The Oklahoma Department of Corrections has reduced its staff by 59 as it struggles to deal with the effects of the state’s $729 million budget shortfall. Report from Bartlesville Live.

Corrections Department spokesman Jerry Massie said Friday that even though the agency is slated to receive a supplemental appropriation from the Legislature, officials still had to fill an $11 million gap after being told to trim their budgets by 10 percent for the rest of the fiscal year.

Massie says DOC Director Justin Jones told the Oklahoma Board of Corrections that 39 of the affected workers accepted early retirement buyouts. He says no corrections officers were included in the cuts.

Massie says the agency received a $503 million appropriation for the fiscal year, but the cuts mean officials will have about $48 million less to spend.

janchavarie Oklahoma, Personnel Issues

A juvenile corrections administrator with 33 years of experience was named today as superintendent of the 295-bed MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in Woodburn. Reported by the Woodburn Independant.

Isidro “Sid” Thompson, superintendent of the 50-bed RiverBend facility in La Grande for the past two years, will start the new job Feb. 22. MacLaren serves male sex offenders, violent offenders, those with substance abuse issues, older male youth and the majority of the male Oregon Department of Corrections population committed to OYA facilities.

“Sid Thompson’s three decades of diverse responsibilities in juvenile corrections have made him an effective and respected leader,” said Colette S. Peters, OYA director. MacLaren youth and staff will benefit from the wealth of experience, knowledge and compassion he brings to the job.”

MacLaren, serving nearly a third of OYA youth in close-custody facilities, plays a major role in the agency’s mission to protect the public and reduce crime by holding youth offenders accountable and providing opportunities for reformation in safe environments.

Thompson joined the Oregon Youth Authority in February 2008 after a 31-year career with the Arkansas Division of Youth Services, where he was assistant director of residential operations. He also managed juvenile correctional facilities and residential treatment facilities in Arkansas and consulted with five states.

OYA will begin a recruitment for a permanent superintendent at RiverBend in approximately three months. Brian Blisard, treatment manager at RiverBend, will serve as interim superintendent of that facility.

At MacLaren, Thompson succeeds Mike Riggan, who resigned to accept a position with the Washington County Juvenile Department as juvenile division manager in charge of the Harkins House juvenile shelter in Hillsboro.

“Washington County has recruited a professional who has proved himself as an organizational leader who has the support of his staff and whose work benefits youth in OYA’s care and custody,” Peters said.

OYA has custody of approximately 900 youth offenders ages 12 to 24 in correctional and transitional facilities in Albany, Burns, Florence, Grants Pass, La Grande, Salem, Tillamook, Warrenton and Woodburn. The agency also supervises approximately 1,100 youth on parole and probation in communities throughout Oregon.

janchavarie Juvenile Justice, Oregon, Personnel Issues

Sheriff Stan Sniff received the full support of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors today to begin hiring guards and other  personnel needed to staff new cell blocks at the county’s Banning jail. Reported by KESQ News Service.

In a 5-0 vote, the board affirmed that the Sheriff’s Department would have the $12.6 million Sniff requested to fund 142 new positions in fiscal year 2010-11, in addition to roughly $750,000 for hiring in the current fiscal year.

“We’re very pleased with the board’s decision,” the sheriff told City News Service.

The expansion of the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility is expected to wrap up next month, but many of the personnel needed for security and administrative functions have yet to be hired.

Sniff warned the board twice last year — in May and November — that he was short of the funds necessary to hire people to work in the new facilities. But faced with a then-$50 million — and growing — county budget deficit, the supervisors shied away from new financial commitments.

he $12.6 million in next year’s budget will assure funding to hire 45 sworn law enforcement personnel to work at the jail, 49 non-sworn correctional deputies and 48 “classified” employees, including food service workers, clerks and accountants, according to the sheriff.

He doubted all the money that was approved would be needed and predicted the new jail units would be fully operational in 12 months.

The two-year, $80 million Smith expansion includes 582 inmate beds in three housing units encompassing 173,000 square feet.

With the pending release of some 40,000 convicted felons from state penal facilities — in compliance with a federal judicial panel’s mandate that California’s prison population be reduced for health reasons — opening the new cells can’t come a moment too soon, said Supervisors Jeff Stone and John Benoit.

“We are going to have to have the capacity to house more dangerous criminals that we shouldn’t be responsible for housing in the first place,” Stone said, alluding to expectations that the parolees will offend again.

“We have to make our facilities function as prisons when they’re detention centers,” he said.

Sniff agreed, saying law enforcement officials statewide were preparing for a spike in crime — and greater pressure on local resources.

“It scares all of us, with scarce resources and additional loads being dropped on us,” he said. “The county jail is at the front end of the system. We just don’t have the bed space.”

