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?
NOW - TAKE THE POLL
(There will be one pop-up advertisement after you vote. Just click the "X" in the upper right hand corner to make it go away. This keeps the voting process FREE.)
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
NOW - TAKE THE POLL
(There will be one pop-up advertisement after you vote. Just click the "X" in the upper right hand corner to make it go away. This keeps the voting process FREE.)
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
NOW - TAKE THE POLL
(There will be one pop-up advertisement after you vote. Just click the "X" in the upper right hand corner to make it go away. This keeps the voting process FREE.)
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.
NOW - TAKE THE POLL
(There will be one pop-up advertisement after you vote. Just click the "X" in the upper right hand corner to make it go away. This keeps the voting process FREE.)
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)