The Corrections Reporter is taking a short break. We will return after Labor Day, Sept. 7 2010.

jchev Personnel Issues

A former Washington Department of Corrections administrator who has been working in California will return to become state prison director. The department announced Friday that Bernie Warner will be in charge of 13 Washington prisons, holding more than 16,000 offenders. News from the Seattle Post Intelligencer.

The 55-year-old began his corrections career in 1980 as a counselor at the Washington state Penitentiary and held administrative positions in the 1990s with the state Department of Corrections.

Since 2000 he has worked for prison agencies in Arizona, Florida and California, where he is chief deputy secretary of juvenile justice.

Warner takes the Washington job in October, succeeding Dick Morgan who retired in July.

jchev Personnel Issues, Washington

Three weeks after the director of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice announced his resignation, two different studies are calling for major changes in the troubled agency’s operations. News in the Illinois Times.

Kurt Friedenauer announced his resignation as IDJJ director on July 14, having served in that position since the department’s creation in 2006. Friedenauer oversaw IDJJ’s slow separation from the adult-oriented Department of Corrections and the beginnings of a merger with the Department of Children and Family Services, but persistent recidivism and bouts of violence called into question the IDJJ’s effectiveness during his tenure.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 31, which represents state employees such as those at IDJJ, blasted the merger with DCFS last week, calling it a “bureaucratic solution to a programmatic problem.”

“There is widespread agreement that the current juvenile justice system is not fulfilling its mission of reducing the recidivism rate of juvenile offenders,” AFSCME says in a report released July 27. “But the merger appears likely to merely replicate the mistakes of the past, offering only cosmetic change when what is required is a serious commitment of new resources to revitalize the programs essential to ensure that youth have the opportunity to rebuild their lives and to make the facilities safe.”

The juvenile justice system was never given a chance to succeed, AFSCME says, pointing to a “woefully inadequate” budget, inadequate staff, lack of training and teacher levels that hover below state standards. The union surveyed 239 members who work in the juvenile justice system and developed a list of reforms AFSCME asserts could “reverse a nearly decade-long slide in juvenile justice outcomes in Illinois.”

Among the recommendations are larger staff numbers, more teachers and better staff training. IDJJ shouldn’t have to share parole officers with the Department of Corrections, AFSCME says, and treatment programs for substance abuse and mental health should be expanded.

“Yet another structural reorganization should not be allowed to substitute once again for meaningful reinvestment,” AFSCME says, “or for a true and productive partnership between the administration of the juvenile justice system and the frontline employees … who are striving to bring about the safe and successful rehabilitation of young offenders in Illinois.”

Two days after the AFSCME report, Illinois Models for Change released a report on behavioral health in IDJJ, calling for better mental health assessments in youth prisons. The report says existing assessments aren’t adequate, and often aren’t incorporated into juvenile inmates’ treatment plans, while staffing levels and training are a critical issue.

“In many facilities the current caseloads of youth and family specialists and mental health professionals are unmanageable and do not allow for meaningful monitoring, treatment or provision of vital case management functions,” the IMC report states. That report was in response to a request for technical assistance from IDJJ.

Meanwhile, Quinn seems to be pushing ahead with the merger, creating “interagency workgroups” to study the benefits and impacts of joining the two agencies. He recently signed legislation allowing IDJJ and DCFS to share resources, and on July 16, Quinn appointed Arthur Bishop, who currently serves as deputy director of field operations for DCFS, to take over IDJJ and oversee the DCFS-IDJJ merger. Friedenauer was scheduled to leave July 31.

“This merger will ensure that at-risk youth have access to the services and support they need to become positive, productive members of society and move IDJJ to a child welfare-based system,” Quinn said in a public statement.

IDJJ holds approximately 1,500 youth offenders between ages 13 and 20 in eight youth prisons across the state.

jchev Illinois, Juvenile Justice, Personnel Issues

The Pomona Sheriff’s Department studies cost of taking over policing. The city, which is trying to trim a $14.2-million deficit, sought the analysis. But rank-and-file officers feel their commitment to the city isn’t being considered. Voters could decide the issue. Reported in the LA Times.