The sheriff said the county has 3,600 inmate beds available, compared to 6,000 in neighboring Orange County. Some 3,500 prisoners were released before the completion of their jail terms in 2008 due to overcrowding in the county jail system, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

Supervisor Bob Buster wondered whether talk of risks to public safety from recidivism wasn’t “grossly exaggerated” and suggested more money might be diverted to rehabilitation programs and deputies drawn from other areas to staff the jails.

Sniff replied that pulling deputies from the field would leave a gap in patrols assigned to unincorporated communities.

According to the sheriff, in the coming months, he will “laterally” move inmates from older jail units to the new cell blocks, without realizing an immediate net gain in jail space.

The shift will instead give sheriff’s officials a chance to exercise the equipment now in place at Smith, as part of a “warranty” check to ensure all the mechanisms are functioning as promised.

“We can’t just let that stuff sit there and not put a load on it,” he said. “If anything is broken, it needs to be fixed by the people who supplied it.”

janchavarie CA Riverside County, Personnel Issues

With many employees in both the public and private sectors set for furlough from their jobs, at least one group of state employees has seen a reprieve — at least for now. News reported in the McAlester News-Capital.

Furloughs which had been scheduled to begin next month for state Department of Corrections employees have been lifted at least until the beginning of the next fiscal year, which begins on July 1.

The planned furloughs were lifted due to an agreement between Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry and the state legislative leadership for a $7.2 million supplemental appropriation to the DOC.

In McAlester that means DOC employees at Oklahoma State Penitentiary, the Jackie Brannon Correctional Center, the District Three Probation and Parole offices and the DOC regional office, are no longer facing the furloughs, or unpaid days off work— at least until after June 30, when furloughs could come up again because of the new 2010-2011 budget.

janchavarie Oklahoma, Personnel Issues

When Snohomish County last year moved supervision of its jail from the county executive’s office to the sheriff’s office, not everybody was convinced the change would help morale or save taxpayers’ money. Reported by HeraldNet.

Initial feedback points to some dramatic improvements during the past year, including huge drops in mandatory overtime, sick leave and worker grievances.

Undersheriff Tom Davis said the sheriff’s office has focused on building relationships with corrections bureau employees and law-enforcement agencies who pay to house inmates in the jail.

“If we focus on the relationships, other efficiencies will start to fall into place,” Davis said. “We’re never done, but we’re very pleased with where we are after 12 months. We still have a lot to accomplish.”

The jail has an annual budget of about $39 million and employs 341 people. It locked up about 25,500 inmates last year from 19 Snohomish County municipalities, the state and other outside agencies. In January, it had an average daily population of 1,161.

Councilman Mike Cooper in September 2008 proposed taking the Corrections Department away from County Executive Aaron Reardon’s office, citing considerable cost overruns at the jail.

That fall, a majority of the council voted to make jail operations part of Sheriff John Lovick’s job, starting Jan. 1, 2009.

Council Chairman Dave Gossett voted to move the jail, but worried the council was acting too quickly. The past year has dispelled those initial doubts, he said.

“I think it’s been going very well. I’ve been very impressed with the job that Sheriff Lovick has done,” he said. “There are two key issues. One is better labor relations. Two is a better control over overtime.”

Last week, Reardon said he advocated moving the jail for years before the council acted, and that it was “an idea that I pushed for a very long time.”

In a Nov. 6, 2008, memo to the County Council, Reardon urged delay.

“Rather than making this precipitous move at this time, I urge the council to take a step back and to engage in a thoughtful analysis of the ramifications of such a decision,” he wrote. “Until and unless such an analysis is done, I cannot support this action.”

The county’s Department of Corrections had been part of the executive’s office since the 1980s. Before that, it had belonged to the sheriff, which is the arrangement in most of Washington’s 39 counties.

Snohomish County moved the jail away from the sheriff because problems there led to civil rights lawsuits. Still, the jail remained a source of legal trouble.

Former jail director Steve Thompson was hired in 2003 when the Corrections Department became the focus of repeated criminal investigations and soaring overtime bills.

He initially was greeted with support by corrections officers, but during his tenure became the subject of dozens of labor complaints filed by the Snohomish County Corrections Guild. A majority of those complaints were dismissed by arbitrators.

Thompson opposed transferring his department to Lovick’s care.

At the time, Thompson said the County Council made the change to take a jab at Reardon and predicted Lovick would face the same labor headaches.

So far, that hasn’t been the case.

“Overall, we’re very happy with the sheriff’s office management,” guild president Andy Pierce said. “It’s just a new attitude. The difference is they value their people, they value their employees. It’s just a more respectful and honest attitude.”

Under the new administration, employee concerns have been handled at the “lowest possible level,” Pierce said. Two employees who filed wrongful termination grievances related to the previous administration received $50,000 each last year, he said.

The jail also is the subject of two pending lawsuits in which female employees allege being sexually harassed by male supervisors before the sheriff’s office took over.

