The Chino Chapter of CCPOA has a blog.
It is located at http://cimccpoa.blogspot.com
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Monday, December 18, 2006
Response to an Editorial
The following is a response to an editorial in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin found here:
Prison fixing its problems for a change
==============================
While Mr. Poulos, Warden of the California Institution for Men in Chino, may be worthy of praise, for the implementation of the recommendations of the Inspector General relevant to the death of Correctional Officer Manuel Gonzalez nearly two years ago, he was merely following a specific set of instructions designed to address a tragedy which had already occurred.
The true test of the competence of any manager is their capacity for independent thought and action, thereby averting future tragedies, rather than merely cleaning up the mistakes of predecessors at the instructions of others, after the fact. In this measure, Warden Poulos is sorely lacking.
Recently, there was a construction project at the Reception Center West at the California Institution for Men in which the housing units were fenced off from each other. During the construction phase, there was a riot at the Reception Center West in which the only thing saving the Correctional Officers who were on duty in the rioting housing unit, was the escape route of the office windows into the yard.
The recently completed fencing project now closes off all escape routes for the Correctional Officers who will be greatly outnumbered in the next riot.
The recommendations for an escape route for the Correctional Officers working the RCW dormitories have been ignored by the Poulos Administration.
Also, recently, there have been two, serious, assaults on staff by inmates due, in large part, to the physical layout of some of the dormitories at the MSF (minimum) yard.
In five of the dormitory housing units at MSF, the Correctional Officers's only office is an open-air podium in the middle of the dormitory. There is no proper office with walls and, under the theory that the "minimum" yard is populated by an inmate population that is appropriate for a minimum custody classification, this physical plant deficiency may seem proper. However, as recent history demonstrates, the housing of the inmate population at CIM is not always appropriate to their custody needs.
This deficiency in physical plant has yet to be corrected or even scheduled for correction, inviting the next staff assault.
While reactivity defines an acceptable, albeit mediocre, Correctional Manager, it is pro-activity which defines a great one. While Mr. Poulos is busy cleaning the wreckage from the tracks caused by the train-wreck of his predecessors, his inattention at the switch guarantees that the next wreck will be his.
I believe your kudos are a bit premature.
Prison fixing its problems for a change
==============================
While Mr. Poulos, Warden of the California Institution for Men in Chino, may be worthy of praise, for the implementation of the recommendations of the Inspector General relevant to the death of Correctional Officer Manuel Gonzalez nearly two years ago, he was merely following a specific set of instructions designed to address a tragedy which had already occurred.
The true test of the competence of any manager is their capacity for independent thought and action, thereby averting future tragedies, rather than merely cleaning up the mistakes of predecessors at the instructions of others, after the fact. In this measure, Warden Poulos is sorely lacking.
Recently, there was a construction project at the Reception Center West at the California Institution for Men in which the housing units were fenced off from each other. During the construction phase, there was a riot at the Reception Center West in which the only thing saving the Correctional Officers who were on duty in the rioting housing unit, was the escape route of the office windows into the yard.
The recently completed fencing project now closes off all escape routes for the Correctional Officers who will be greatly outnumbered in the next riot.
The recommendations for an escape route for the Correctional Officers working the RCW dormitories have been ignored by the Poulos Administration.
Also, recently, there have been two, serious, assaults on staff by inmates due, in large part, to the physical layout of some of the dormitories at the MSF (minimum) yard.
In five of the dormitory housing units at MSF, the Correctional Officers's only office is an open-air podium in the middle of the dormitory. There is no proper office with walls and, under the theory that the "minimum" yard is populated by an inmate population that is appropriate for a minimum custody classification, this physical plant deficiency may seem proper. However, as recent history demonstrates, the housing of the inmate population at CIM is not always appropriate to their custody needs.
This deficiency in physical plant has yet to be corrected or even scheduled for correction, inviting the next staff assault.
While reactivity defines an acceptable, albeit mediocre, Correctional Manager, it is pro-activity which defines a great one. While Mr. Poulos is busy cleaning the wreckage from the tracks caused by the train-wreck of his predecessors, his inattention at the switch guarantees that the next wreck will be his.
I believe your kudos are a bit premature.
Friday, December 08, 2006
The Rise And Fall of a CalDORC Bureaucrat.
Recently, in an article written by Andy Furillo of the Sacramento Bee in which forgery and other improprieties were alleged, more corruption of top level officials in the California Department of Rehabilitations and Corrections (CalDORC) was exposed. This time it appears that CalDORC was either unable or unwilling to sidestep the embarrassment and Mr. John Dovey, Director of Adult Institutions, tendered his letter of resignation from his position. In Departmental jargon, this means that he will be relocated to another lofty position in CalDORC and continue on until he is ready to retire.
Mr. Dovey is a symptom of that which plagues Sacramento. He is the poster boy for their collective disease and, while being part of the problem, he does not constitute THE problem and his resignation will not constitute THE cure. His resignation, while being a nice gesture, will not significantly impact the cronyism and politics that pervades CalDORC’s “Pinstripe Wall”.
Like many of his colleagues, Mr. Dovey probably entered the upper bastions of power within CalDORC toting heavy baggage full of dirty laundry and, in true Sacramento fashion, instead of making Mr. Dovey wash his laundry before entering, they merely handed Dovey a can of room deodorizer to mask the smell and showed him the “dirty linen” closet where he could park his baggage.
“There are 8 million stories in The Naked City!”, was the popular slogan for the television series which aired in 1958. Obviously Sacramento is that city, and the John Dovey episode is merely one of the 8 million stories.
Mr. Dovey is a symptom of that which plagues Sacramento. He is the poster boy for their collective disease and, while being part of the problem, he does not constitute THE problem and his resignation will not constitute THE cure. His resignation, while being a nice gesture, will not significantly impact the cronyism and politics that pervades CalDORC’s “Pinstripe Wall”.
Like many of his colleagues, Mr. Dovey probably entered the upper bastions of power within CalDORC toting heavy baggage full of dirty laundry and, in true Sacramento fashion, instead of making Mr. Dovey wash his laundry before entering, they merely handed Dovey a can of room deodorizer to mask the smell and showed him the “dirty linen” closet where he could park his baggage.
“There are 8 million stories in The Naked City!”, was the popular slogan for the television series which aired in 1958. Obviously Sacramento is that city, and the John Dovey episode is merely one of the 8 million stories.
Lorraine Bradley
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Leave The Investigations To The Psychics - Part 2.
On November 21, 2006, an article was published in the Daily Bulletin, written by the venerated Mason Stockstill, which exemplifies more problems with the California Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (CalDORC) investigators.
Once again they are struggling with, yet, another paper bag out of which they must investigate their way. Doubtlessly, these local CIM investigators will fail in their task, forever sharing another bologna sandwich and banana found languishing at the bottom of their cellulose receptacle.
For these stumped super-sleuths, the solution is simple. They need only to refer this investigation to the fabled Psychic Investigation Division of the Office of Infernal Affairs (OIA) for an expeditious resolution to the insurmountable obstacles which confront them. Once at the office, they will find an array of various tools-of-the-trade, including a variety of Ouija boards and crystal balls. If they are lucky enough to arrive at just the right time, they may see a Special Agent, in a seance, channeling the spirit of Sherlock Holmes. With all of this technology working for them, their unsolved investigations can be dispatched within mere minutes instead of months.
My message to the institutional investigators at the California Institution for Men is this, ,”Use the prodigious psychic talents of OIA to assist you.” Who knows, they may get it right this time.
Good luck and good night.
Lorraine Bradley
Once again they are struggling with, yet, another paper bag out of which they must investigate their way. Doubtlessly, these local CIM investigators will fail in their task, forever sharing another bologna sandwich and banana found languishing at the bottom of their cellulose receptacle.
For these stumped super-sleuths, the solution is simple. They need only to refer this investigation to the fabled Psychic Investigation Division of the Office of Infernal Affairs (OIA) for an expeditious resolution to the insurmountable obstacles which confront them. Once at the office, they will find an array of various tools-of-the-trade, including a variety of Ouija boards and crystal balls. If they are lucky enough to arrive at just the right time, they may see a Special Agent, in a seance, channeling the spirit of Sherlock Holmes. With all of this technology working for them, their unsolved investigations can be dispatched within mere minutes instead of months.
My message to the institutional investigators at the California Institution for Men is this, ,”Use the prodigious psychic talents of OIA to assist you.” Who knows, they may get it right this time.
Good luck and good night.
Lorraine Bradley
Sunday, November 19, 2006
An Explanation of Classification Failures - A Reader's Comment.
This comment was left in a previous post and it was just too good not to post as a blog article.
Thank you Anonymous (CCI?).
==================================
"Anonymous said...
When you keep hammering away on Classification’s failure to properly house inmates at CIM, I hope you’re not referring to Correctional Counselor 1s in your assessment. We do our job and most of us were Correctional Officers prior to becoming CCIs. Like Correctional Officers, we fall into Bargaining Unit 6 and are members of, and represented by, CCPOA. We act in the best interest of security of both the prison and the community.