In the calm of a warm spring evening, a man in uniform stood alone at Pomona’s civic center, gathering his thoughts. Police Chief Dave Keetle stared for a few moments at a plaque dedicated to his father, a former council member, before heading into a meeting. Lately, the younger Keetle has thought about his own legacy and whether he will be asked to dismantle a Police Department his late father passionately supported.

At the city’s request, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department has completed a preliminary study on the cost of taking over police services. The ultimate decision — if it comes to that — would be left to the voters, possibly as early as this fall.

Pomona, with a population of more than 155,000, would be the largest city in the county to turn to the Sheriff’s Department to save money. Hiring deputies could save the city millions — and chip away at a $14.2-million deficit.

Pomona council members say that the proposal is only in the exploratory stage, but, nonetheless, a funk has descended on the rank and file in a department that is nearing its 100th anniversary and that believes it deserves credit for turning the tide on years of violent crime and gang activity.

“There’s people who have put in 20 to 30 years here,” Keetle said. “They’ve dedicated their lives to this city.”

Pomona is hardly the first L.A. County city to look at disbanding its police department. Tiny Sierra Madre considered doing away with its force, but ultimately rejected the idea. Maywood pulled the plug on its police force and virtually every other City Hall job earlier this month. Cudahy, which had been policed by Maywood, is now patrolled by sheriff’s deputies.

The city has an operating budget of about $90 million, half of which goes to the Police Department.

“The fact that Pomona, which has a long-standing Police Department, has approached us is pretty interesting,” Sheriff’s Capt. Bruce Fogarty said. “I wouldn’t be surprised to hear from other cities in these economic times.”

The city is home to the 12th Street gang, which has about 1,000 members and deep ties in the community. Pomona was once described by authorities as “a hotbed of gang activity.” In 1989, the city reported 45 murders, the highest recorded in any San Gabriel Valley city at the time.

Police have since zeroed in on the gang and the murder rate has dropped. Last year there were 17 homicides, and residents say the streets seem safer.

“It tends to have a bad rap, but I’ve never felt unsafe,” said Deb Mashek, a psychology professor at Harvey Mudd College who moved to Pomona five years ago.

Mashek, 35, was among the hundreds of sign-waving residents and city employees who flooded council chambers earlier this year to protest the possibility of shutting down the Police Department.

The department’s future has been up for debate before. In 1986, Pomona was having money trouble and explored contracting out police, fire and library services. The issue was abandoned, although the county took over the Fire Department soon after. In 1990, council members talked openly about getting rid of the police force but then abruptly dropped the idea.

This time, the mere request to explore shutting down the Police Department has spurred a debate that reaches deep inside Pomona’s neighborhoods.

The Pomona police force has a long history of controversy, including accusations of racial profiling, police brutality and a code of silence among officers. In 1996, an officer sued the city, alleging that his colleagues harassed him after he reported that officers were stealing money and planting drugs on suspects. More recently, the department was accused of targeting Latinos by setting up traffic checkpoints during holidays like Cinco de Mayo and using what Councilwoman Cristina Carrizosa called “Gestapo”-like tactics.

Hank Fung, a 28-year-old civil engineer, said he takes issue with the “instantaneous support” some residents have showered on police.

“To put all the options on the table is something that’s fiscally responsible when you have a city that has a huge budget deficit,” Fung said.

Other residents say more thought should have been given to the effect on officers’ attitudes. “Who wants to go all out if you think you’re going to be canned the next day?” said Tamara Fair, 51, a Neighborhood Watch block captain of five years. “I just think we’re throwing our Police Department under the bus.”

The evaluation, which was finished in June, is being reviewed by city staff and an outside consultant. A more comprehensive study will be conducted at a cost of about $25,000 if the city decides to press forward.

Councilman Stephen Atchley doubts that it will get that far. “It appears that public sentiment is ‘hell no,’ and that’s to be expected,” he said. “Most people don’t really get the seriousness of the issue. It just doesn’t dawn on people how city finances work, where the money comes from and goes to.”

Meanwhile, the Pomona Police Officers Assn. has attempted to rally the city around the issue. A Save Pomona PD website was created, e-mails have been blasted, and red signs reading “Our Safety. Our Police” were printed and distributed. They have even reached out to leaders in Compton, which turned its law enforcement over to the county a decade ago but is pushing for its return.