Corrections Bureau Chief Mark Baird said lowering overtime by a third has boosted morale and improved finances. A key component was lowering mandatory overtime shifts by 93 percent. There were 30 mandatory shifts in 2009 compared to 411 the year before.

The number of worker grievances fell more than 76 percent, he said. There were 27 in 2009 compared to 114 in 2008. Sick leave dropped about 6 percent during the same period.

The drop in overtime saved taxpayers $1.35 million, Administrative Bureau Chief Rob Beidler said. In 2009, the jail also brought in an extra $2 million in revenue — about $12.8 million in 2009 compared to $10.8 million in 2008.

That happened through signing outside contracts with places such as Skagit County and the city of Kirkland to keep the beds full, as well as supplying services such as work crews, he said.

“Keeping the beds full is the best thing for Snohomish County’s general fund,” Beidler said. “Not just for the sheriff’s office, but for the general fund.”

Councilman Brian Sullivan said having the sheriff run the jail is saving the county millions of dollars.

“I would say that the transition has been 100 percent positive,” he said. “I can attribute that to the sheriff and his staff.”

janchavarie Personnel Issues, WA Snohomish County

The second-in-command at San Quentin State Prison will become first-in-command on Monday. Reported in the Marin Independent Journal.

Vincent Cullen takes over the 157-year-old prison, the state’s oldest, after spending a year as chief deputy warden. His annual salary will be $107,493.

“I always wanted to work at San Quentin, but I never honestly believed it would come to fruition,” said Cullen, 47, a Vacaville resident who will soon move to the prison grounds. “When I first started out, attaining a warden’s job was almost beyond comprehension.”

Cullen assumes office in a climate of epic budget problems and a new state push to resume executions after a four-year suspension. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has remodeled the prison’s death chamber and revised its lethal injection methods in the hopes of overcoming a court-ordered hiatus.

Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, a critic of the death row project, said Cullen is a “nice guy,” but that he hopes the new warden will focus more on rehabilitation than running “a warehouse for condemned inmates.”

“I would hope that he and all prison officials would get over their fixation on a Cadillac death row and focus more on cost-effective and beneficial strategies,” Huffman said. “If we can get over this idea of a shiny new death row, there’s a lot of good work to be done there.”

Cullen, who grew up in Millbrae and has a bachelor’s degree in science from San Francisco State University, started his correctional career in January 1990 as an analyst at state headquarters in Sacramento. A series of promotions landed him at various posts at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville, culminating in an associate warden position in November 2001.

“In my position, I’m not to express personal opinions,” Cullen said. “As the warden of San Quentin, I’m responsible for carrying out the law of California.”

In 2007, he was named an associate warden at the California State Prison, Solano, in Vacaville. He was named chief deputy warden at San Quentin last January.

Senate confirmation of his new post is pending. Cullen would be the prison’s 34th confirmed warden, said Lt. Samuel Robinson, a spokesman for the prison.

Turnover in the warden’s job has been high in recent years. The prison had three wardens from 1984 to 2004, but half a dozen in the five years since.

Cullen has the right blend of professionalism, stability and good humor to handle the job, said CSP-Solano Warden Gary Swarthout, who has known Cullen for about 12 years.

“San Quentin is certainly a very robust program. He’s going to have a lot of responsibility,” Swarthout said. “It’s going to require somebody with a lot of energy. He’s the guy who could do that.”

As San Quentin’s warden, Cullen will be responsible for an annual budget of $184 million, about 2,000 employees, and more than 5,200 inmates, including 697 condemned prisoners. Cullen said his new job is “one of the best positions you can have in this department.”

Cullen would not divulge his position on the death penalty. One of his more prominent predecessors, Jeanne Woodford, publicly opposed the death penalty after she left the job.

janchavarie California, Personnel Issues

Gov.-elect Chris Christie announced yesterday he will nominate Gary Lanigan, a former New York City prison official and current fiscal officer for the city’s transportation authority, as leader of the state’s prison system. News from The Star-Ledger.

If confirmed by the Senate, Lanigan, a financial guru, will replace George Hayman as commissioner of the $1.1 billion department responsible for about 25,600 inmates.

“Gary Lanigan has the experience, know-how and determination needed to effectively manage and focus our corrections’ system,” Christie said. “Gary will bring to the New Jersey Department of Corrections an understanding and care that is needed to not only protect the public, but ensure positive reintegration of those currently in the system.”

The department now operates 13 prisons after Riverfront State Prison in Camden was shut last year to make room for development.

Although the inmate population has dropped in recent years, state prisons hold about 400 more inmates than they were designed for, and another 5,000 inmates are held at other facilities such as county jails.The department has faced criticism since a May report from the State Commission of Investigation said it has failed to crack down on gang activity.

Lanigan has worked for several New York City agencies, always in a financial capacity. After leaving the Navy in 1975, he worked for the mayor at the Office of Management and Budget.