With regard to the classification process, CCIs assemble the relevant information for consideration in the placement and housing of inmates, however, this information may be ignored by the ultimate decision makers which are managerial level staff, often times, our supervisors.
I can only speculate as to the motivation for this irrational behavior of the CCIIs and CCIIIs when I express my opinion that the placement of square pegs into round holes may be motivated by available bed space. Shaving high classification scores down to make the pegs fit into the holes may be the ultimate goal of the classification Committee as CDCR struggles for bed space.
Just my opinion for what its worth."
Thank you Anonymous (CCI?).
==================================
"Anonymous said...
When you keep hammering away on Classification’s failure to properly house inmates at CIM, I hope you’re not referring to Correctional Counselor 1s in your assessment. We do our job and most of us were Correctional Officers prior to becoming CCIs. Like Correctional Officers, we fall into Bargaining Unit 6 and are members of, and represented by, CCPOA. We act in the best interest of security of both the prison and the community.
With regard to the classification process, CCIs assemble the relevant information for consideration in the placement and housing of inmates, however, this information may be ignored by the ultimate decision makers which are managerial level staff, often times, our supervisors.
I can only speculate as to the motivation for this irrational behavior of the CCIIs and CCIIIs when I express my opinion that the placement of square pegs into round holes may be motivated by available bed space. Shaving high classification scores down to make the pegs fit into the holes may be the ultimate goal of the classification Committee as CDCR struggles for bed space.
Just my opinion for what its worth."
Friday, November 10, 2006
Millions for Public Relations but not one cent for security!
Click The Pic & Turn Up The Speakers!
Warden Poulos Goin' To Work or
"I love the smell of napalm in the morning!"
Warden Poulos Goin' To Work or
"I love the smell of napalm in the morning!"
In a variation of the quotation, “Millions for defense but not one cent for tribute.”, which is alternately attributed to both President Thomas Jefferson and/or Robert Goodloe Harper*, Warden Poulos of the California Institution for Men in Chino seems to have embraced public relations as the solution to CIM’s security problems.
Recently the public relations efforts have included a helicopter ride and grand, dusty landing for the Warden and, reportedly, the Secretary of CalDORC, Mr. James Tilton. Additionally, there was recently held the first annual “Staff Appreciation Day” in which a cookout was held on the CIM grounds. All of this occurring on the heels of two major staff assaults which were attributable to the improper housing of inmates and deficiencies in the physical plant of the housing units at the “minimum” yard. Deficiencies which are still pending resolution
In another, unresolved security problem, the individual housing units at the Reception Center West have been fenced off, with no escape route for the Correctional Officers working within them. The danger of this security breach is not hypothetical and, as you read the linked article, you should be asking yourself the question, “What would the outcome of the linked incident have been if it occurred today, now that the fence project is complete?”
Between the siren, the helicopter rides and CIM’s “Staff Appreciation Day” cookout, CIM has become all form and no substance as money is poured into public relations efforts at the expense of staff and community security and protection.
The City of Chino is properly alarmed as they have made known their intent to file a lawsuit against CIM.
______________________
*The Home Book of Quotations, ed. Burton Stevenson, 10th ed., p. 63 (1967) and “Notes and Queries,” South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, vol. 1, pp. 100–103, 178–79
(1901)
Lorraine Bradley
Recently the public relations efforts have included a helicopter ride and grand, dusty landing for the Warden and, reportedly, the Secretary of CalDORC, Mr. James Tilton. Additionally, there was recently held the first annual “Staff Appreciation Day” in which a cookout was held on the CIM grounds. All of this occurring on the heels of two major staff assaults which were attributable to the improper housing of inmates and deficiencies in the physical plant of the housing units at the “minimum” yard. Deficiencies which are still pending resolution
In another, unresolved security problem, the individual housing units at the Reception Center West have been fenced off, with no escape route for the Correctional Officers working within them. The danger of this security breach is not hypothetical and, as you read the linked article, you should be asking yourself the question, “What would the outcome of the linked incident have been if it occurred today, now that the fence project is complete?”
Between the siren, the helicopter rides and CIM’s “Staff Appreciation Day” cookout, CIM has become all form and no substance as money is poured into public relations efforts at the expense of staff and community security and protection.
The City of Chino is properly alarmed as they have made known their intent to file a lawsuit against CIM.
______________________
*The Home Book of Quotations, ed. Burton Stevenson, 10th ed., p. 63 (1967) and “Notes and Queries,” South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, vol. 1, pp. 100–103, 178–79
(1901)
Lorraine Bradley
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Leave The Investigations To The Psychics.
With the flurry of cable television shows involving “Psychic Investigators”, it is a wonder that the Grand-Daddies of all Psychic Investigators do not get involved in the fray. In fact, it is a curiosity that the Psychic Investigators for the California Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (CalDORC) do not have THEIR own television show.
In their, most recent, flurry of pre-cognitive acumen, the Southern Office of the Office of Infernal Affairs conducted a two day review involving allegations of misdemeanor conduct by an employee at the California Institution for Men which, so it was reported, was directed by the Warden. This, after the Report of Employee Misconduct languished for a year somewhere within departmental archives.
Without so much as a cursory inquiry into the allegations, the letters announcing the commencement of the review and the letter rejecting further action by the Office of Infernal Affairs were dated two days apart, and, in a probable cost-cutting effort, were mailed in the same envelope to save postage. Clearly the cost benefits of psychic investigations are evident, with the biggest savings resulting from reduced hours spent on unnecessary interviews and interrogations.
My suggestion is that ALL CalDORC investigational entities be incorporated under a “Forensic Action Response Team” (F.A.R.T.) with the Office of Infernal Affairs heading the “Psychic Investigation Division Dabbling In Law Enforcement” (P.I.D.D.L.E.). In this manner, OIA could P.I.D.D.L.E.-F.A.R.T. their way into unprecedented cost savings for CalDORC.
Way to go Andre and Russ, I think you’ve tapped into something monumental.
Maybe you’ll get a follow-up call from Hollywood on this one.
Lorraine Bradley
Sunday, October 08, 2006
The More Things Change . . . Part IV
In a previous article, I exemplified the failures of the inmate classification process at CIM and the resulting impact of these failures on the surrounding communities and the uniformed staff working within the walls of the “Chino Plantation”. Recently there have been two, serious, inmate assaults on Correctional Officers in as many weeks at the “Minimum” yard and, so it is being reported by informed sources, an alleged inmate “Kite” informing Prison staff that an inmate takeover of the “Minimum” yard is imminent.
This has resulted in an unprecedented and coordinated effort between the three prisons within “Prison Valley” to search and seize inmate weapons and contraband, that would facilitate such a takeover, at CIM.
The whisper on everyone’s lips is, “Things like this aren’t supposed to happen on a minimum yard.” Unfortunately, thanks to a “less than stellar” performance by the committees that are tasked with the proper housing of inmates, it appears that this belief is no longer valid. Empirical evidence supports the belief that there are a number of inmates housed on this “Minimum Custody” yard who do not belong there. The larger question is “How many, of these inmates, are there?”
In the most recent examples, the physical layout of the housing units, in which the officers were assaulted, were clearly designed to house minimum custody inmates. Lacking even the barest essentials of a decent custody environment, these housing units are 200 inmate dormitories in which the housing unit officers lack an office to retreat to when the inmate violence starts. Instead, their office is merely an open air podium, in the middle of the unit, without any walls or door to close.
In contrast, the members of the Classification Committee work in relative safety, in comfortable, secure, offices while other, less fortunate, staff are left to pay for their mistakes in judgement.
This committee is also comfortable and secure in the knowledge that holding them accountable for their failings will be anathema to departmental administrative ethos. It will be more politically correct to hold a powerless, entry level, individual accountable through an incredible convolution of reason. A convolution which the California Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (CalDORC) has mastered over many decades.
Even as you read this, it is a safe bet that the CalDORC administration, at both the CIM and State level, is working overtime to make the assaulted Correctional Officers responsible for their own assaults, thereby allowing themselves the luxury of ignoring a prison stuffed with inappropriately housed inmates as well as sidestepping as many Workers Compensation obligations as possible. Predictably and politically, CalDORC will treat the individual symptoms rather than the disease. It was not the Correctional Officers who placed these inmates on the yard, they are merely the most recent brunt of an upsurge of prison violence that is the result of misplaced inmates.
The more things change, the more they remain the same.
This has resulted in an unprecedented and coordinated effort between the three prisons within “Prison Valley” to search and seize inmate weapons and contraband, that would facilitate such a takeover, at CIM.
The whisper on everyone’s lips is, “Things like this aren’t supposed to happen on a minimum yard.” Unfortunately, thanks to a “less than stellar” performance by the committees that are tasked with the proper housing of inmates, it appears that this belief is no longer valid. Empirical evidence supports the belief that there are a number of inmates housed on this “Minimum Custody” yard who do not belong there. The larger question is “How many, of these inmates, are there?”
