The More Things Change, The More They Remain The Same.

After my career as a Correctional Officer at the California Institution For Men (CIM) had ended, I studied and became a certified Paralegal. Since then I have acquired a Departmental clientele, some of which are employed at the California Institution For Men, Chino, for whom I have written and filed various documents with various levels of management and administration of the California Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (CalDORC).

One of the managerial practices that has transitioned through several changes of wardens at CIM is that of the perpetration and condonation of criminal activities within the Workers Compensation venue, committed against employees which have filed or made known their intention to file, claims¹. Although the California Institution For Men has a brand new administration, they are plagued with the management style of their predecessors.

In a recent communication with one of my clients², whom had filed a report of employee misconduct reporting Workers Compensation related retaliation, CIM's Acting Warden, M.E. Poulos, displayed his misunderstanding regarding his obligation to refer criminal investigations to the Office of Internal Affairs (OIA)³, a division of CalDORC which exists outside of the institution and, theoretically, outside of institutional politics.

In this correspondence, Acting Warden Poulos erroneously stated that it was his responsibility and sole discretion to initiate a criminal investigation (Category 2). Indeed, if this were more than mere ignorance of his established duties, it would harken back to the days when Ed Alameda, past Director of CalDORC, halted an investigation into staff at Pelican Bay, an act which Federal Judge Thelton Henderson characterized as "Obstruction of Justice".

Since all CalDORC investigations exist under a shroud of secrecy, it is not possible for an outsider to ascertain whether this misconduct report has been properly referred to OIA, albeit, having been politically poisoned in the process. However, if not, hopefully this editorial will prompt Acting Warden Poulos to take the appropriate action, however, none of us should hold our breath.

It is true that the more things change the more they remain the same.

Lorraine Bradley
http://prisoncorruption.blogspot.com

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¹ Labor Code §132 a. (1), a misdemeanor.

² This client has permitted me to refer to this report in this editorial.

³ Departmental Operations Manual: §31140.4.1; §31140.4.2; §31140.6.2