He served as assistant commissioner for financial affairs at the New York City Police Department before joining the city’s Department of Corrections in 1994. Lanigan rose to the position of first deputy commissioner in 1998, overseeing a $792 million budget and 12,400 uniformed and civilian employees. He joined New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority in 2003 as the director of budgets and financial management, responsible for financial planning at the authority, which has an $11 billion budget and 70,000 employees.

The fourth cabinet member named by Christie, Lanigan lives on Staten Island and plans move to New Jersey after the school year is over, said Christie spokeswoman Maria Comella. All cabinet members are required to live in the state.

Hayman has applied to retire on April 1, according to Treasury spokesman Tom Vincz. He started his career at the department in 1983 as a social worker in New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, and became commissioner in 2006.

janchavarie New Jersey, Personnel Issues

There’s a new administrator in charge of the Chippewa County Jail. Formerly known as “The Blonde Bomber” in pro-wrestling circles, Art Crews had his first day on the job on Monday. News reported by WEAU.

Crews says he’s worked in corrections all his life whether it was in the ring or outside the cells.

“I believe in walk around management. I need to start walking through, meeting staff and seeing detainees and inmates as well,” Crews said.

After spending most of the 80’s in the pro-wrestling ring, in 1987, crews took to working at jails and prisons around the country. Most recently as a warden in Texas.

Crews says Chippewa County’s is the smallest jail he’s ever worked in, but he says no matter what the size the keys to success are respect and communication.

“If you don’t have that in an organization you can’t go on and be very functional and meet the goals the public expects of us,” he said.

Crews is replacing Captain Jim Jerabek who had been serving as jail administrator for the last 17 years.

“They’re some awful big shoes to fill and I’m sure Art is capable of doing so. I have complete confidence he’ll do us well,” Chippewa County Sheriff Jim Kowalcyzk said.

Crews will be in charge of about 30 staff members and if the jail is full, 202 inmates. He says he plans to feel out how the jail is currently run and then decide if anything needs changing.

“I have a lot to learn here too. I have to learn what they’re currently doing. I don’t want to come in and make a bunch of changes for the sheriff and everybody,” Crews said.

No matter what changes are in store, Crews says his ultimate goal will remain the same.

“I always give promises to people and safety and security comes first for the community,” he said.

Crews says the biggest adjustment to moving here has been dealing with the cold temperatures, but he says the genuine friendliness he’s come across from community members makes him look forward to being here.

He says he’s also working on writing a book right now about his years as a pro-wrestler.

janchavarie Admin, Personnel Issues, WI Chippewa County

Rick Jacobs has been named warden of Hays State Prison in Trion, the Georgia Department of Corrections has announced. The appointment is effective Jan. 1.

Jacobs, a native of Rome and Floyd College graduate, has been with the Georgia Department of Corrections for 17 years.

“Rick Jacobs has worked his way through the ranks since joining the Department in 1992,” said DOC Commissioner Brian Owens. “He has done a great job with every task that has been assigned to him, and I know he will be a great leader to the staff at Hays State Prison.”

Jacobs originally joined the Georgia Department of Corrections as a probation officer. Since then, he has held positions including assistant superintendent, superintendent, warden and director of special operations. Jacobs’ most recent assignment was Macon State Prison.

In addition to an associate’s degree from Floyd College, Jacobs holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Georgia State University and a master’s degree in public administration from Columbus State University.

He is a graduate of the Georgia Law Enforcement Command College and serves as an adjunct professor in criminal justice and management at Columbus State University.

janchavarie Georgia, Personnel Issues

New Hampshire Department of Corrections Commissioner William L. Wrenn announced that several employee in-service training courses will now be provided electronically through E-learning. Reported in Corrections.com.

The courses include Harassment and Discrimination, Responding to Correctional Emergencies, Fire Response and Evacuation, Warning Signs of an Impending Disturbance, Domestic Violence, the Prison Rape Elimination Act, Suicide Prevention, and Defensive Driving for Government Employees. Additional courses will be added.

Many employees will be able to participate in these classes at their desks. Computer work stations are being set up at each of the state’s prison facilities for employees who do not have regular computer access. Training coordinators at each location will facilitate scheduling employees for their required annual training.

“It is important to take advantage of technology in providing staff training. E-learning is less expensive, more efficient, and reduces the time staff must be away from their posts,” Commissioner Wrenn said.

Department of Corrections employees are required to receive forty hours of annual in-service training to maintain their certifications. E-training will begin in December 2009.

janchavarie New Hampshire, Officer Training

Oregon corrections officers have voted down a tentative contract with the state, balking at proposed pay cuts tied to unpaid furlough days, union officials said Wednesday. Reported in the Statesman Journal.

The 1,700-member Security Unit of Oregon AFSCME killed the proposed contract with 60 percent voting against, said Tim Woolery, the union’s corrections coordinator.State and union officials are scheduled to return to the bargaining table Monday.