In the most recent examples, the physical layout of the housing units, in which the officers were assaulted, were clearly designed to house minimum custody inmates. Lacking even the barest essentials of a decent custody environment, these housing units are 200 inmate dormitories in which the housing unit officers lack an office to retreat to when the inmate violence starts. Instead, their office is merely an open air podium, in the middle of the unit, without any walls or door to close.
In contrast, the members of the Classification Committee work in relative safety, in comfortable, secure, offices while other, less fortunate, staff are left to pay for their mistakes in judgement.
This committee is also comfortable and secure in the knowledge that holding them accountable for their failings will be anathema to departmental administrative ethos. It will be more politically correct to hold a powerless, entry level, individual accountable through an incredible convolution of reason. A convolution which the California Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (CalDORC) has mastered over many decades.
Even as you read this, it is a safe bet that the CalDORC administration, at both the CIM and State level, is working overtime to make the assaulted Correctional Officers responsible for their own assaults, thereby allowing themselves the luxury of ignoring a prison stuffed with inappropriately housed inmates as well as sidestepping as many Workers Compensation obligations as possible. Predictably and politically, CalDORC will treat the individual symptoms rather than the disease. It was not the Correctional Officers who placed these inmates on the yard, they are merely the most recent brunt of an upsurge of prison violence that is the result of misplaced inmates.
The more things change, the more they remain the same.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
The Plantation.
Greatly disturbed and frustrated by CIM's continuing refusal to consider the needs of the City of Chino, Chino's Mayor, Dennis Yates, announced that he would seek legal advice in the filing of a lawsuit against CIM to stop the flood of an increasing inmate population.
The disregard for the outlying communities and the harsh, draconian working conditions that continue to be suffered by the custody staff at CIM have caused a new term for CIM to emerge. It is now being referred to as "The Plantation" by many of the staff.
At least Mr. Yates has expressed sympathy for the custody staff working at CIM. Perhaps HE should be the Warden.
Click HERE to watch the CIM excerpt from the Chino City Council Meeting
Lorraine Bradley
Friday, August 11, 2006
The CDC/FEMA scandal.
As is being widely reported, the California Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (CalDORC) seems to be perpetrating fraud on FEMA by certifying untrained Correctional Staff in emergency first response.
No training, just the test and an answer key, that's all one needs when receiving federal certification as dispensed by CalDORC.
As recently interviewed by Inga Barks on her radio talk show (KMJ 580), the most excellent blogger Jonathan King (http://patrioticrants.blogspot.com) talks about another aspect of fraud within CalDORC.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW.
Scandal UPDATE as of August 14, 2006:
I found this posting on the Unofficial CCPOA Bulletin Board.
It appears as if the FEMA/CalDORC fraud has been, temporarily, suspended.
=============================
State of California
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
Memorandum
Date : August 11, 2006
To : Division of Adult Institutions
Division of Adult Parole Operations
Subject: SUSPENSION OF MANTATORY NATIONAL INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TRAINING
Effective immediately, the National Incident Management (NIMS) training has been suspended. This suspension applies to all staff in the Division of Adult Institutions and Parole, and includes testing via the manual and internet-based processes.
Further information regarding the timeframe for re-implementing the NIMS training is forthcoming upon an evaluation of the testing process.
Please distribute as necessary to ensure awareness at all Division of Adult Operations locations.
Original Signed By:
D.L. "Weasel Dave" Runnels
Chief Deputy Secretary
Adult Operations
Friday, July 28, 2006
Fraudulent Adverse Actions.
A question recently arose which suggests that a form of adverse action for California state employees, known as a "suspension" should be illegal for Correctional Peace Officers, who are able to sign up for overtime on their Regular Days Off, if the term of the suspension excludes RDOs instead of being for continuous calendar days.
Correctional Peace Officers, up to and including the rank of Lieutenant, are considered hourly employees and, through agreements between CCPOA and the State of California, have the right to sign up for overtime on their RDOs. Failing the minimum FLSA hourly requirement or modified hourly requirement through collective bargaining, the employee signing up for work will receive straight time instead of premium pay.
The problem arises when the Warden places a "Denial Of Entry", for a suspension calculated on working days exclusive of RDOs, at the gates which denies employees on suspension the ability to work, as per their respective agreements, on their Regular Days Off by denying them access to the worksite for this purpose. The logic that the State employer seems to endorse is that the suspended employee's suspension is lifted during their RDOs, so the suspension only covers "working days".
This theory may work for salaried employees, but it fails when administered against hourly employees with the negotiated right to work during their RDOs. By agreement of CCPOA and the State employer, the employee determines whether or not their RDOs will be working days, through the overtime sign-up process. As per the calculation of the term of suspension which excludes RDOs, the suspension is lifted during the RDOs. However, the Denial Of Entry remains in place during the suspended employees RDOs, denying him/her the right to work on his/her RDOs by denying him/her access to the worksite.
Exemplary of this is the following way in which the State employer would calculate a 60 day suspension where the employee has Saturdays and Sundays off:
Suspension starts Monday, July 3, 2006 and ends September 25, 2006.
The duration of this 60 "working day" suspension includes 24 RDOs (potential working days for Correctional Peace Officers), that are not accounted for in the term of the suspension, for a total of 84 calendar days and, for an hourly employee with the ability to work his/her RDOs, this suspension totals 84 working days - not the 60 working days fraudulently asserted in the Notice of Adverse Action.
As CalDORC becomes more punitive in an effort to displace culpability for their failings to the politically powerless in their ranks, adverse actions will reach an epidemic proportion. You may be next, finding the dictates of progressive discipline an anachronism, as you receive your Preliminary Notice of Adverse Action.
Anyone up for a lawsuit?
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Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Everything old is new again!
Monday, July 24, 2006
Wardens, read this before you take action!
Below is a copy of an, unrecinded, 1998 Department of Corrections memorandum which firmly establishes a non-retaliation policy for employees participating in "public forums".
If any CalDORC employee believes that they have, in the past, or are now a victim of retaliation for communicating with reporters or speaking in any other public forum, regarding non-security matters (matters which do not effect institutional security), you may file a "Report of Employee Misconduct" against your retaliator.
This report is mandatory and pursuant to DOM §31140.7.1.
Date: April 17, 1998
To: Wardens
Regional Parole Administrators
Executive Staff
Health Care Managers
Subject: RETALIATION
How the Department of Corrections (CDC) ensures that employees are able to freely participate in public forums without fear of retaliation has been a question asked frequently during the last several months.
This letter is to reaffirm the CDC's policy on retaliation prevention. Retaliation of any kind for participating in public forums, discrimination complaint processes, litigation, or in union activities is prohibited. Retaliation can take many forms all of which are unacceptable. Staff must feel safe in coming forward with complaints. whether the complaint alleges discrimination, harassment, abuse of power, misuse of state resources or other wrong doing. Our employees must be able speak freely and candidly in all public forums. Of course, employees have a responsibility to be honest and factual.
I intend to issue a revised, comprehensive policy on CDC's expectations for preventing retaliation in the near future. In the meantime, it is my expectation that you will all use your best efforts to assure that employees who exercise their rights under any process are protected against retaliation.
C. A. TERHUNE
Director
Department of Corrections
CLICK HERE FOR A COPY OF THE ACTUAL MEMORANDUM
Monday, July 17, 2006
Friday, July 07, 2006
The 28 Hypocrisies
From time to time, there are issues of inmate concern which parallel issues of staff concern within the prisons. Usually, these issues involve safety concerns, procedural or physical plant, because, for a minimum of five days a week, eight hours a day, staff and inmates share the same living conditions.
However, there are issues, other than safety, that should be of concern to both inmates and staff alike due to their impact on one and the potential this impact will have on the other. The inmate living conditions imposed by prison administrations, coupled with insufficient staffing, have always been a hotbed of prison strife and unrest which has, historically, been one of the major causes of rioting inmates throughout the country's penal system. Apart from inmate casualties and injuries, the resulting staff injuries and deaths are a grim testimonial that more humane living conditions for the inmate populations can further ensure that staff will walk out of a prison at the end of their shift rather than be transported by ambulance. From an employee standpoint, humane living conditions for inmate populations within the country's penal system, is probably the single most important safety feature for staff within the prison setting.
Overcrowding, understaffing, improper housing and lack of inmate medical attention are some of the component parts of the ever-present bomb that awaits within the prisons.
If there is one single prison that has become the icon for these deficiencies, it has to be the California Institution for Men in Chino and it would seem, from the administrative magniloquence, that the Warden at CIM is taking care and treatment quite seriously.
So it is being reported on the unofficial CCPOA Bulletin Board, in CIM's July In-Service-Training Bulletin, Warden Poulos published a proposed 28 Standards and Beliefs he wishes to adopt, all of which, ostensibly, show a concern for the welfare of the inmates. However, consider the plight of one who finds himself living in the shadows of, what is rapidly becoming, the Warden's "28 Hypocrisies".
