Another letter to Arizona legislators - Corrections - culture of Corruption

Honorable Legislators and guests,

There should be no surprises when it comes to the headline about corrupt correctional officers being arrested for felony crimes and other misconduct. Hundreds of officers have been arrested over the years to a point where the word corrections has become analogous or equal with corruption based on relativity and frequency. Crimes ranging from child sex offenders to sexual assaults, in addition to the common charges of DUI and aggravated battery as well as introduction of prison contraband and drugs.

In an past article written by AZ Republic reporter Craig Harris, on February 28, 2013, it was revealed the current prison director released a public statement on his own ‘director’s desk’ website to announce his internal problem to the public in an effort to stave off any criticism on his own performance and problem solving within the troubled agency. In his own release, he describes the arrests of over 640 correctional employees during his first 4 ½ years as the prison director. He claims he has taken an aggressive stand against corruption, yet the statistical information reveals a growing cancer within the department that has not be sufficiently addressed or solved.

In fact, the release was based on the hopes that employees should be ““should be keenly aware of the need to conduct both our personal and professional lives in a manner that is above reproach.” This is more of a self-help approach than a departmental order to find and address staff corruption or misconduct. There have been more scandals than any other director in any other state could endure. This director is Teflon compared to the many that have been fired and released from their positions as chief boss of the prison systems they managed. There is no crusade for morality in Arizona. There are no dedicated resources to reduce or to combat corruption. The permissive culture allows it to continue and grow exponentially without resistance.

Based on the director’s own admission, over 640 employees had been arrested or dismissed for law violations. This turns out to be close to 10 per cent of the work force today. Doing nothing to reduce this type of misconduct, the director has not embraced better hiring and selection standards; he believes the rules in place are sufficient and satisfactory to hire the best qualified individuals for the job. One should as the bottom line. Is there a problem? One can't imagine a shift being 10 percent corrupt or can they?

Is the director conducting any research on reforming the corruption continuum within his own agency or is he ignoring a cancerous problem? In light of all these arrest with many more to come, one has to ask the question, “what is he doing about it.” The Kingman riot report indicated a heavy presence of drugs inside prisons which is commonly a known fact to impact all prisons, not just Kingman.

There is a drug problem and the promotion of dangerous drugs by corrupt staff either doing it or looking the other way is a question of public safety and as well as staff safety as it directly impacts staff assaults and other violence on the prison grounds. So far, the discovery of cocaine, marijuana, meth, and illegal prescription drugs has been revealed during these investigations.

Their drug interdiction programs are not working and their K 9 dogs are overwhelmed and overworked. The director’s tolerance to corruption has not been challenged by anyone
except the press.

Despite the growth of misconduct, the prison boss keeps tracking their criminal offenses for whatever reasons. Perhaps, the director is building a pathway to separate himself from the problem and attempts to exonerate himself from the growing internal problems with discipline and order.  Correctional officers live in our communities. They are part of our neighborhood and peacekeeping force. Hence this problem can be described as microcosms of their communities.

Eleven email inbox addresses were found on the Ashley Madison sex website. Although the number is small, it is reflective of a culture within a culture, willing to risk not being caught for misconduct. Nobody is perfect. There are bound to be cheats, drunks, roughnecks, and otherwise unethical people. We have no clue or idea, how many have been allowed to resign and escape prosecution of a crime and those statistics are not available. Sifting through the existing records, one could conclude once they leave the agency, the problem is gone but historically, these bad apples usually find employment with the private prison industry in once capacity or other.

Charles Ryan, the director, has been quiet about the recent spate of officer arrests and convictions. In fact, the director has kept a relatively low profile ever since his last 2013, public release on this matter. One has to admit or acknowledge the public must have a certain level of trust in our prison boss and his employees. They have to be assured that when on or off the job; they are going to do the right ethical thing when faced with a moral or criminal challenge. The reforms are lacking, the change is non-existent and the need is urgent to change the way we handle criminals with badges.

Perhaps, it's time to ask the director for an update on his battle with corruption within the prison agency?

Regards,