If they can’t reach an agreement, the two sides will enter into binding arbitration to reach a new contract. Oregon law does not allow corrections officers to strike.

The members mainly objected to contract language regarding furlough days, Woolery said.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski has demanded that all state workers take 10 to 14 unpaid days off during the next two years, to help balance the budget. But prisons must remain adequately staffed at all times, meaning those furlough days could potentially cost the state extra if officers work overtime to cover for colleagues on furlough.

So the proposed contract contained a plan under which all corrections officers would remain on the job and forgo eight hours of holiday pay for each furlough day they would otherwise serve.

“They would rather have the unpaid day off, is basically what they’re telling us,” Woolery said. “They want to be treated like everyone else.”

The officers also were unhappy that there would only be one step increase during the two-year contract, he added.

Woolery said there’s a “pretty good chance” that the corrections officers will end up in binding arbitration.

“By voting the tentative agreement down, that’s the message that the membership sends the bargaining team, that we should go in that direction,” he said. “What the state is offering is unacceptable, in other words.”

Since the corrections officers don’t have a contract, they are not yet required to take unpaid furlough days, said Lonn Hoklin, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Administrative Services.

The rejection of the contract could put the Department of Corrections in a fiscal bind, as the cost savings expected to be realized by employees’ unpaid furlough days have already been taken out of the budget.

“Every day that we don’t have a ratified contract compresses the time in which we have to absorb the reduction,” agency spokeswoman Jeanine Hohn said. If the furloughs don’t occur, the department will have to make cuts elsewhere.

The union tallied the votes last week, but no one from the union or the state publicly acknowledged the results until Wednesday. The Oregon AFSCME Web site, which serves as an information conduit between the union and its members, contained no mention of the contract rejection by as late as Wednesday afternoon.

janchavarie Officer Contract Issues, Oregon

Monroe County PA names 7th warden in 2 years. As reported on WNEP.

Donna Asure, Warden

After two years and six wardens the Monroe County jail has a new person in charge.

The Monroe County prison board didn’t have to go far to find their next warden. Friday morning members chose Republican county commissioner Donna Asure.

She will be the seventh warden at the Monroe County Correctional Facility since 2007.

It’s a role she said will be challenging, especially with the jail’s recent troubled past.

Now the new warden is promising change.

“It’s still very overwhelming right now because I have made a major decision to apply for something that will change my lifestyle and everything that I have done to this point,” said Asure.

Newswatch 16 sat down with newly named prison warden and Monroe County commissioner moments after she got the news.

The 10-year county commissioner and past prison board president beat out three other finalists for the warden spot. Asure has even been serving as the interim warden since the spring.

“We have had no stability out there. There has been no consistency,” the new warden said.

The position of warden has become somewhat of a revolving door over the past few years.

Since 2007 the prison has had six wardens. In March warden David Mauro resigned after being suspended. He had only been on the job for a couple of months.

Before him warden Marlene Chamblee resigned in July, 2008 after only six months in the position.

She had replaced warden David Keenhold who left the job in 2007 after a prison sex scandal. Six corrections officers and a kitchen worker from the Monroe County jail faced charges of sexually abusing inmates the year before.

Asure said it was during that troubled time she wanted to do something to change the prison.

“With the mistakes that were made over the past year-and-a-half we tried to put the right fit into that facility,” Asure said. “They know my management style, both there and here. They know my leadership capabilities and I think it is going to be a great fit.”

With Asure now prison warden a Monroe County judge will appoint her replacement to serve out the remaining two years of her term as Monroe County commissioner.

janchavarie PA Monroe County, Personnel Issues

The Vermont Department of Corrections will see the greatest number of layoffs and job cuts under the Douglas administration’s plan to achieve $7.4 million in labor savings this budget year. From the Burlington Free Press.

In the coming weeks, 14 people will lose their jobs and 20 other positions will be eliminated permanently in Corrections. The number of jobs in Corrections had already shrunk by 101 in earlier rounds of job cuts beginning in 2008. The department will have 1,044 authorized positions after this round of cuts, including 44 open slots that could be filled.   “This cut is the first real impact on community services,” said Commissioner Andrew Pallito, referring to probation and parole programs. He said he tried to steer clear of frontline positions where possible. He didn’t cut any uniformed staff who work in prisons.

The Douglas administration says fewer layoffs are needed — 29 instead of the 37 announced last week — because more vacant and retirement slots will be eliminated. The administration will eliminate 82.5 jobs newly vacated by retiring workers and 46.5 slots that have been vacant.

jakking Budgets, Community Corrections, Economic Issues, Personnel Issues, Vermont

A trend has emerged within the past three years that sees fewer inmates sentenced to West Virginia’s regional jails for minor crimes — but that has made barely a dent in overcrowding.  Reported by the Register-Herald.