Reports streaming from CIM state that, through a misadventure while on parole, Inmate Cathers, Jeff; V-38221 found himself harboring three 9mm slugs within various parts of his body and, while having been returned to custody at the Reception Center West over a month ago, this walking crime scene has yet to be scheduled for surgery to remove them. In fact, it is being reported that the medical folks are stating that he will not be scheduled for surgery because the wounds are not "life threatening" even though Inmate Cathers reports suffering from "excruciating pain" related to his injuries. Further, some medical staff report the possibility of lead poisoning from lead leeching from the rounds. Incredibly, it is the powerless Custody Staff who are most disturbed by this situation, since they are incapable of relieving the suffering of Mr. Cathers without a little cooperation from the Medical Department.
It is this type of callous indifference to human suffering that has the CalDORC Medical Division under federal receivership, not CCPOA, and it is the failure to correct these deficiencies, by the CalDORC administration which may bring the entire Department under receivership.
Mr. Poulos, grandiose platitudes and grandstanding will not relieve his suffering.
Lorraine Bradley
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Friday, June 23, 2006
The Feds get it wrong, again!
In recently published reports, John Hagar, Special Master and Federal overseer for the California Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (CalDORC) termed the administration of Roderick Hickman as "one of the most productive periods of prison reform". Where Mr. Hagar obtained this monumental misinformation is anyone's guess.
At the inception of Mr. Hickman's administration, the single functioning Correctional Officer Training academy was closed for 18 months, thereby shutting off the needed flow of Correctional Officers that would have constituted the basis of any prison reform, since efficient inmate service delivery systems begin with and are facilitated by Correctional Officers. This "productive period", as termed by Mr. Hagar, has been beset with institutional "step-down" procedures which close inmate programs (such as visiting, education and vocational programs) and divert staff to other, more critical, prison functions when there is insufficient staff available.
Thanks to Mr. Hickman, these chronic staff shortages are now routine as they were throughout the duration of his tenure.
How this can be termed as "productive" by Mr. Hagar is mystifying since these actions, which were brought about by Hickman's decision to close the Correctional Officer Training Academy, are anathema to Judge Henderson's vision for an enlightened and rehabilitative CalDORC, which centers itself on inmate services. Services which are now impeded and hobbled by the conscious decision of Mr. Hickman to reduce staffing through unreplaced attrition during an unprecedented period of inmate population growth.
I guess Mr. Hagar and Judge Henderson were too busy ignoring CCPOA to hear their cries to restart the academy and get more necessary staff to the prisons. These two were just too mesmerized by Roderick's rhetoric to see the train wreck on the tracks ahead. CCPOA saw it coming and spoke of it often.
Any praise of Mr. Hickman as the great prison reformer is, without a doubt, misplaced.
Now we come to the myth of Mr. Hickman as the great "Code Of Silence Crusader".
Being an excellent politician, Rod Hickman was a one-trick pony, a trick from which all other actions sprang. Master one, basic incantation and you can improvise the rest for the duration of your career.
Based on the philosophy of "Take credit for the successes and blame-shift the failures", the artful politician will always have a villain. For Don Quixote it was windmills, for elected and appointed politicians in California it is CCPOA.
Whatever George Bush isn't being blamed for, "The Powerful Prison Guard's Union" seems to pick up the slack. Yes, the "Powerful Prison Guard's Union" is the elemental invocation that conjures up the automated excuse line for all CalDORC mis/malfeasance. CalDORC's motto seems to be, "When in doubt, blame "The Powerful Prison Guard's Union". Let everyone think that we're not smart enough to screw things up this badly."
In fact, as regular readers of this blog now know, allegations of CCPOA participation in any "Code of Silence" is merely a smoke screen to disguise the true culprit, the administration of CalDORC. Please read the preceding blog article entitled " THE MATRIX: System Failure." for more information on the enforcement of the "Code of Silence" by the knee-breakers of CalDORC.
Yes Mr. Hagar and Judge Henderson, in the State of California the bad guys disguise themselves by masquerading as crusaders in a plethora of costumes from pinstripes to gabardine. My advice to the both of you is that you research the historical positions of CalDORC v. CCPOA, leaving political considerations aside, and render your judgements on the factual data rather than the rants of charismatic leaders.
Remember Jim Jones.
Lorraine Bradley
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Wednesday, June 14, 2006
THE MATRIX: System Failure.
"Wake up, Neo. The Matrix has you. Follow the white rabbit."
Just as the malicious Matrix of movie fable has enslaved and exploited the human race, turning them into nothing more than electrical storage batteries that power the machines, so the disciplinary matrix is being utilized by unscrupulous correctional managers to wage political warfare against ethical employees who expose the corruption of management's political cronies and allies.
Morpheus asks, "How far down does the rabbit hole go?"
In theory only, does the operating policy of the California Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (CalDORC) require the Hiring Authority1 to locally conduct investigations or refer to OIA, reports of employee misconduct for the initiation of fact-finding inquiries into the allegation(s). In reality, politics, rather than substance, seem to determine which reports will find their way into an investigative folder and which reports will find their way into the "round-file".
One can determine whether or not their report of employee misconduct has found its way into the trash can by determining whether or not they have been summoned, to the office of an investigator, as a (complaining) witness, in a timely manner (usually within a year). It is usual in investigations that, when the interviews begin, the complaining witness will be the first interviewed to validate the written report and provide additional, relevant information that has not been mentioned in the initial report.
Exemplary of this pick-and-choose process of selective referrals is the California Institution for Men in Chino.
As regular readers of this blog know, there have been a variety of reports, submitted long ago, alleging employee misconduct, that have been reported directly to the Warden which, apparently, have made their way to the dump. Complaining witnesses are still awaiting their interview after almost a year with no investigations in sight.
Of particular note within the pages of this blog, as reported, is the misdemeanor Labor Code violation committed against a CIM Correctional Officer, so it was reported, that was directed by CIM's Warden. This Correctional Officer wrote a written report of employee misconduct to the Warden on August 24, 2005, a report which seems to have drifted into the administrative black hole from which it has yet to emerge.
Then there is the report of employee misconduct that was filed on Tuesday, November 29, 2005 which, based on information gathered by a prior institutional investigation, alleged that a peer employee had been dishonest in the filing of a false report of employee misconduct. This November 29, 2005 allegation was supported by the exculpatory conclusion of the initial investigation. Once again this report seems to be drifting toward the singularity.
There are, at all prisons, Teflon® employees who are, seemingly, exempt from accountability for their misconduct and the California Institution for Men is no exception. On the other side of the coin are the employees who are persecuted for their adherence to their departmental training and policy regarding the compulsory reporting of employee misconduct.
Clearly, those designated as the "Hiring Authority" will embrace a standardized punitive system for employee misconduct (commonly referred to as "The Matrix"), as such a system gives them an excuse to be as harsh as they wish while allowing them to blame others for their draconian decisions.
There would seem to be a logic in such a system that standardizes punishments as long as all reports of employee misconduct are referred for investigation and the results of the investigations are, objectively and fairly, analyzed. However, due to local political considerations, all reports of employee misconduct are not created as equals and some will instantly cross the Event Horizon on their way into the abyss, never to be seen or heard from again, while others will be immediately dispatched for the requisite inquisition and bloodletting, oftentimes targeting known whistleblowers who are merely complying with CalDORC policies.
This has a chilling effect on those who have joined CalDORC with an internal set of ethics in place. By word-of-law they are being taught, by Sacramento, that, technically, they should comply with the reporting of all employee misconduct. However, by local example, they are being taught that, pragmatically, if a report is filed against a local political pundit, it could mean the kiss-of-death to their career. In other words, be careful who you report.
This converts an otherwise laudable concept into nothing more than a tactic to identify whistleblowers for later persecution.
The disturbing question this leaves is, "Who is left with promotional potential?" The answer to this question may also answer the age-old question, asked in disgust at State Senate hearings regarding mis/malfeasance in CalDORC, "Where do you get these people?" Obviously from the shallow end of the gene pool - those that are left when all of the ethical employees have been silenced.
Unquestionably, CalDORC will ignore this inconsistency which standardizes and centralizes only one aspect of employee discipline within CalDORC, yet ignores the, oftentimes, political process which subjects one employee to the disciplinary system while immunizing another for the same or similar acts. It is these "Teflon Dons" and their meteoric rises within CalDORC who will ensure controversy and failure for decades to come as they move into, ever increasing, positions of power.
My message to all of CalDORC's watchdog agencies is simply this:
You should develop an alternative which replaces the Hiring Authority as the sole arbiter of employee misconduct referrals. They have been compromised by local politics and are ineffective for this purpose. This decision making should be centralized and removed from local politics.
