Union chief: Threat level at prison high

Unread post by **Christina Marie** » October 13th, 2005, 11:00 pm

Union chief: Threat level at prison high
This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press on Thursday, October 13, 2005.
By JACQUELINE KALLAS
Valley Press Staff Writer

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LANCASTER - "The threat level at (California State Prison Los Angeles County) is very high - so high that an officer or an inmate is going to get killed," according to Lt. Charles Hughes, who works at the facility and serves as the union chapter president for the California Correctional Peace Officers Association.
Hughes said a newly instituted procedure to deal with "institutional staff shortages" is "putting staff in jeopardy."

Already registering "an average 9.8 staff assaults a day in the Department of Corrections," the situation could get worse, the lieutenant said. "They're trying to do more with less," he said, "and that creates a dangerous environment."

An Oct. 7 internal memo obtained by the Valley Press states that "staff shortages may occur when positions are unable to be filled by correctional officers, i.e. voluntary and involuntary overtime has been exhausted and there are no other staff available to fill the vacant positions."

Signed by Warden C.M. Harrison and addressed to associate wardens, facility and correctional captains, lieutenants and sergeants, the memo details various staff shortage procedures, including "the watch sergeant to redirect staff to fill vacant positions on a facility rotation basis."

"They've got a lowly watch sergeant who's in a safe environment and not even out in (one of the four) facilities, charged with moving bodies from one facility to another, leaving one facility short, and staffing without even being present," Hughes said.

"They're trying to deal with a lot of vacancies at the facility," some 30 to 50 out of a total 1,251 employees, by Hughes' estimate.

"And they're trying to do it - handle the fact that there aren't enough (people) to fill the positions - without shutting down programs," said the lieutenant. "It's an ill-thought-out procedure."

"They should try and modify the programs," he said.

Fully aware of an ever-dwindling staff depleted by "transfers, promotions and sick leave," Hughes said he was "shocked" when he learned of the new policy.

In matters involving such issues, "they usually seek our input," he said.

The lieutenant said he has "tried to resolve the situation" with his superiors, but so far has "had no answers. We're getting a deaf ear and have no choice but to file a grievance," he said.

"In my nine years as chapter president, this is the worst," Hughes said. "Our morale level is at an all-time low."

Calls to officials at the Lancaster facility seeking comment on the complaints went unanswered Wednesday.

Todd Solesk, speaking for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in Sacramento, said, "I don't know about that memo, but the department is experiencing correctional-officer shortages throughout the state."

Following a recent state of emergency, relating to a reported 40% shortage at the Salinas Valley State Prison, Solesk said, "We've been diverting all new academy graduates to that facility."

jkallas@avpress.com

http://www.avpress.com/n/13/1013_s4.hts

ughurdumb · Unread post by **ughurdumb** » October 13th, 2005, 11:16 pm

start shooting to kill prisoners that asult the guards

Unread post by **Christina Marie** » October 13th, 2005, 11:23 pm

ughurdumb wrote:start shooting to kill prisoners that asult the guards

They already do that. The f*cked up thing is that the gaurds are the biggest prison gang there is and they are the ones with the guns.

ughurdumb · Unread post by **ughurdumb** » October 13th, 2005, 11:28 pm

i gotta be honest and say i dont care what happens inside there as long as no one is raped. but shit is fucked up everywhere

Unread post by **Christina Marie** » October 13th, 2005, 11:33 pm

ughurdumb wrote:i gotta be honest and say i dont care what happens inside there as long as no one is raped. but shit is #%@& up everywhere

Its a moral issue fore me.

ughurdumb · Unread post by **ughurdumb** » October 13th, 2005, 11:41 pm

how about dont get yourself into prison to begin with

yeah, im over simplifying it, but thats really the REAL issue here

Unread post by **Christina Marie** » October 14th, 2005, 12:22 am

ughurdumb wrote:how about dont get yourself into prison to begin with

yeah, im over simplifying it, but thats really the REAL issue here

"We hang the petty theives and appoint the great ones to public office."

--Aesop (~550 BC)

ughurdumb · Unread post by **ughurdumb** » October 14th, 2005, 6:09 am

crstnamre wrote: "We hang the petty theives and appoint the great ones to public office."

--Aesop (~550 BC)

thats a great quote

Unread post by **Christina Marie** » October 14th, 2005, 6:42 am

ughurdumb wrote:
crstnamre wrote: "We hang the petty theives and appoint the great ones to public office."

--Aesop (~550 BC)
thats a great quote

Yes it is, thank you. My point is that regardless of whether these men are criminals or not (whatever....) that is besides the point. It does not condone the state not handling the system correctly. These men are being crammed into prisons built to house half or less their current capacity. They are constantly put on lockdowns, mostly it is not because of assaults or incidents, but because the prisons are so short on staff on a regular basis that they decide to just lock them down. The CO's are constantly getting "order overs" which means pull a double, and that is not the environment to be working dead on you're feet in. Unsafe for them as well as the inmates. ( A tired and paranoid CO w/ a gun??? OH HELL NO!) I could go on and on. The bottom line is that the state is failing to maintain our prison system in an acceptable, not to mention humane manner and its costing lives, both CO's and inmates.

ughurdumb · Unread post by **ughurdumb** » October 14th, 2005, 7:00 am

perhaps this is another point

the US has ONE THIRD of all prisoners in the civilized world

Unread post by **Christina Marie** » October 14th, 2005, 7:23 am

ughurdumb wrote:perhaps this is another point

the US has ONE THIRD of all prisoners in the civilized world

Would you care to elaborate on the point you are making?

ughurdumb · Unread post by **ughurdumb** » October 14th, 2005, 7:36 am

we have too many prisoners - simple as that

with that being said - its way too long of a subject for me and im not willing to get into it, but we need to change the whole system, not just the prison system

Unread post by **Christina Marie** » October 14th, 2005, 7:58 am

ughurdumb wrote:we have too many prisoners - simple as that

with that being said - its way too long of a subject for me and im not willing to get into it, but we need to change the whole system, not just the prison system

Well.....thats something we can agree on.

ughurdumb · Unread post by **ughurdumb** » October 14th, 2005, 8:07 am

crstnamre wrote: Well.....thats something we can agree on.