Since 2007, the number of misdemeanor sentencings has fallen by 1,935 inmates, Regional Jail Director Terry Miller told a legislative panel Monday.  In a 12-county southern region, only two counties bucked the trend. Monroe, for instance, has committed 34 such inmates this year, contrasted with 20 the previous year and five in 2007. Nicholas County witnessed an upswing from 201 in 2007 to 284 this year.

Overall, the downward trend is a positive sign at a time when prison overcrowding is a major concern, suggested Delegate Dave Perry, co-chairman of the Legislative Oversight Committee on Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority. “That’s positive,” Perry said, adding that the effect of day reporting centers and other community corrections efforts cannot be underestimated. Even with this trend, however, Perry said the Legislature faces a huge task in easing crowded prisons. “It’s not adequate to address the number of beds available,” he said. “If you look at the Division of Corrections numbers, there is still a large number of inmates that are housed in regional jails that should be in the DOC.”

As of the last headcount taken Thursday, the 10-facility jail system contained 3,962 inmates, or 1,178 above the maximum for which they were designed. Among that number were 1,299 inmates sentenced to state prisons, and 159 federal inmates, Miller’s report indicated. An extra 270 bunks have been added this year, leaving 699 in excess of total bunks. Southern Regional Jail in Beaver had 506 inmates, including 71 awaiting transfer to state prisons, and 27 federal inmates. “As outside programs have developed, such as day report and alternative sentencing, that has caused a downward trend,” Perry said. Sen. Bill Laird pointed out that day reporting centers are operating in all but four of the 55 counties.

Corrections Commissioner Jim Rubenstein cautioned the committee that his agency is functioning at capacity, unable to accept the state prisoners now in regional jails. If that trend holds sway, the backlog of state convicts in regional jails will swell to 3,500 by the end of 2012, he warned. Gov. Joe Manchin has commissioned a special task force to study prison overcrowding, and a fresh look at its findings its due today before Judiciary Subcommittee C. Miller pointed out that 4,742 arrests for first-time driving under the influence were taken to regional jails this year. “That’s something we can look at on sentencing structuring,” he said.

Miller’s agency also is facing 96 vacant positions, and emphasized that none is considered frozen. “You always have some empty positions,” he told the panel. Miller said the authority has begun to “aggressively” rev up its recruiting and retention program.

jakking Overcrowding, Personnel Issues, Regional Jail System, Regional Jails, Sentencing, West Virginia

As the Vermont Department of Corrections has cut positions in the last two years, jobs on the front lines at probation and parole offices have largely been spared. But that may be about to change, corrections officials said this week.  Reported by the Times Argus.

Around the state, people who work in the probation and parole unit of the Vermont Department of Corrections were among the 24 Corrections employees who accepted the state’s early retirement offer, part of an effort to reduce the state budget in response to declining revenues because of the recession.   The loss of probation and parole officers and community corrections officers will mean there are fewer people monitoring convicts who are serving their sentences in Vermont communities.   Those boots-on-the-ground positions could still be filled, but officials remain non-committal when asked whether the departing employees will be replaced, and they left open the possibility that those positions would remain vacant.

“The essence is that while all these other cuts have happened across state government and other agencies, we’ve been fortunate to almost entirely spare probation and parole,” said Rob Hofmann, the secretary of the Agency of Human Services, which includes the Department of Corrections. “But as the state revenues decline, it’s going to be increasingly difficult to continue to do that.”  Out of the 24 early retirements in Corrections, eight positions will remain vacant, but as of now, it’s unclear which positions those will be, said Corrections Commissioner Andy Pallito.

In Barre, two probation and parole officers left their jobs at the end of August.  In Rutland, a community corrections officer retired early, which leaves the field office there with two vacant positions in that category after another community corrections officer quit, said Michael O’Malley, the district manager in Rutland. An administrative assistant also retired early, said O’Malley, and the office has lost a secretary, a program manager and a victims advocate to layoffs.  In addition, the top three managers at the probation and parole unit of the department of Corrections retired early, taking a combined 102 years of experience with them, said Pallito. They are already recruiting to fill the top management position at probation and parole, said Pallito.

The cuts come at the same time the number of incarcerated prisoners in the state has increased by about 100 in the last year, said Pallito.  The number of probation and parole cases in the state has increased as well after a roughly 20 percent decline in the past five years, said Pallito …

“I’m not overly worried,” said Pallito.   Pallito acknowledged “the more staff we have, the more public safety we can deliver,” but said that as long as Corrections doesn’t violate the statute that limits the number of cases probation and parole officers can manage, the department should be able to fulfill its mission of keeping the public safe.  As for the loss of experienced managers, Pallito acknowledged it left a vacuum, complicated by the fact that it has happened all at once.  “Any time when you have that much knowledge walk out the door, there is a little bit of a gap,” said Pallito.  But he said people are stepping up to the plate and the department will be fine in the short and long term – as long as the economy bounces back.

jakking Budgets, Community Corrections, Economic Issues, Parole, Personnel Issues, Vermont

The Massachusetts government is considering closing four prison facilities to save as much as $98 million, according to the head of the union that represents about 4,500 correction officers, who met with the head of the prison system today.  Story from the Boston Globe.