At the same time, officers can’t shake the feeling that they have been betrayed by the city they serve.

“I had a discussion with the city manager, and we talked about loyalty one day, and she said her loyalty was to the community, not to the employees,” said Sgt. Rob Baker, president of the officers’ association. “I was crushed. Are you kidding me? I’ve been hurt; I’ve been shot at; I’ve had to use legal force; and I’m a workaholic. And you don’t consider me part of your community?”

Association members say they were caught off-guard by the recent proposal and have accused City Manager Linda Lowry of deliberately keeping them in the dark. Lowry said she was upfront with the officers and has grown tired of the personal attacks.

“You can’t continue to degrade the level of services in every other sector without finally addressing significant cuts in public safety,” she said.

jchev California, Personnel Issues

Oregon corrections officers have lost their yearlong contract dispute with the state, and with that loss will forfeit their holiday pay for the rest of the state’s current budget cycle. News from the Statesman Journal.

A labor arbitrator handed down an order during the weekend selecting the Oregon Department of Corrections’ proposed contract instead of the one offered by the officers’ union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 75.

Under the state contract, corrections officers during the next 13 months will forgo holiday pay, take four mandatory furlough days chosen by their supervisors and have their latest pay increase rolled back.

The ruling affects more than 1,800 corrections officers at 11 institutions across Oregon.

The terms of the state’s contract will save an estimated $12.6 million for Oregon taxpayers, according to an economist hired by the union who gave testimony during arbitration hearings in April.

The officers said Monday that they are disappointed by the decision, which they feel takes away their pay without giving them a day off. Nearly all other state workers get an unpaid day off when on furlough. The furlough days were demanded of all state employees by Gov. Ted Kulongoski to help balance the Oregon budget.

“I guess there’s a little disappointment because people were looking for equal treatment,” said Brian Balzer, a corrections officer at the state prison’s minimum-security unit.

During contract negotiations, both the union and the Department of Corrections struggled to make unpaid furlough days work within the context of correctional institutions that operate around-the-clock, often with minimum staffing.

Arbitrator Michael Cavanaugh said he chose the state’s proposed contract because it would be easier to implement and less disruptive to operations at the prisons.

The arbitrator also decided the corrections officers should have a salary rollback and pay freeze since nearly all other state employees have had the same happen to their salaries for the 2009-11 biennium.

The union’s furlough plan had employees taking 14 furlough days off, mainly during already-scheduled vacation. The union agreed to a pay freeze but not to the wage rollback proposed by the state.

“Our furlough proposal, even though it had more elements in it than the state’s did, was fairer to the employees,” said Tim Woolery, the officers’ AFSCME representative. “The state’s proposal is just stealing their employees’ pay. It runs afoul of fairness. But it is simpler.”

Department of Corrections leadership were unavailable for comment Monday.

“We acknowledge that there are sacrifices that all of our staff members are having to make in these challenging economic times, as is true for the rest of state government,” DOC spokeswoman Jeanine Hohn said. “We will continue to work in partnership with our labor leaders to implement the changes outlined in today’s order.”

The ruling is effective immediately, so corrections officers will lose additional holiday pay that would have applied to Memorial Day.

Officers who do not work Monday will not receive eight hours of holiday pay. Officers scheduled to work will receive time-and-a-half but will not receive an additional eight hours of holiday pay.

“Correctional officers work in an often-hostile environment with an unpredictable population, and all we ask is to be compensated fairly,” said Sgt. Amanda Rasmussen, who works at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville. “We have no control over how managers spend money but all too often shoulder the fallout.”

The contract to be implemented closely resembles a tentative contract that the corrections officers voted down in November, objecting to the loss of holiday pay with no time off in return.

After the contract failed, the state declared an impasse. Corrections officers are not allowed to go on strike, so the contract dispute went before Cavanaugh for final arbitration. Under Oregon law, he could only pick one of the two competing contract proposals.

Corrections officers are frustrated by the loss of holiday pay but say they are very concerned about the four additional unpaid furlough days during which they will be sent home.