Remember the CalDORC Promotional Formula:
Promotion = TGP2 (Throw Great Parties, Take Good Pictures)
Lorraine Bradley
__________________________
1 Pursuant to §31140.3 of the Departmental Operations Manual, "The Hiring Authority is an individual authorized by The Director to hire, discipline, and dismiss staff." Within the Institution's Division, this would be the Wardens of the individual prisons.
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Thursday, June 01, 2006
Will The REAL Inspector Clouseau Please Stand Up.
Recently, a training module was introduced at the California Institution for Men in Chino regarding the implementation of CalDORC's Administrative Bulletin 05/031 which facilitates the "PROCESSING OF ADULT INMATE/PAROLEE APPEALS, CDC FORM 602, WHICH ALLEGE STAFF MISCONDUCT.".
This one hour module is, allegedly, a training module which provides sufficient training for a new generation of employee misconduct investigators. Unfortunately, CalDORC has glossed over one, very important, piece of information in this training module.
At the successful completion, those receiving only this training alone will still be unqualified to conduct Employee Misconduct Investigations/Inquiries as per §31140.5.2 of the Department's Operation Manual (DOM) which states:
§31140.5.2 Required Training for Staff Assigned to Conduct Employee Misconduct Investigations/ Inquiries
The Assistant Director, OIA, shall establish training programs for staff assigned to conduct employee misconduct investigations/inquiries. Appropriate notice regarding the available dates for such training shall be given to all units within CDC. Prior to conducting any employee misconduct investigation/inquiry, staff are required to complete the CDC Internal Affairs Investigation Course.
Investigator training shall include the following areas:
• Role of internal affairs.
• Policy and ethics.
• Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights.
• SPB Rule 61 (SKELLY).
• Complaint process, including citizens' complaints.
• Internal affairs policies and procedures.
• Internal affairs investigation processes.
• Legal constraints.
• Courtroom and administrative hearing procedures.
• Interrogation/interview techniques.
• Investigative security.
• Information practices constraints.
• Public record constraints.
• Media practices.
• Miranda requirements.
• Rules of evidence.
• Investigative techniques and report writing.
• Labor relations considerations.
• Employee representation.
• Public relations practices.
• Other training required in the performance of assigned duties.
The cursory one hour module that is currently in circulation, to be completed as an OJT module, contains little, if any, of the requisite course material and is, clearly, deficient in scope and content and is not sufficient, by itself, to qualify an investigator to conduct Employee Misconduct Investigations/Inquiries - even those initiated by inmate/parolee appeals/602s, a distinction which is not made in the DOM.
CalDORC will, undoubtedly, mount their defensive ruse that both Administrative Bulletin 05/03 and the implementational lesson plan are nothing more than investigations into an inmate/parolee generated 602/appeal, however, this is dishonest on its face because the core of both AB 05/03 and the lesson plan involves inmate/parolee allegations of employee misconduct, nothing else. Therefore, the investigation/inquiry commences as an investigation into allegations of employee misconduct and nothing more.
Apparently, those in Sacramento's Office Of Training And Professional Development are unaware that the DOM supersedes Administrative Bulletins and is the controlling body of policy in CalDORC. In other words, Administrative Bulletins must conform to the Department's Operational Manual, not the other way around.
I have consulted with one who is versed in labor law, as it relates to the Operating Policy of CalDORC and he suggests that shop stewards that represent staff members in investigatory interviews, whether the staff member is either a witness or the subject of the investigation, establish the investigator's/interviewer's credentials and qualification to conduct Employee Misconduct Investigations, at the time of the interview.
The question asked of the investigator/interviewer by the employee representative, spoken onto the tape, asked after the preliminaries such as the identification of those present and the Lybarger advisement, and after presenting the investigator/interviewer with a printed copy of the DOM section as displayed above, should be phrased thusly:
"As cited on the handout I have just given you, have you received and passed the course requirements prescribed in §31140.5.2 of the Departmental Operations Manual?"
If the answer is "NO", then the following phrase should be read onto the tape:
"Let the record show that (name and rank of investigator), in accordance with the Departmental Operations Manual, is not qualified to conduct this Employee Misconduct Investigation."
However, at no time during the course of the interview should the individual being interviewed refuse to cooperate. While CalDORC will forgive itself its own mistakes, they will waste no time making you pay for yours. Like all other blunders that CalDORC makes in their inquisitions, if the investigator/interviewer is not qualified to conduct the investigation there will be more than ample opportunity to serve up some cold crow to them in the appeal process.
Since CalDORC has chosen to turn their back on their own Operating Policy in favor of a cheap and expedient army of Clouseaus (Clousi?), this may be a fair procedure to follow in ALL Employee Misconduct Investigations, whether or not it is generated by a 602. This lesson plan, together with Administrative Bulletin 05/03 and the fraudulent investigative practices they represent, places a cloud over ALL Departmental Investigators and their credentials and qualifications to conduct employee misconduct investigations, a doubt which, in the absence of credible documentation to the contrary, could fairly be raised at each and every step of the due process until the question is answered through credible documentation.
Will The REAL Inspector Clouseau Please Stand Up.
Lorraine Bradley
____________________
1 Scanned PDF file (2.3 Mb). Broadband connection recommended.
Monday, May 29, 2006
IVP, The Gift That Keeps On Giving.
Under §16.06 of the current agreement between the State of California and the California Correctional Peace Officers Association there is a little prison money maker called the "Institutional Vacancy Plan". While its purpose is to generate "salary savings", this misnomer is deceptive and leads the reader to believe that there are actually salaries that are being saved through implementation of an IVP. However, there is, in fact, nothing saved at all.
In reality, the agreed upon, budgeted Correctional Officer positions that were being funded by the taxpayer in the expectation that there will be an actual Correctional Officer filling the position, were being kept perpetually vacant and, by agreement, unfilled. The individual prisons continued to receive the money for these, unfilled positions which they utilized for purposes other than staffing. These funds have, reportedly, been referred to in the past as the "Warden's beer money".
In the preceding paragraph, I have spoken in the "past tense" due to the language in the Bargaining Unit 6 Memorandum of Understanding which indicates that the IVP was to be phased out, with the final death knell occurring on January 1, 2005. However, as we can remember, immediately upon Mr. Hickman's appointment as Secretary of CalDORC he closed the Correctional Officer Training Academy, thereby creating a critical shortage of the Correctional Officers needed to fulfill the final phase-out of the Institutional Vacancy Plan as described in the agreement1.
Generally, teams of accountants are required to asses the financial state of the California Department of Corrections, however, under the staffing emergency that was engineered by CalDORC, it's a safe bet to say that the IVP is still alive and well, only the position names and numbers have been changed. The vacancy factor for the vacation/holiday positions spawned by these perpetually vacant IVP positions is still there and still, presumably, being funded as a prison budget item. The only saving grace, contractually speaking, is to be found in §16.06 (D), in which the State is forgiven for their failure to "recruit and train new Correctional Officers".
Ask the Warden's what they're drinkin', Michelob or Bud Light?
Now that the Warden's beer money has, seemingly, been protected by the, State manufactured, inability to phase-out the IVP, through the hiring of new employees, by either rolling part-timers over to full timers or gathering the necessary bodies from the non-existent academy2, there are two other related issues to explore; 1) Budgetary Overrides, for free money, from which to pay overtime and 2) The Step-Down/Post-Diversion Plan.
Theoretically, all prisons receive a budget from which to pay ALL expenses related to running the prison. This budget is inclusive of such things as maintenance, salaries and overtime just to name a few.
Aside from the fact that it is cheaper to fill vacant positions with currently employed overtime officers than it is to hire new staff, thereby incurring additional benefits expenses (The Airline Pilot's Association has, in the past, gone on strike over this practice by the airlines), there is a secondary benefit and incentive for Wardens to fill vacant positions with overtime - enter the budgetary override.
Simply stated, Sacramento will bail-out Wardens who have exceeded their budgetary limit for overtime, with an infusion of the necessary cash, that comes directly from Sacramento, when the Wardens ask for it, through the "budgetary override" process. This "free money" is quite independent of the individual prison's annual budget and could be, fairly, characterized as CalDORC's "Secret Budget".
As a case in point of just how powerful a tool this is in the day-to-day operation of a prison, many years ago, when Warden L. Dicarlo was at the helm of the good ship CIM, someone forgot to submit the appropriate paperwork to Sacramento when CIM went over budget for overtime. There was pandemonium and rumors of "millions of dollars" missing from the prison coffers. Eventually, after the sweating of much blood, the situation was corrected and, presumably, the cash, once again, flowed like a flash flood.
Ensuring a long life for the "Secret Budget".
To ensure that the overtime continues to flow while, concomitantly, managing the State manufactured staffing emergency, there is another State manufactured contrivance which has its roots in §16.06 (J) of the BU6 MOU, and is known as the infamous, Step Down/Post Diversion Plan.
