LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Ongoing staff shortages and an aging facility are straining operations at the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections (LMDC), according to the union president representing corrections officers.
LMDC has struggled with staffing for years, across multiple administrations. In September 2021, the department reported 120 vacancies, with some officers working up to 72 hours a week. By June 2025, LMDC said there were 68 vacancies, though then–Jail Director Jerry Collins described the staffing level as “not at an optimum,” rather than short.
This week, LMDC said it is currently 72 officers short, including 45 positions that directly supervise inmates. While that figure is lower than in 2021, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 77 President Daniel Johnson said conditions inside the jail are worsening.
“Things have significantly gotten worse again, so a lot of the members asked me to be president again and help fix some stuff,” Johnson said.
Johnson began working at LMDC in 2005 as a corrections officer and later became a sergeant. He previously served as union president from 2020 to 2023 and was re-elected in December 2025.
According to Johnson, staffing gaps are forcing officers and sergeants to cover multiple posts and entire floors during a shift.
“The vacancies continue to grow, which increases the workload. We’ve got a lot of officers and sergeants down there pulling double duty,” he said.
Johnson said LMDC currently has about 300 sworn officers, based on a seniority list he reviewed. A 2024 LMDC fact sheet shows the department is budgeted for 401 sworn officer positions, leading him to believe the jail is more than 100 officers short.
LMDC spokesperson Maj. Jason Logsdon disputed that figure, saying the department’s numbers from Metro Human Resources are accurate. WHAS11 has filed an open records request to verify the official count.
Staffing shortages have also driven heavy overtime. Former FBI agent David Beyer noted in a 2023 report on LMDC operations that the city paid $32 million in overtime to corrections officers between 2015 and 2022. Many officers have been required to work 16-hour shifts since at least 2023.
Johnson said morale is suffering and that officers often arrive at work unsure of where they’ll be assigned. He believes retention — not just recruitment — is the core problem.
“If we could just hang on to the people that we hire, it would eat away at the vacancies,” Johnson said. “When you have 70 to 80 people leaving and you’re only bringing in about 50, that’s where your issue is. People are leaving because they don’t feel valued.”
Johnson also claimed there have been times when a single officer was assigned to supervise an entire floor. He cited one instance on New Year’s Eve in the older jail building above the Hall of Justice.
Logsdon denied that claim, saying LMDC does not assign one officer to supervise an entire floor alone, though staffing levels can affect how many officers are assigned to an area.
Chief Jerry Collins declined an interview request for this story but addressed officer safety after a recent graduation and promotion ceremony.
“We put more — than any time in history — into supporting the officers through peer support, through programming, through allowing them to schedule their overtime,” Collins said. “Jail is a challenging place to work. It just is.”
Beyond staffing, Johnson and others point to the jail’s aging infrastructure as a major problem. The main jail complex, originally an office building for the Metropolitan Sewer District, was converted into a jail in 1990. Over the past decade, three separate studies — in 2016, 2023 and 2025 — have all recommended building a new facility.
The 2023 Beyer report described the jail as a “maze of corridors lacking direct sightlines,” creating blind spots that make inmate supervision difficult.
“Everyone that has looked at that facility acknowledges that there is no recourse for improvements that are in any way practical,” said Metro Councilman Markus Winkler, vice chair of the council’s budget committee.
Winkler said he supports building a new jail but acknowledged the cost — estimated between $389 million and $530 million in a November 2025 CGL report — is a major obstacle.
“It’s on the same scale as the Yum! Center,” Winkler said, noting that unlike an arena, a jail doesn’t generate tourism or revenue.
Still, he said the city owes safe conditions to both inmates and staff, emphasizing that most people in jail are legally presumed innocent.
LMDC officials say they have made upgrades to improve conditions, including enhancements to camera systems and technology, and projects aimed at improving staff sightlines.
Chief Collins also said the department is preparing to announce new strategies to improve officer safety and jail operations within the next one to two months.
LMDC plans to run about five academy classes in 2026, with roughly 10 recruits per class. Class 146 graduated on Jan. 30, and another class is currently in training.
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