The furlough days will be scheduled on a floating basis. Officers are worried that scheduling furlough days without incurring overtime costs will leave prisons understaffed.

jchev Officer Contract Issues, Oregon, Personnel Issues

Terri Gonzalez takes command of the California Men’s Colony with more than two decades of experience, and a quiet confidence. What you won’t read on her résumé is her latest achievement: Gonzalez is the first female warden at the prison in its 56-year history. She succeeds John Marshall, who retired after seven years in the post. News from The Tribune.

Gonzalez is nonchalant about being a woman overseeing the medium/minimum-security prison housing 6,400 male inmates west of San Luis Obispo. She will quickly tell you that women long ago breached the ranks and can be found in key management positions throughout the state Department of Corrections’ 33 adult penitentiaries.

Today, she is one of eight female wardens overseeing state prisons. But that wasn’t always the case. In 1988, Gonzalez started her career on a whim as a correctional officer at Corcoran State Prison.

The economy was down, and the small dental business she owned with her then-husband in Visalia was struggling. At the same time, new prisons were being built and jobs were abundant.

She sought the job at the urging of her ex-husband who worked there — hoping the job stability would carry her through the down economy. Gonzalez’s daughter, who is now pregnant with her first child, was only 3 years old at the time.

“When I first started my career with the department, I felt compelled to do my job better than my male counterparts,” she said. “Partly because I am inherently an overachiever but also because I felt that I had to prove myself on a daily basis.”

She was up to the test
“Men were less comfortable with female officers as partners for the obvious reasons of strength and size in the event that you had to get involved in a fight or confrontation with the inmates,” Gonzalez said. “Therefore, I think a lot of us felt it necessary to prove ourselves every day in order to be accepted and fit in.”

Despite the challenge, her peers became family. And she continued to work her way up the ranks at Corcoran, ultimately ending her time there in 2002 as a correctional captain in charge of the institution’s security operations.

Gonzalez, 53, joined CMC in 2005 as a correctional administrator and continued to ascend, eventually working alongside Marshall as a chief deputy.

Marshall advocated for Gonzalez’s appointment to warden, saying that her background and proven skills were what CMC needed in its next leader.

“She is a decision maker, and she’s willing to make the needed calls in the event that something goes wrong,” Marshall said. “I leave the prison in good hands.”

Gonzalez was assigned as the warden of CMC on March 22. At the end of a yearlong vetting process, including an extensive background investigation by the Office of the Inspector General, she will be officially appointed as warden by the governor and potentially make about $129,000 annually.

Managing 2,200 workers
Much of Gonzalez’s day is spent in meetings. Her main task is overseeing the inner workings of the many departments that represent more than 2,200 employees and managing the prison’s $153 million annual budget.

Both those numbers will grow by year’s end when a mandated 50-bed mental health crisis unit is added to the prison. The prison is aged, and its infrastructure needs constant care to remain functional.

“Our operations staff works daily just to keep the walls standing,” Gonzalez joked. It is her job to lobby in Sacramento for the money needed to fix things such as leaky roofs and deteriorating facilities.

“The budget is obviously a major issue for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation,” Gonzalez said. “We are continually tasked with doing more with less, given the number of court-driven mandates for services we are required to provide for inmates.”

She also spends time walking the prison grounds, talking with inmates.

“The inmates need to know that their issues are being heard all the way up to the warden’s level,” she said, adding that inmate advisory councils meet routinely with managers to discuss issues and concerns from the various facilities. “It gives them a voice,” she said.

jchev CA San Luis Obispo County, Personnel Issues

A federal judge says the Minnesota Department of Corrections’ early retirement plan violated the age discrimination law. News in the Star Tribune.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had sued the agency over the plan, which said an employee retiring at age 55 got employer contributions for health and dental insurance until age 65, but an employee retiring after age 55 got no such contributions.

In his ruling last week, U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson found the plan discriminatory, but also that the department acted in good faith.

A commission attorney says there’s no firm total yet on damages or employees affected. The commission believes more than 50 people could receive monetary damages.

The Department of Corrections said it is working with the attorney general’s office and Minnesota Management and Budget to review the ruling and evaluate the state’s legal options.

