Staffing Shortfalls in Corrections, Intelligence, and Beyond

Is finding sufficient staffing a challenge for your organization? The U.S. Bureau of Prisons has been in that boat for years, and its staffing shortages have had notable effects on correctional facilities’ safety and employees’ security, says Gretta Goodwin, director of homeland security and justice at the U.S. Government Accountability Agency (GAO). Corporate security functions are also scrambling to hire and retain enough specialized intelligence analysts to help keep organizations ahead of emerging challenges and geopolitical strife, says senior security specialist and GSOC manager Shane Clymer. But turnover is inevitable; even so, organizations that invest in holistic security system life-cycle management and governance can protect themselves from disruption after key personnel leave, notes security consultant Mohammed Atif Shehzad.
Additional Resources
Interested in learning more about staffing and screening challenges in correctional facilities? Check back in with Security Management for our deep dive later this month.
What else is on the GAO’s High-Risk List? Review the full set here: https://www.gao.gov/high-risk-list
An annual U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General report found that understaffing is one of the top challenges the Bureau of Prisons will face in 2026. Read the report here: https://oig.justice.gov/tmpc/challenge-1
Read a September 2025 GAO report about the need to prevent and address employee misconduct in Bureau of Prisons facilities—a challenge that has been exacerbated by staffing mismanagement: https://files.gao.gov/reports/GAO-25-107339/index.html
Take a look at the First Step Act and what it means for corrections facilities here: https://www.bop.gov/inmates/fsa/overview.jsp
How can organizations better position themselves to recruit and retain trained intelligence analysts? Shane Clymer explores the subject in his December 2025 Security Management article: https://www.asisonline.org/security-management-magazine/articles/2025/12/employee-retention/silent_skills_loud_impact_recruiting_and_retaining_intelligence_talent_in_the_private_sector/
Are you transitioning from the public to the private sector? ASIS International has resources for you. Check out Operation Career Change: https://www.asisonline.org/professional-development/operation-career-change/
You could also explore organizations like Hire Heroes USA: https://www.hireheroesusa.org/
Learn more about recruitment and retention in security here: https://www.asisonline.org/security-management-magazine/articles/2025/12/employee-retention/
Explore recent ASIS International research and benchmarking about security and threat intelligence here: https://www.asisonline.org/security-management-magazine/articles/2025/08/research-security-intelligence/
Early risk detection would give their organizations a competitive advantage, said 80 percent of the senior risk decision-makers in a recent survey. But only 20 percent said they are capable of verifying risk information at speed. https://www.asisonline.org/security-management-magazine/latest-news/today-in-security/2025/december/dizzying-risk-outlook/
Want to future-proof your security system life-cycle management? Read more from Mohammed Atif Shehzad in his recent Security Management article: https://www.asisonline.org/security-management-magazine/articles/2026/03/security-system-life-cycle-management/holistic-asset-management-framework/