Jims
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Throw Away the Key
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« Reply #4 on: May 07, 2006, 06:54:02 PM » |
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I think we should keep in mind that the report is an AFSCME report. I would very much like to see IDOC's response. I have never been one to side with unions in general, but specifically, AFSCME because they seem to be a bunch of whiney cry-babies who all want something for nothing. I've said it before, and I'll repeat it. When you work for the state government, you get to reap the benefits when the state is in good financial shape. But, when the state is hurting financially, then you have to suck in your gut and ride it out.
Much of this report is probably gross exageration. For instance:
"Staffing reductions in guard towers and perimeters raise the risks of escapes.
When a dangerous felon who escaped from an Iowa prison in November was
apprehended on the grounds of the Menard Correctional Center, there was just
one unarmed officer responsible for securing the facility’s wooded perimeter."
When you read that, it almost sounds as if the Iowa escapee was apprehended just outside the prison walls. In fact, he was about a mile up from the prison off a road that connects the Bluff Road to State Route 3. I've been on it many, many times. The guy apparently didn't realize he was on IDOC property and had pulled off SR 3 onto what he thought was a country road, and was taking a nap. He was apprehended in the middle of the night. Menard's property extends for miles away from the prison. It would be virtually impossible -- IMPOSSIBLE -- to guard all that land. They haven't had an escape attempt for years - decades even. I suspect this is because the inmates would not be crazy about the idea of traversing the bluff area that extends up to and around the prison; plus, the fact that these woods contain more poisonous snakes than anywhere else in the United States no doubt deters anyone who even thinks about escaping into the woods.
It sounds as if the union is resorting to desperate measures to get the attention they want. Now they're focusing on the inmates' needs. Yeah, well, what's new? That they're locked down more than ever? That their food sucks? That the number of educational and other programs have been stripped from the prisons? Now the union is saying the inmates are bored and restless; but not so long ago they were saying the inmates were being coddled because they were given cable tv to watch, basketball, and weights on the yard! I read a post on one of the correctional staff websites complaining that the wardens want to see things back the way they were in the old days when inmates had ceramics and other art classes, drama, music, etc. Trust me, the union neither cares nor wants the inmates to have more programs. More programs mean more work for the officers. If it were up to them, the inmates would be locked down 24/7/365 and would all have to take bird baths and eat bologna sandwiches in their cells.
I would like to see the stats for the number of assaults now vs. the number of assaults 10 years ago or 15 years ago when they were at full staff and had a much lower inmate population. My understanding is that at least in the max joints, inmate-to-inmate assaults were a daily occurence, and inmate-to-staff assaults were nearly as often. I would also like them to be more forthcoming about defining for the public what they consider to be an assault. They lump in verbal assaults, shoving, spitting, and throwing things AT staff (whether staff is actually hit or not). While I don't condone any of those things, they'rea far cry from the assaults that are described in this report. Yet, reading this report, one comes away believing that ALL assaults are as serious.
After the infamous Richard Speck tapes surfaced and all the new rules and regulations went into affect, the prisons really were overstaffed! Where once there were hundreds of inmates on the yard at one time, now they limit the number who can be there in order to lower the risk of fighting. Similarly, inmates used to roam the max joints freely; now, they have to move in a line and the line movements are almost militaristic in their regulation. Inmates get written up for crossing the yellow line, talking in line, having their shirts untucked while inline, having shirt unbuttoned, etc. Additionally, line movements are limited to 50 inmates at a time.
There definitely is an understaffing problem at the prisons. But most of the understaffing is from the peripheral staff, not the security staff. The security staff had gotten used to a pretty cushy level of work expected of them. The correctional staff website of which I spoke also contains posts from and about officers who SLEEP during their 11-7 shifts in the prison!! If they're so afraid of being understaffed, what the hell are they doing sleeping? The problem with the union is that they don't want to work harder. They have their stupid list of duties and if given something else to do, they simply get to point to their list and say, "not my job." Admin thought they could cover the mailroom by having third shift officers who have precious little to do on their shifts, especially those in the gatehouses, shake down the mail. But no. The officers wouldn't do it because it wasn't in their official job description. That's just bullshit.
I don't have a lot of sympathy for these officers. They have chosen to work in a prison. Why, I don't know. I can only guess. I think it's a combination of things. In some cases, they have family ties to the prisons. At Menard, there are so many nametags on officers with the same last name, you'd think you were at a family reunion. There are guys who want to be in law enforcement but couldn't make it as "real" cops. There are those who think it's an easy gig for decent money. For many WOMEN c/o's, the $45,000 beats the crap out of waiting tables or doing office work or other jobs that don't require degrees. Some are ex-military who like the institutional organization and, let's just say it, being hard-asses. But they all need to be realistic. Anyone who gets a job at a prison full of angry, frustrated, high-testosterone, unstable, criminals (some with mental problems) cannot reasonably expect not to encounter violence at some point! Again, I don't condone violent behavior - by inmate OR staff - but given the Draconian conditions under which the inmates are forced to exist, the deprivation, the humiliation, the lack of simple kindness and humanity, the inhumane treatment, it's a breeding ground for violent behavior. You can't quash violence with harsh treatment. Doesn't work with dogs, doesn't work with humans. You'd think they'd wizen up at some point.
So - read the report but take it with a grain of salt. If anyone finds a reply from IDOC admin, I would like to read their response. I suspect they will be able to refute much of what is in this union report, but I also suspect they will merely ignore this.
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