Shari Burt, communications director for the agency, said it is “pleased that Judge Magnuson found that the department acted in good faith and could have reasonably believed the plan was lawful. He also recognized that the legality of the state’s early retirement incentive is an unsettled area of the law.”

jchev Minnesota, Personnel Issues

Robyn Schmalenberger will be the first woman to direct a maximum security prison in North Dakota. Leann Bertsch, director of the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, announced today that Schmalenberger, a 17-year veteran of the department, had been promoted to director of the North Dakota State Penitentiary. Announcement in the Bismarck Tribune.

Schmalenberger will replace Tim Schuetzle, who is retiring at the end of the month after nearly 20 years as prison warden and more than 30 years with the department.

Schmalenberger began her career with the department in 1993 as a probation officer supervising adult offenders and specializing in supervision of sex offenders. She was involved in the organization and implementation of the Fargo Drug Court in 2002 and the development of re-entry programs in Bismarck and Fargo in 2003. Schmalenberger was promoted to director of transitional facilities in 2007, which put her in charge of managing the minimum-security Missouri River Correctional Center and handling contract obligations of transitional facilities throughout the state.

Schmalenberger, who is licensed as a peace officer social worker and certified as a corrections officer, received an associate degree in criminal justice from Bismarck State College and a bachelor of science degree with a double major in social work and social/behavioral science from the University of Mary. She recently graduated from Northwestern University’s School of Police Staff and Command. She completed the National Institute of Corrections’ courses in executive training for new wardens and in correctional leadership.

Schmalenberger was selected from a group of four finalists, which also included Patrick Bohn, director of transitional planning services and the clerk of the parole board, Kevin Arthaud, chief of security at the James River Correctional Center and Mike Froemke, director of treatment at the state penitentiary and the DOCR’s adult services division.

jchev North Dakota, Personnel Issues

Advancements in technology and substantial upgrades to perimeter security at Pennsylvania’s state prisons will allow the Department of Corrections to reduce staffing levels at the towers of five facilities without compromising safety, Secretary of Corrections Jeffrey A. Beard, Ph.D., said today.From the PR Newswire.

Beard said the move, which is expected to save the commonwealth nearly $5 million, will begin in May and will be fully implemented by June.

The affected prisons are the state correctional institutions at Camp Hill, Cumberland County; Dallas, Luzerne County; Graterford, Montgomery County; Huntingdon, Huntingdon County; and Rockview, Centre County.

Beard noted that the five facilities — all of which were built before 1961 — are the oldest in the state’s system, and that 22 of the state’s prisons, including the newest maximum security prisons, already operate without perimeter towers.

“Over the last several decades, we have spent millions of dollars strengthening our prisons’ perimeters and security,” Beard said. “These enhancements, coupled with security improvements made within the prisons, all greatly reduce the need to staff perimeter towers around the clock, without compromising safety inside or outside of our prisons.

“In fact, this move will bolster security inside our facilities by allowing us to place officers at posts inside the prisons where they can be better utilized. Due to our improvements, the towers no longer require round-the-clock staffing.”

Initially, tower staffing will be reduced except for times when there are major inmate movements within the prisons, such as when inmates are exercising in the yards. The first phase of staffing changes will be implemented by the end of June.

In recent decades, modern prison designs have replaced towers with high-tech electronic perimeter intrusion detection systems and perimeter cameras. Today, the perimeters at each of Pennsylvania’s 26 prisons have multiple layers of razor wire as an additional barrier to prevent an inmate from approaching and climbing the fence.

Prison perimeters and internal compound activities are also monitored centrally by trained staff around the clock, while armed mobile units patrol the perimeter continuously and rapidly respond to alarms.

The corrections department also uses biometric systems that use inmate and staff photos and fingerprints to control movement in and out of an institution.

Officers who presently staff the towers will be assigned to posts within the prisons during hours when the towers are not in use. Placing these officers inside the prisons will help to offset overtime costs and provide an estimated annual savings of $4.8 million.

jchev Pennsylvania, Personnel Issues

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.

jchev 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.

jchev 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.”

jchev 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.

jchev 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.”

jchev 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.

jchev 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.

jchev 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.

jchev 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.

jchev 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.

jchev 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.

jchev Officer Contract Issues, Oregon