Steve Kenneway, president of the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union, said that Harold W. Clarke, the commissioner of the Department of Correction, also informed him that the state is considering laying off 300 employees, which Kenneway assumed meant correction officers. The administration plans to make a decision on closings and layoffs after it gets a better handle on projected state revenues next month. “Obviously, we’re stunned that the fiscal situation is so egregious that we may be looking at the closure of several facilities in Massachusetts,” said Kenneway. “We believe that public safety is a core mission for Massachusetts government. Period. We can’t let bad people out on the street.”

Kenneway said Clarke discussed the possible closings at the monthly meeting in Milford between the union’s executive board and top prison managers. He said Clarke’s comments came the day after Ronald Duval, a deputy commissioner, called him with other bad news: the state’s fiscal crisis was forcing the department to cancel in-service training for correction officers and to delay indefinitely the training of a class of 150 correction officer recruits, which was supposed to start next month.

The prison system also plans to close the Massachusetts Alcohol and Substance Abuse Center in Bridgewater on Nov. 6 and transfer people civilly committed there by the courts to other state facilities, Diane Wiffin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Correction, said today. The closing will mean that about 100 individuals who are undergoing detoxification and receiving counseling will go to facilities run by the state Department of Public Health, she said. Wiffin said she did not know how much money the state will save by closing the center. But she said the prison system has no plans to close any prisons. “We’re looking at fiscal 2011 now, and it’s too early to project what that could mean,” she said.

Kenneway said his union was aware in July that the state planned to close the alcohol and substance abuse center. He said he was so startled by Clarke’s comments about possibly closing four facilities, that he was not sure whether the substance abuse center was among them or in addition to them. He said Clarke told him the prison system expects the government to cut $35 million from its budget in fiscal 2010 and as much as $63 million more in fiscal 2011, depending on the revenue picture. “Nothing is etched in stone,” he said.

Kenneway’s union has strongly opposed previous steps Clarke has taken to deal with a rising prison population, including double-bunking inmates at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley earlier this year. If four prisons closed, he said, that would result in either more double-bunking or the release of inmates onto the streets. “There’s no place left to put inmates,” he said. “They’re going to force-feed a reentry program that clearly wasn’t supposed to be a reentry program.”

jakking Budgets, Economic Issues, Massachusetts, Personnel Issues

Louisiana, the place with the highest incarceration rate in the world, is eliminating more prison guard jobs because of budget reductions.  Story from the Shreveport Times.

Department of Corrections Secretary Jimmy LeBlanc told the Commission on Streamlining Government on Tuesday that he has to eliminate another 300 jobs to meet his new budget projection, on top of the 416 employees he already had to cut with mid-year budget reductions. LeBlanc said he’s had $50.5 million in budget cuts since January, which “definitely heads us in the right direction for streamlining.” The department’s budget is $497.7 million, of which $444.8 million is state money, funding 5,985 positions.

Asked whether it’s a good idea to have fewer people guarding hardened criminals who pose threats to society, to those guarding them and to each other, LeBlanc responded “I lose a little sleep at night worrying about that. I have to consider public safety No. 1. Staff safety is a concern.” Louisiana has imprisoned the highest number of state offenders per capita in the nation — 888.3 per 100,000 (almost 9 of every 1,000 residents) — versus the southern region average of 568.5. “We lock up 56 percent more than our neighbors,” he said. “One of every 26 adults is incarcerated or under supervision by our department,” which includes probation and parole. State prisons house 4,200 inmates serving life sentences and 84 on death row. LeBlanc says that’s the result of a combination of a high crime rate and tough sentencing laws. Louisiana leads the nation in murders per capita and is second in second-degree murder. “I’m just the keeper of the keys,” he said.

The state has the nation’s second lowest expenditure per inmate — an average cost of $24.39 per inmate per day for 18,332 offenders, so there’s not much room to cut, LeBlanc said. If more significant cuts have to be made, he would suggest cutting the number of prisons. The Department of Corrections is looking at a way to eliminate the additional 300 jobs that LeBlanc said he believes wouldn’t jeopardize security. He said 316 employees currently assigned to 12-hour shifts in guard towers could be replaced with cameras that constantly scan the grounds. Also, guards could occasionally walk the perimeter with dogs. It could improve security, he said, because “when you spend 12 hours in a tower, there’s a tendency not to be alert all of the time.”