Originally intended to be an emergency measure that addressed temporary workload loss through natural causes and attrition, the Wardens may now use this process to perpetuate access to Sacramento's "Secret Budget", thereby eliminating the budgetary load on their individual prisons, by artificially eliminating workloads, such as visiting, when the overtime becomes unmanageable.
At CIM, with it's four facilities, this works like a rolling power black out with inmate programs being eliminated at one facility and the excess staff diverted, as needed, to fill other vacancies at other facilities. The Memorandum Of Understanding has been re-engineered by the Warden's to make a long-term staffing emergency workable, all at the expense of Correctional Staff health and public safety.
Isn't it comforting to know that the new Secretary (A) of CalDORC is from that creative financing bunch in the Department of Finance?
Its going to be a long, hot summer, pack a lunch.
For more reading on assignment irregularities at CIM, CLICK HERE.
Lorraine Bradley
_____________________
1 The funding for the scheduled activation of the holiday/vacation PY's on a state wide basis will be from the IVP.
2 Running these, newly created, Vacation/Holiday Relief postitons vacant and filling them with overtime doesn't count and would smack of "double dipping" since these positions are paid for in the individual prison's budget and then again with overtime from Sacramento's "Secret Budget". However, it is anomolous that the vacation relief rosters, that are being posted around CIM, for many of the relief positions, reportedly show only the vacation and holiday relief position number and do not list the name of the Correctional Officer assigned to that post, only "vacant" is inserted where the name should appear.
Friday, May 12, 2006
A New Spirit of Cooperation?
As reported, very recently, in "In Service Training" classes, M.E. Poulos, Warden of the California Institution for Men in Chino has been announcing his plans to increase CIM's inmate population by the addition of 400 new residents.
His proposal would re-activate the Minimum Facility's gymnasium as a housing unit together with new construction, building a new inmate housing unit which, in total, would add an additional 400 beds to accommodate the influx of additional population.
It is refreshing that the City of Chino has buried the hatchet of opposition to increases in inmate population at CIM and perhaps, with this new spirit of cooperation, the California Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (CalDORC) can forge ahead with their plans to build the new, heretofore hotly contested, mental health treatment facility on the grounds of CIM.
Its always uplifting to know that reasonable people can resolve the issues which divide them.
Lorraine Bradley
Sunday, April 30, 2006
$50,000.00 a day, that's all we ask.
Reports from financial insiders at the California Institution For Men in Chino tell me that the average daily overtime costs, for this one prison alone, are $50,000.00. Yes folks, thats Fifty Thousand Dollars a day, every day, in overtime paid from the wallets and purses of the taxpayer.
Now, before the black helicopter crowd can formulate a knee-jerk reactionary belief that this is part of a grand conspiracy by the prison guard's union (CCPOA) to enrich their membership, a bit of explanation is in order.
The decisions within the California Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (CalDORC) which eventuated in this monetary hemorrage, were made by the former Secretary, Roderick Hickman who, following the cost-cutting directives of his boss, Arnold Schwarzenneger, closed the Correctional Officer training academy in an effort to save a buck. History is already showing that this decision was penny wise but pound foolish even though it may have seemed to be a good decision at the time.
Being a consummate political kite, sailing on the winds of political change, no one could accuse The former CalDORC Secretary, Mr. Hickman, of being in the pocket of CCPOA during his final days, as the acrimony between he and CCPOA was obvious through postings on the official CCPOA web site and the unofficial CCPOA bulletin board.
Caught in the middle of this bonehead decision are the uniformed correctional staff, some of whom willingly benefit from this situation, but most of which would rather have a life outside of the prison walls and spend time with their families. For the latter, they are forced to choose between their job and family. As if this situation were not absurd enough, it is being reported that additional vacations are being granted to correctional staff, above and beyond the capacity of the pool of assigned relief staff, to fill behind these vacations and, as a result, these "extra" vacation vacancies are being filled with even more overtime staff, further exacerbating the order-overs.
In light of the staffing emergency at CIM, if this information is accurate (my sources are usually very reliable) this has to be one of the more bonehead decisions made by any of CIM's management teams. I hope the Main Stream Media will keep this in mind when they do their annual bloodletting about all of the money correctional staff is making within CalDORC.
The last time this occurred at the California Institution For Men was when a memorandum, from the Department of Finance surfaced, cosigned by Larry Witek (then the Deputy Director of Institutions Division) and Wendy Stihl (from the Department of Finance) approving the provision of Vacation and Holiday Relief Officers, on an overtime basis, to augment the Vacation Relief pool of Correctional Staff. However, at that time, CIM's staffing was not so deficient that this had an appreciable effect on staff being ordered over to work these overtime shifts.
The most recent carpetbagger to trudge through the office of the CalDORC Secretary is James Tilton, and it will be a fascinating study to see if the past "creative accounting" of the Department of Finance, from whence he comes, has rubbed off on him.
Welcome to the Office of Secretary Mr. Tilton, good luck and good night.
Lorraine Bradley
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Making Bricks With No Straw.
In the Bible's Book of Exodus, Chapter 5, is the chronicle of Pharaoh and his order to the taskmasters of the Hebrews that the Hebrew slaves should make bricks without the straw necessary to bind the clay. Pharaoh further decreed that the production of these strawless bricks would not be decreased.
The Israelite's labors caused them to be weary and Pharaoh's taskmasters beat the Children of Israel if they fell behind in production of the strawless bricks.
Now we fast forward, many thousands of years, to the newest incarnation of Pharaoh who, while Secretary of CalDORC, established the royal decree which is being carried on by his heir, Jeanne Woodford. The only difference is, instead of making bricks with no straw, it has been ordered that prisons will be run with insufficient staff.
Immediately, upon the appointment of Roderick Hickman, by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Hickman decreed that the Correctional Officer Training Academy be closed, thereby shutting off the flow of needed Correctional Officers into the prisons during an unprecedented period of inmate growth, exacerbated by custody staff attrition through retirements.
Like the Children of Israel, the Children of CalDORC grow weary, their spirits and morale sagging, as they are ordered to work overtime on a daily basis. Not even on their two days of rest are they allowed to rest, but are told, by the taskmasters, that refusal to work overtime will lead to punishment and punishment will lead to termination, famine and pestilence.
Nowhere is this more apparent than at the California Institution For Men in Chino, where relief through assistance from the National Guard may be the only option.
While legislated policies exist, governing the dispensation of overtime, these policies have been unilaterally abrogated by the management of CalDORC under CalDORC's unofficial theory that there exists a quasi-emergency involving a shortage of staffing. To officially admit that it is what it is, a genuine staffing emergency, would focus the light of scrutiny on the, continuing, mismanagement of CalDORC and, as we know, that will NEVER happen.
This is another area in which the Pinstripe Wall's Code Of Silence has manifested itself.
"Oh great Pharaoh, we beseech thee to hear our cries and give us straw for our bricks!"
First there was bricks without straw, then prisons without sufficient staff.
What's next? Only time will tell.
Lorraine BradleyWednesday, April 05, 2006
Sunday, March 26, 2006
The Fifth Danger
On March 14, 2006, The California Office of the Inspector General released a report to Acting Secretary Jeanne Woodford of the California Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (CalDORC), entitled "SPECIAL REVIEW: IMPROPER HOUSING OF MAXIMUM CUSTODY INMATES AT CALIFORNIA STATE PRISON RECEPTION CENTERS."
CLICK HERE for the complete report in Adobe Acrobat.
This report was prompted by the stabbing death of Correctional Officer Manuel A. Gonzalez, Jr., by an inmate who had been improperly housed in the General Population of the Reception Center Central of the California Institution for Men in Chino, and constituted a review of procedural changes in the State's Reception Centers that were designed to prevent inmate mis/mal-placement.
Regarding the failure to correct these deficiencies at the California Institution for Men, the Inspector General had this to say:
Assessment of corrective action at the California Institution for Men.
"On August 30 and 31, 2005, the Office of the Inspector General visited the California Institution for Men to assess the institution’s progress in correcting the deficiencies identified in the March 2005 special review into the death of Correctional Officer Manuel A. Gonzalez, Jr., including the improper placement of maximum custody inmates in the general population. During that assessment, the Office of the Inspector General determined that 30 inmates who were designated maximum custody in the Distributed Data Processing System were housed in the institution’s general population. Further review determined that the institution had re-evaluated some of the 30 inmates and found them to be appropriate for the general population and simply had not changed the maximum custody designation in the computer system. Others, however, were maximum custody inmates who had slipped through the initial screening process and should not have been placed in the general population. One of those was a maximum custody inmate with a history of violent behavior similar to that of the inmate accused in the fatal attack on Officer Gonzalez. The errors occurred despite the August 1, 2005 directive from department management mandating that inmates who paroled from segregated housing immediately be placed in administrative segregation when they arrive at the reception center pending review by an institutional classification committee. The presence of the maximum custody inmates in the general population at the reception center appeared to be attributable both to errors by the reception center staff and to problems in using the Offender Based Information System as the sole means by which to identify inmates who paroled from segregated housing."
