The Siren

On February 7, 2006, in a Chino City Council meeting, Warden Poulos and Company, from the California Institution For Men, graced the hallowed halls of the Council chambers of the City of Chino and proceeded to give the City of Chino an award, in the form of a plaque, for their support of the "First Annual Manuel Gonzalez Walk & Run" together with the renaming of a section of the former "Chino Hills Parkway" to "Manuel Gonzalez Drive".

CLICK HERE to see the ceremony.

The next point of order was "The Siren" which had been installed at CIM, for the purpose of announcing escapes to the good people of Chino.

First I would like to make this public service announcement:

"The Siren" will be tested on the "first Friday of every month, about noon." During this time the alarm will be cycled on for eight (8) seconds and then cycled off for eight (8) seconds. If there is any activation of "The Siren" outside of these times and dates, there is an escape hot line to call for information, it is (909) 606-7272.

Now back to the show.

"The Siren" is not the first escape announcing device that has been erected by CIM, however it may prove to be the most contentious.

Years ago there was a flashing blue light, placed on CIM's water tower, that was to warn the good citizens of Chino of escapes. History will show that, if this light were activated at all during an escape, it was activated many hours AFTER the escape had occurred, only after there were meetings with the Warden who, begrudgingly, authorized its activation.

"Why the delay" you may ask? Probably because of the immense political fallout of announcing to the taxpayers of Chino that systems within the prison had failed and a felon just taken an unauthorized release into the community. Not a good position for a Warden to be in, even for a by-the-book Warden who followed policy to the letter. However, Warden Poulos does not appear to be this kind of Warden.

When I think of the Poulos Administration, I am reminded of the commercial on television in which a gentleman is talking to a young lady at a party and, as he leans against a beautiful section of dark oak wall paneling, he falls through and the announcer states, "It's termite season again." While all appears to be in order on the outside, Warden Poulos' apparent failure to follow policy regarding Personnel Investigations, choosing instead to reward, allegedly, malfeasant employees through promotions, is eating away at the very core of his tenure, leaving only thin veneer in its place. These failures have been well documented within this blog.

If Warden Poulos is not compliant with the internal Personnel Investigation policies of the Department of Corrections, the face that the public does not see, why would one believe that he or his staff would throw the switch, when the time came to do so, thereby announcing his failure to contain the prisoners entrusted to him for confinement? After all, isn't ethics merely doing the right thing when no one is looking?

The true purpose of "The Siren" lies in the pageant of "The Test", as proof to the good people of Chino that the prison is ready. Just another coat of varnish on the termite infested paneling.

While the pomp and circumstance of the Chino Council award ceremony, which honored those who honored the memory of Manuel Gonzalez, was well placed, we must never lose sight that it was administrative non-compliance with the established contractual policy of issuing the stab-proof vests "as they become available" which, together with the improper housing of inmate Blaylock (Manuel Gonzalez' alleged assailant), reportedly led to the demise of Manuel Gonzalez.

I believe that administrative compliance with Departmental Policies would be a more fitting memorial.

Lorraine Bradley