The secretary said he also is looking at shifting the services provided at the Forcht Wade Correctional Center in Keithville in Caddo Parish. He said it’s still in the discussion stage, but the idea is to convert it to a substance abuse re-entry training center for men. When Rep. Jim Morris, R-Oil City, asked about the current employees’ futures if it is converted, LeBlanc answered, “Are all the jobs secure at Forcht Wade? No, 75 positions would be impacted. I understand it impacts people’s lives. The decision has not been made” …

Budget reductions force the prison system to be more efficient, the secretary said. Guards are utilizing more cameras to observe what’s going on, some physician exams are being done with telemedicine instead of transporting inmates to hospitals and some court appearances are now being done electronically. “Video court,” as LeBlanc called it, has cut into the $5 million a year the state has been spending transporting inmates to court appearances.

jakking Budgets, Economic Issues, Louisiana, Personnel Issues

Employees of Romania’s prison system decided to postpone a warning strike planned for today in the wake of talks on amendment of their collective labour contract.  From the Romanian Times.

The warning strike organized by the National Union of Prison Workers (SNLP) and the National Administration of Penitentiaries (FSANP) was planned for today at all prisons in Romania.   “The decision to put off the strike is due to the positive outcome of protests organised on 15 July 2009 that brought together over 1,000 unionists for an important cause: to solve problems in the country’s prison system. After 15 July, Justice Ministry officials and the representatives of the National Administration of Prisons decided to sit down and talk, especially since legislation empowers unionists as social partners,” the two unions said.

According to the unionists, since the talks failed to guarantee social dialogue would continue and their demands would be met, SNLP and FSANP decided to postpone planned protests until the end of the negotiations, saying they would decide what to do based on the outcome of the talks.

Ministry officials and unionists in the prison system decided, following talks on 20 July, jointly to make an assessment of the funds needed for goods and services vital for the functioning of prisons, which, they said, they would submit to the Finance Ministry.

The employees in the prison system began protests on 30 June, when they engaged in a work slow-down.

jakking INTERNATIONAL, Officer Contract Issues, Personnel Issues, Romania

DENVER — The warden of the federal Supermax prison that holds some of the country’s most notorious criminals, including Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui and “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski, is retiring. As reported by the Associated Press.

Warden Ron Wiley has announced he will retire effective Oct. 1 after 28 years of government service, Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman Traci Billingsley confirmed Monday.

Inmates at Supermax in Florence, Colo., include Moussaoui, Kaczynski and convicted Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols, among others. The prison also has been mentioned as a possible home for Guantanamo Bay detainees.

Billingsley did not release reasons for Wiley’s departure.

“I’m surprised that Warden Wiley is leaving, very surprised,” said state Rep. Buffie McFadyen, a Democrat whose district includes Florence. “Usually, when something as big as Guantanamo detainees is being discussed, I would think they would want at least some consistency at the facility.”

There was no immediate word on who next warden at Supermax will be.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of an e-mail sent to staff July 13 that said Wiley indicated he planned to spend time with his family and pursue local teaching opportunities. The e-mail from Blake Davis, warden for the U.S. Penitentiary in Florence, said Davis would serve as interim warden for Supermax and for the Florence Federal Correctional Complex that houses it, effective immediately.

“Warden Wiley’s commitment to the staff and the operation of FCC Florence has assisted our complex in setting the standard of how correctional complexes should function,” the e-mail said.

Supermax opened in 2004, about 90 miles south of Denver and 45 miles south of Colorado Springs. As of the last updated report from Thursday, Supermax held 465 inmates.

janchavarie Colorado, Personnel Issues

CARSON CITY — The state worker furloughs mandated by the 2009 Legislature are giving prison system officials a multimillion dollar headache. Story from the Las Vegas Sun.

Lawmakers ordered state employees to take one day off a month without pay, the equivalent of a 4.6 percent pay cut, beginning July 1. The furloughs will save an estimated $333 million.

Corrections Department Director Howard Skolnik has requested that his department be given an additional month to find ways to give guards and other staff the days off without jeopardizing public safety.

Nevada prisons are already understaffed, complicating any potential solutions, he said.

Among the ideas Skolnik is considering are shutting down parts of a prison and packing the inmates into a smaller area that could be supervised by fewer guards.

Another possibility, he said, is a “rolling lockdown,” which would keep inmates locked in their cells for longer periods. Such a move would interrupt programs and inmates would lose work credits, he said. “It creates a stressful situation for everybody and it’s not high on the list of solutions.”

The Legislature set aside $4 million to pay for exemptions from the furloughs. If the prison system doesn’t participate, it will cost the state an additional $8.4 million.

State Budget Director Andrew Clinger said the prison system is one of two agencies asking for an exemption. The Employment Security Department — which provides job placement and training through the state’s workforce investment system, Nevada JobConnect — has said the furloughs would jeopardize federal funds used to support the agency.

The state Board of Examiners meets Tuesday to decide whether to grant the exemptions.

janchavarie Nevada, Personnel Issues