The Fifth Danger
On pages 14 and 15 of this report, the Inspector General identifies four areas of "The dangers of placing maximum custody inmates in the general population." They are:
1. Attack on correctional officers.
2. Attempted murder of another inmate.
3. Violent attack on other inmates.
4. Fighting with officers.
However, there is one critical danger which, through it's absence of mention, attains prominence. An unspoken menace that threatens to insert itself in the political drama that stages itself somewhere between the California Institution for Men and Chino City Hall. A drama that involves another improperly housed inmate and the impact that this housing had on the community of Chino.
On February 19, 1985, Kevin Cooper was convicted of murdering Douglas and Peggy Ryen, their 10-year-old daughter, Jessica, and 11-year-old house guest Christopher Hughes inside the Ryens' Chino Hills home on June 4-5, 1983.
On May 15, 1985, Cooper was sentenced to Death, a sentence which was upheld in Federal Court on April 22, 2005. All of this occurring AFTER Cooper's June 2, 1983 escape from the California Institution for Men, an escape which was facilitated by Cooper's improper housing.
During the trial, the press would report that Cooper's complete criminal history would not catch up to classification officials at the California Institution for Men until AFTER his escape. Decidedly, Kevin Cooper was another, in a long list of, improperly housed inmates. An improperly housed inmate who's escape impacted the community surrounding the California Institution for Men.
While the mutual-admiration society that exists between government entities is to be expected, the Chino Mayor and City Council should not forget who elected them to their offices. It was the Citizens of Chino; their expectation being that the Chino City Council will act in their best interests.
The historic problem of the improper housing of inmates at the California Institution for Men is as much a reality today as it was in 1983 and, as the Inspector General's report indicates, there appears to be no relief in sight.
Perhaps the wail of "The Siren" will drown out future discussion on this matter in the Chamber of the Chino City Council and the service club luncheons at which Mr. Poulos, CIM's Warden, will speak.
Lorraine Bradley
"Those that do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it" - popular
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." - historical
-- George Santanyana
P.S.
For an excellent, in-depth article, CLICK HERE!
Thursday, March 16, 2006
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
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Beating A Dead Horse!
Periodically, I receive editorials, in my e-mail, that have appeared in the Main Stream Media from such outlets as the Sacramento and Fresno Bee.
On March 8, 2006, in, what has become a typical bias in the media, an article entitled "Prison reform fades", once again, attempts to lay the failure of prison reform at the feet of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association.
I am not necessarily a great lover of CCPOA, I was once a member and, periodically, disagreed with their actions. However, I do believe that they are being scapegoated unjustly, an action which denies The California Department Of Rehabilitation And Corrections (CalDORC) the ability to improve its operation. CalDORC must accept responsibility for their failings before they admit having the power to change. If they genuinely believe that their failings are being brought about by CCPOA, they remain powerless to change. I do, however, suspect that their stated beliefs are a disingenuous, blame-displacing smoke-screen.
Predictably, the unnamed editorializer quotes individuals on Schwarzenegger's prison task force who state that Management does not control the prisons, the union controls the prisons. He/she then goes on to state that Arnold Schwarzenegger did not accept campaign contributions from the prison guards' union.
Through implication and the omission of relevant facts, the unnamed editorializer wishes to steer the reader into believing that Arnie is clean, pure and free of those nasty campaign donations that have plagued all other politicians. However, such is certainly not the case - let's review (The following is an excerpt, click on the text for the full story):
Giving Millions To Back a Winner
Candidate who denied needing money got lots.
By Alexa H. Bluth, Bee Capitol Bureau
Sacramento Bee, October 12th, 2003
After himself, Schwarzenegger's top donors included Alex Spanos, a Stockton developer and prolific campaign contributor in California who hosted a fund-raiser for Schwarzenegger and donated $200,000 to his bid. Spanos also chipped in $100,000 to the main committee behind the recall effort, according to finance records.
Schwarzenegger also received more than $100,000 each from: William Lyons Homes, a Newport Beach-based real estate developer; the American Sterling Corp., an Irvine-based financial firm; William Robinson, an Idaho-based rancher and investor; the New Majority PAC, moderate Republican business owners; Tim Blixseth, who runs Yellowstone Development LLC; and Paul Folino, chairman of the Costa Mesa-based technology company Emulex Corp.
Clearly this unnamed editorializer is living in a pre-Schwarzenegger/Hickman world. If he/she were living in the present, he/she would have known that Rod Hickman SHUT the California Correctional Peace Officers Association OUT of anything having to do with prison management. This was Mr. Hickman's proudest moment and he made no bones about it!
HOWEVER, you must be careful of that for which you wish. After CCPOA was shut out, CalDORC's demise was, exponentially, accelerated. Dead Correctional Officers, more YA violence, Sex Offenders being shuttled from motel to motel, CalDORC refusing to cooperate with Legislative inquiries! What was CCPOA's role in all of this? What could it have been since they had been locked out immediately after Hickman stepped in???
No Mr. Hickman, you bought CalDORC and refused to share it with anyone and YOU are solely responsible for its failings. It is time for you to stop blaming others.
This was to be a bold experiment, to shut CCPOA out of ALL managerial functions, even Contractually required negotiations for traditional union functions such as wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment, however, it failed.
Rod Hickman's midstream resignation left many with egg on their collective faces as the experiment, obviously, failed. Many of Mr. Hickman's pundits are having to take whip in hand, step down from their cart and beat the dead horse, only to find that they are only getting wet feet and not making any forward progress.
The total shock and embarrassment for hitching their cart to the Hickman horse is not lost on the Main Stream Media. They have a large reputational investment in Mr. Hickman and, even though it makes no sense, they continue to pick up the sword of a crusader and, then, go tilting at windmills. Clearly they are grasping at that which has served them so well in the past, however, the Hickman resignation speaks for itself.
It is time to unhitch the wagon and find another horse.
Lorraine Bradley
Monday, March 06, 2006
The Attack Of The Clones
The recent troubles of CalDORC are many and deep. It is unfortunate that the same cannot be said for the ideological and philosophical gene pool created by CalDORC’s version of the genome project.
On February 23, 2006, CalDORC’s four top clones refused to cooperate with the State Assembly’s fact finding efforts into the “Sex Offender Shuffle” debacle, as they boycotted the hearings, forcing the assembly to issue subpoenas which require the “Gang Of Four” to testify under oath. Almost immediately, Roderick Hickman, Secretary for the California Department of Rehabilitations and Corrections (CalDORC) resigned from his post.
CalDORC immediately announced that Clone #2, in the persona of Jeanne S. Woodford (a member of the Gang Of Four), has replaced Clone #1, Rod Hickman as Acting Secretary. All clones will, now, move up a notch as the deck chairs on the Titanic are re-shuffled.
At this juncture, I would like to place a proposition on the table for the reader’s consideration. For some it will be controversial, however, for others who do not exist in an ideological straight jacket, it may make some sense.
The proposition is this, that Rod Hickman may be more a symptom and symbolic of CalDORC’s problems than the problem himself. After all, any penthouse that is built on a rotten and crumbling foundation will come tumbling down when the foundation fails.
The tilting of "CalDORC Towers" is predictable as the foundation is continually being jacked up and repaired with twigs, chewing gum and bailing wire. This time, however, the leeward listing caused Rod Hickman to tumble out of the window. Clearly the political winds, which pushed the Tower around, did not help.
Unfortunately, the Pinstripe Wall’s Clone Army has come of age and now occupies every pocket of power throughout the length and breadth of California, spewing their vitriol and contempt for the People of the State Of California through their refusal to abide by the laws and rules which have been enacted by the elected legislative representatives, further rotting the foundation.
You know when the Pinstripe Wall’s Clone Army has arrived when employees, facing reports of employee misconduct, are openly and notoriously promoted to their next higher rank rather than being investigated and, if found necessary, disciplined in conformance with departmental policy.
As regular readers of this blog know, in a clear implementation of the “Witness Obstruction Program” (CalDORC’s variant of the Witness Protection Program), some of these employees who have, allegedly, committed crimes in office, have been ushered to other State departments, especially when a prominent member of the Pinstripe Wall is implicated in issuing the illegal order. The next earthquake you experience will be caused by the Clone Army shrugging in unison as the “Do Nothing” gene kicks in.
Dr. Frankenstein, you have been trumped!
Lorraine Bradley
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
The House That Neglect Built
The, now past, master "Spin Doctor" for the California Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (CalDORC) is working overtime as he explains away his failures through the scapegoating of those who had no responsibility for his collapse and resignation.
Rod Hickman's mantra continues to drone on about the meanies who have derailed his train. Meanies such as the elected representatives of the people of the State of California and a "Powerful Prison Guard's Union" who has been locked out of power in Sacramento ever since Mr. Hickman gave them the boot when his train first pulled into the station.
CLICK HERE FOR THE LA TIMES ARTICLE.
