Prison Warden Reassigned, Two Staffers on Leave Amid Probe of Jeffrey Epstein's Apparent Suicide.
BLITZER: Tonight, the Justice Department is temporarily reassigned the warden at the New York prison where Jeffrey Epstein apparently killed himself. And two staffers have been put on administrative leave. Our Justice Correspondent, Jessica Schneider is here. Jessica, we are learning more about the problem, is that the prison indeed, throughout the entire prison system.</s>JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: We are, Wolf. And tonight, the Justice Department is taking the swift action at the Metropolitan Correctional Center. But really, union heads representing thousands of workers throughout the Bureau of Prison systems say decreased staffing levels is really the root of the problem, leading to everything from contraband getting in, to concerns about the safety of correctional workers and the inmates.</s>SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Tonight, Jeffrey Epstein's suicide is shining a spotlight on what employees say are widespread problems at federal prisons around the country, unions representing guards nationwide report staffing shortages, mandatory overtime and corrections officers regularly forced to work 60 to 80 hours per week. The personnel crunch began cascading after President Trump instituted a hiring freeze across all federal agencies for days after taking office in 2017.</s>ERIC YOUNG, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL COUNCIL OF UNION LOCALS, METROPOLITAN CORRECTIONAL CENTER: The hiring freeze that was imposed by the Trump administration has had a significant affect on all of our facilities, particularly this facility here. So, you are talking about staff constantly working 60, 70-hour weeks.</s>SCHNEIDER: Even after the president ended the federal agency hiring freeze in April 2017, it remained in place for the Bureau of Prisons. According to an analysis from "The New York Times," from December 2016 to March 2018, the number of correctional officer vacancies including supervisory roles went from 1,306 to 2,137, a jump of almost 64 percent. Attorney General William Barr finally lifted the freeze and opened hiring last April but the lasting effects are evident as the attorney general now vows to investigate Epstein's death.</s>WILLIAM BARR, ATTORNEY GENERAL: We are learning of serious irregularities at this facility that are deeply concerning and demand a thorough investigation.</s>SCHNEIDER: CNN has learned that on the night of Epstein's suicide, at least one of the two employees on duty was filling in as a guard and was not part of the regular detention workforce. It's unknown what the person's regular position is, but a measure put in place to deal with budget constraints called augmentation is all too common at the Bureau of Prison's 141 facilities where workers hired as teachers and cooks are trained to fill in at posts normally manned by trained detention officers.</s>JAMES GAGLIANO, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Any time we cut budgets, it's corrections. Understand, there are 2.2 million people incarcerated in this country, 7.3 million under the supervision of the correction the agencies. But still for this to happen in the special housing unit, a man that had been on suicide watch for a week, it is simply unconscionable.</s>SCHNEIDER: And CNN has learned that Epstein was taken off suicide watch just days after his first suicide attempt in late July. He was supposed to be checked on every 30 minutes, but a person briefed on the investigation tells us there were no checks on Epstein in the hours before he was discovered early Saturday morning. And, Wolf, of course, investigations are ongoing from the FBI and the inspector general. But the bureau of prisons has not responded to our request for comment.</s>BLITZER: They've got to fix this. This is an urgent problem. Jessica, thanks very much. And to our viewers, thanks for watching. "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.