hours in 1998

*Prison closed in 1998

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