Persistent corruption and the California Department Of Rehabilitation and Corrections (CalDORC)

With all of the rhetoric that has been thrown at the problem of corruption within CalDORC, the obvious question becomes, "Why is the rampant corruption still flourishing?" Perhaps because it's all just rhetoric?

If one listens to the various mission statements of Rod Hickman and his minions, one might be deceived in thinking that they are serious about what they say. Don't be deceived, these are hollow, empty and meaningless words that are generated by some of the most masterful spin-doctors to be found anywhere.

Many years ago, in my book "State Secrets", I warned of the function of departmental investigators as an isolating buffer between departmental corruption and the correctional managers/administrators who thrive on it. In reviewing the February 3, 2000 Management Review Audit of Larry Witek who, at the time, was the Warden of the California Institution for Men in Chino¹, the Office of the Inspector General seems to validate my observations in this area, with a scathing rebuke of, not only CIM's Investigative Services Unit, but the Office of Internal Affairs as well.

Out of a random sampling and review of eight (8) "completed" cases, the Office of the Inspector General found 50% of these cases (4) to be "incomplete", with two of the four having been conducted by the Office of Internal Affairs. Further, the conclusions of two of these four cases (50%) were disputed by the Office of the Inspector General "Because they do not agree with the facts of the cases. Both cases would require reinvestigation or a reassessment of findings."

The Office of the Inspector General further explains their review of the Office of Internal Affairs cases as being linked to the CIM Warden's Management Review Audit thusly:

"Although two of the four incomplete cases were conducted by the California Department of Correction's Office of Internal Affairs, the Warden is responsible because it is his duty to review the cases before the report is released and action taken."

Almost six years have passed since this report was written. There is a new Inspector General, new leadership in the Office of Internal Affairs, a new Warden at the California Institution for Men and this "New and Improved" organization seems to have embraced the same old corruption.

In a variation on the February, 2000 theme, where investigations were manipulated on the back end, AFTER completion (or incompletion), through erroneous and baseless conclusions, the "New and Improved" Warden is failing in his duty to refer Category 2 investigations to the Office of Internal Affairs for investigation, choosing to transfer the errant employees out of OIA's jurisdiction instead.

This is, particularly, handy when the employee is asserting that her misdemeanor misconduct was directed by the very same individual who authorized the transfer.

Rod Hickman and his sycophants may spew and sputter about the new disciplinary procedure that CalDORC has recently implemented, and how these procedures will bring improvement to CalDORC, however, the light that shines on the misconduct of the line staff has always been, is now, and will continue to be much brighter than the light that shines on the misconduct of correctional managers and administrators. CalDORC investigators, steeped in politics, brimming with hopes for advancement in CalDORC, are but one of the many reasons we will never see change in the organizational quality of CalDORC. After all, the foxes are still watching the hen house.

The more things change the more they remain the same.

Lorraine Bradley
http://prisoncorruption.blogspot.com

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¹http://oig.ca.gov/reports/pdf/larrywitek0202.pdf