Spontaneous Generation, or abiogenesis, is the archaic theory that life springs forth through the physicochemical agencies of inorganic substances. In other words, an eclectic assemblage of inanimate objects would, miraculously, produce life.
This assumption was widely abandoned by the scientific community in the early 1700s and was relegated to the ranks of other early scientific notions such as the "Flat Earth" and "Geocentric Universe". There it remained, undisturbed for hundreds of years until, just recently, when the intellectual Blue-Bloods of the California Department Of Rehabilitation and Corrections (CalDORC) pulled it out of mothballs, dusted it off and, with modifications, reintegrated it into CalDORC's prison management strategies.
In the modified postulate, Rod Hickman's management team need only create additional Correctional Officer positions on paper and a miraculous, spontaneous generation of, fully trained and uniformed, Correctional Officers would ascend from CalDORC's primordial soup. However, like most of the management strategies tinkered together by the geniuses in Sacramento, this one was, but another, abysmal failure for Mr. Hickman's legacy.
In a prison system previously plagued by unwanted overtime forced upon uniformed correctional staff, the addition of these new positions, requiring more uniformed correctional staff to fill them, only exacerbates an ongoing staffing emergency in CalDORC. Obviously management's strategy to create the positions and let Spontaneous Generation do the rest has failed. It was only after the inevitable failure was realized by CalDORC that emergency academy classes are, only now, being pushed through. Meanwhile, Correctional Officers and Sergeants are packing pictures of their families and tattooing their home addresses on their hands so they don't forget where they live during these long, unwanted and numerous forced overtime shifts.
It is ironic that, once again, CCPOA has come to CalDORC's rescue with ideas and emergency measures that would alleviate some of the burden and impact that this flood of overtime is having on uniformed correctional staff, until the cavalry of fresh troops arrives. Yes L.A. Times and Sacramento Bee, this is the same CCPOA that has been assailed in your tabloids as running CalDORC. Yes Rod Hickman, this is the same CCPOA that you have shut out of the decision making process because of pressure from these tabloids. It is ironic that, usually, when the ship sinks, a drowning man doesn't seem to care who sent the life raft.
CCPOA's historic provision of management assistance to CalDORC has arisen out of necessity, in a total vacuum of departmental leadership. Rod Hickman is just one link in a long and notorious chain of Departmental failures to which CCPOA has offered rescue, however, he is the most conspicuous as he continues to push the life raft away merely because it was sent by CCPOA.
Perhaps Rod Hickman is the living proof that scientists need to resurrect the theory of Spontaneous Generation. In the recent Senate hearings investigating the failures of management in the Department of Corrections, Senator Romero asked the question, regarding Correctional Managers and Administrators, "Where do they get these people?" The theory of Spontaneous Generation would certainly answer her question.
Lorraine Bradley
Former Correctional Officer
http://prisoncorruption.blogspot.com
