COAD hosts town hall meeting with Department of Correction Commissioner over serious concerns

On March 2, 2017, the Correctional Officers Association of Delaware held a town hall meeting with the Department of Correction Commissioner, Perry Phelps, based on concerns rising.

COAD members had the opportunity to discuss issues impacting the facility, after the fatal Smyrna hostage back in February.

47 ABC spoke to the COAD President Geoff Klopp, as he said the meeting lasted for several hours.

One concern that arose was the safety of the officers along with the lack of correctional officers in place.

We are told the number of correctional officers continues to drop. Klopp says they are losing more CO's faster than they hiring them and they are at a critical point when it comes to staffing.

Klopp tells 47 ABC the members were glad to speak with commissioner as a way to vent but many questions were left unanswered. Questions such as how to move forward, if they will tear down C Building, and when will they be hiring more staff members.

Klopp says, "Right now as far as I can see, there really appears to be no plan moving forward. I can't seem to get any definitive answers from anyone as to when we're going to change the pay so we can get more staff or any definitive answers to the plan moving forward."

We are told no future meetings are scheduled at this time, but they are hoping to bring their concerns forward next week through a different perspective.