A laundry list of prison failures

By Carl R. ToersBijns, former deputy warden, ASPC Eyman, Florence, AZ

Ever notice how the director of the Arizona prison system always declines to appear on television to refute or deny any wrongdoings reported by the media in the last three years?

Do you think that this is a deliberate tactic to assassinate the public confidence in our prison system?

Knowing how arrogant and tenured this man is, I am surprised he has not taken advantage of his public image to respond to the number of failures occurring while under his watch. It almost appears as if he has waved the white flag of surrender or pushing the fact that he doesn’t care enough about these flaws to respond to them in a most constructive and competent way. As it is, he is the only man in Arizona that can actually tell all of us the truth and what is really being advertised as a failed prison system today.

That being said, you must be aware of the impact of such an apathetic attitude and how this is impacting his credibility and leadership qualities. His refusal to address all matters in a public forum is one of his basic calls as a public leader and explain the appropriate action is being taken to correct all these flaws.

Perhaps he is relying on the department’s actions to speak for itself, however, that would be a fatal mistake for the public perception and opinion of his leadership has been dwindling quickly over the years.

It is logical this era must end soon. It is also rational that mistakes have to be corrected and failures must be reversed into success stories. It seems today, everything is wrong with Arizona prison management as the list is too long to print and historical data is revealing failure after failure since 2009.

Subvertly, he has eluded that things are wrong but refuses to address them specifically and publically. Shifting his policies constantly to address these shortfalls, his reactive approach is being noticed by lawmakers and law breakers.

Today his challenge should be clear. Repair those issues on this lengthy laundry list that need fixing.

This is our challenge for the next two years he should focus on:

Controlling spending and stop private prison growth in Arizona
Reduce the prison population and make the officer to inmate ratio safe again pre-2007
Take proactive assessments to protect the public from escapes, disturbances, excessive liabilities and needless costs incurred because of negligence or poor performance
Focus on staff safety and public safety and make them priority one
Restore staffing patterns and correctional officer positions in maximum custody lost since he took over in February 2009
Cut the political power, intimidation and fear factors of his administrators and reduce the administrative size of his agency
Reduce prison deaths and suicides as well as natural deaths
Restore sound and practical medical and mental health care in practice and delivery of services
Reduce prison bed expansion growth and false bed space projections for more maximum custody beds in the future
Restore the classification system for inmates to be housed in their appropriate custody levels and limit overrides to accommodate bed space and eligible transfers to private prisons
Restore the promotional and disciplinary policies for all employees to allow career growth and opportunities
Restore the human resource policies that allows employees to remain classified under grade 20 and not uncovered making them subject to willful termination or dismissal for political reasons
Open up a respectful and meaningful relationship with the media and allow transparency to exist to demonstrate compliance with rule of law and departmental policies and procedures
Open up a respectful and mutual relationship with organized labor and allow input and feedback to be included in executive decision making
Expose detrimental practices that incur the loss of life, limb or danger to all that work or live inside a prison

There are other actions required to bring these failures to the front of the agenda. He must work with the legislature to develop and organize an independent oversight committee to track prison business and transactions as well as changing these corruptive policies in place today.

He must turn the tables on the politics and tacit approval that exists within this culture of death now infested inside this prison system and take the opportunities for these “lessons learned” and turn them around.

He can do all this and still turn loose the dogs and appropriate use of force on those that challenge his changes in every way possible. Eradicate the gang controls that exist today and make prisons safer than ever before.

December 6, 2012