I am informed, by current and past CCPOA sources, that, prior to his quantum leap into the Secretary's chair, Mr. Hickman worked quite well with CCPOA, having, himself, chaired management committees within CalDORC which directly negotiated with CCPOA. What happened to him? A new reformer boss with new marching orders perhaps?
Arnold Schwarznegger arrived on the Sacramento scene in a total vacuum of political experience, so he garnered a cadre of political advisors, all of which were powerful names in Sacramento. Names such as Pete Wilson, former Governor, and, while these advisors brought with them a wealth of information and advice, they also arrived with their own political baggage, much of which was acrimonious of CCPOA and their organized labor brethren. The "reform" agenda had more to do with payback for the failed Pete Wilson coup, to raid the Public Employee's Retirement System (a coup which was resisted by California's organized labor), than it did with true reform. It is, then, no wonder that Arnie got caught up in his own attempt to shore up sagging state coffers through his own failed raid on California's cash-flush Public Employees Retirement System, a system made flush, in part, by employee contributions.
Even prior to Schwarznegger's election, his anti-union platform was written in the stars as he assembled his campaign advisors.
As Mr. Hickman has done in the above linked article, so Schwarznegger did when he first took office, as they have adopted the common philosophy of the Schwarznegger administration, "If we succeed we will take all of the credit, if we fail, blame the union."
It is rather disingenuous for Mr. Hickman to fix culpability for his failures on CCPOA however, since CCPOA had been shut out of the decision making processes of the Schwarznegger administration since the very beginning. I would even go so far to say that it is a direct result of slamming the door on CCPOA that Arnold Schwarznegger's/Rod Hickman's CalDORC has failed miserably enough to prompt Mr. Hickmans resignation based on his failure.
As I have made clear in earlier posts, The pre-Schwarznegger, pre-CalDORC Department of Corrections relied heavily on the management skills found within CCPOA because of the few management/organizational assets found within its own ranks. This predicament is due to promotions within CalDORC's "Pinstripe Wall" that are based on politics rather than an ability to do the job. When Mr. Hickman shut the door on CCPOA, he shut out the majority of managerial/organizational talent that was keeping CalDORC afloat. After that single act, CalDORC began taking on water and now Mr. Hickman finds himself searching for a life raft in the icy waters of public opinion. The same public opinion that once touted him as the departmental savior now sees him as the failure he is, and for this he blames the Legislature.
Even though Mr. Hickman preaches the message of accountability for others, he clearly refuses to accept it for himself, and he has a scapegoat, for every occasion, to prove it.
CalDORC remains out of control and the Pinstripe Wall's Code of Silence is not the way to solve its problems. By promoting and/or covering for those involved in misconduct, malfeasance and the Pinstripe Wall's Code of Silence1, CalDORC is now plagued with a defective "gene pool" from which to draw its leadership. Unless the marching orders change, the next Secretary will be a clone of the last.
As history delves further into the Hickman Years, perhaps his ultimate excuse for his failure will be the Nuremberg Defense.
Lorraine Bradley
________________________
1CLICK HERE; AND HERE; AND HERE; AND HERE; AND HERE; AND HERE; AND HERE
Friday, February 24, 2006
Pinstripe Anarchy
The Motto of the "Pinstripe Wall"
"I'm not talking,
Well that's all I got to say."
"The Yardbirds" from the '60s
On Thursday, February 23, 2006, the following members of the California Department Of Rehabilitation And Corrections' (CalDORC's) "Code Of Silence" club known as the "Pinstripe Wall" refused to cooperate with an Assembly fact finding committee, co-chaired by Assemblyman Rudy Bermudez, D-Norwalk, by boycotting requests to appear and provide information regarding the "Sex Offender Shuffle" in which high-risk sex offenders on parole are being shuffled from motel to motel every four days.:
CLICK HERE for the story.
*Roderick Hickman, secretary for the state Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
*J.P. Tremblay, assistant secretary for the state Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
*Jeanne Woodford, undersecretary for the state Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
*James L'Etoile, director for the Division of Adult Parole Operations
In a showdown with CalDORC, the Assembly committee, in a 5-0 vote, will require their testimony, under oath, through the issuance of subpoenas.
Hopefully this will bring the "nose-thumbing" of a contemptuous and out-of-control CalDORC to an end, at least for this hearing.
The "trickle-down" theory of ethics in CalDORC or leadership by example.
Observably, the contempt for the public's elected representatives and, by extension, the public at large, is not confined to the corporate limits of the municipality of Sacramento, in fact, it is pervasive throughout California state government as feudal state bureaucrats run their serfdoms quite independently of laws and operating policies which have been established by the State Legislature.
What arrogance!
Quite literally these bureaucrats, at all levels, are telling the public that their representatives can pass laws and operating policies to regulate their activities, but they have no intention of complying with them. Schwarzenneger's agencies have turned the law in California into nothing more than a Dog-And-Pony show, leaving the taxpayer with "Taxation Without Representation" at the hands of the "Pinstripe Anarchists".
Are you OK with that?
Maybe some tea would help?
Lorraine Bradley
Sunday, February 19, 2006
These are a few of my scariest things.
Speedy Probe vowed
Ramos: DA's office won't drag feet in shooting investigation
By Rod Leveque, Staff Writer
SAN BERNARDINO - District Attorney Michael Ramos vowed Friday to make a prompt decision on whether he will file criminal charges against a sheriff's deputy caught on videotape shooting an unarmed man.
Two of the scariest correlations to be drawn in San Bernardino County are:
1. The San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office and investigations
CLICK HERE
and
2. The San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office and prosecutions
CLICK HERE
and
CLICK HERE
In the past, the The San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office has based their investigations on the political realities of the times and, if there were any investigation at all, commenced their investigations with fundamental political assumptions which lead to predictable results.
Depending on which side of the issue an individual or group was positioned, this could be either a good or bad thing as it would expedite their agenda. However, lacking a credible investigation, there would be no justice for the folks on the wrong side of the District Attorney's politics. This is a sad-but-true reality of the politics of justice in San Bernardino County.
For the sake of argument, if the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office were capable of a credible investigation, then there is the other side of this equation which they must overcome, the prosecution.
Prosecutions by the District Attorney's office seem to resemble episodes of Abbott and Costello rather than Law and Order and, like it or not Mr. Ramos, if the shoe fits you must wear it.
Fortunately, for Elio Carrion and his family, if the DA's office, once again, drops the ball in this case as in past cases, there is recourse in the civil courts, just like O.J..
Lorraine Bradley
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
The torpedo's role in CalDORC
tor·pe·do*
n. pl. tor·pe·does
1. A cigar-shaped, self-propelled underwater projectile launched from a submarine, aircraft, or ship and designed to detonate on contact with or in the vicinity of a target.
2. Any of various submarine explosive devices, especially a submarine mine.
3. A small explosive placed on a railroad track that is fired by the weight of the train to sound a warning of an approaching hazard.
4. An explosive fired in an oil or gas well to begin or increase the flow.
5. A small firework consisting of gravel wrapped in tissue paper with a percussion cap that explodes when thrown against a hard surface.
6. See electric ray.
7. Slang. A professional assassin or thug.
I have just read an interesting article in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, located HERE, in which the "Blue Wall" is discussed. This is the, alleged, "Code Of Silence" which exists in the law enforcement community and portions of this article are tremendously insightful when applied, with modifications, to the California Department Of Rehabilitation And Corrections (CalDORC).
When used within CalDORC, the terms "Green Wall" and "Code Of Silence", conjures up images of Correctional Peace Officer line staff (who wear the "Green" referred to in "Green Wall") covering up wrongdoing perpetrated by themselves and their partners. However, if the terms "Green Wall", "Code Of Silence" and "Corruption" are to be synonymous with departmental decadence, I would recommend the term "Pinstripe Wall" (the suit and tie crowd) be added to the growing list of clichés.
In the Daily Bulletin article, Bruce Burg, criminal justice professor from Cal State Long Beach, stated that the blue wall is perpetuated because those who participate in it are promoted, and those who don't follow the code are ostracized and harassed. Nowhere is this more true than within CalDORC.
The operative question is, "Promoted by whom and why?"
The torpedo's role in enforcing the Code Of Silence or "Who are you gonna believe, me or your lyin' eyes?"
From crooked Departmental investigators to employees committing serial misconduct, the Pinstripe Wall insures that those who have acted in their behalf will be rewarded through promotion rather than disciplined for their violation of State laws, rules and regulations. As long as the misconduct is directed toward the ethical employees who insists on the rule of law and not the rule of men, these "torpedoes" will be protected and rewarded through promotion as they continue their rise to increasingly influential positions of power within CalDORC. Having, long since, cast aside their uniform and their belief in ethics, they will insure that corruption will continue within the departmental ranks.
Today's torpedo will become tomorrow's charter member of the Pinstripe Wall, launching other torpedoes toward ethical targets within CalDORC.
Mike, are you listening?
Lorraine Bradley
*The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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