Influences in the Workplace

There are family, friends and mentors that had an incredible impact on my life. They have taught me many virtues, influenced my actions, and helped mold me throughout my career, people inspired and encouraged me to become a more charitable, ethical, and confident person. Their sheer generosity has helped me to establish a congruent manner within my actions. Reflecting about those who have influenced my life has been most interesting and created an image and vision that encourages growth, wisdom and courage.

Readers unfamiliar with the prison world will be intrigued into a story set on the inside of the many near your community. The expose to this new civilization will engage new dialogues and new concerns as you become aware of the magic and science involved in managing such a place. Raising issues that has escaped your mind daily, you will become aware of the magical mystery tours that are experience each day to maintain such an evil place where a murdered person’s killer roams the yards freely. Dealing with sophisticated ideals and methodologies along with electronic devices to monitor and observe such a person twenty four hours a day, you will be shocked in how these murderers succeed in settling in on a lifestyle that is both rewarding and beneficial to him or her as well as those they choose to associate with.

Looking closely there will be a close assimilation of behaviors’ between the leader of the prison and the leader of the pack. Leaders of the prison will always struggle with hiding their varied abilities to conquer human gloom inside these prisons while the leader of the pack will do everything in his or her power to expose such darkness setting where they live in fear and conflict. At odds in their mission to tell the world of their plight, the leader of the pack uses the tools of escalation and self-destruction to bring awareness to his dilemma while the leader of the prison will seek effective and powerful methods to suppress or obstruct such efforts to hide the truth. This world has all the vices of its own and almost always a pain-filled past where human suffering has taken a backseat to political success to explain nothing to the world.

This silence will allow financial growth to those successful in managing the issues and offer them elevated positions in the future to join the others in minimizing the dangers in this world. The devil himself is engaged in this cover up as he is bent on a mission to gain and collect more power from those eager to follow him. Paving the way to follow him, this journey will be an emotional upheaval where the story may end with success of failure, depending on how you follow the rules engaged by the devil himself. Secondary influences will allow better choices and the importance of choosing friend or foe depends on your ability to withstand some of these influences.

Working with people whose work ethics are positive is a rarity among my leaders as the world inside those horrific prisons are negative to say the least and fosters poor moral values and corrupted belief that work values should be focused on a person’s individual growth and success. Overriding those cultural norms of their childhood and teen age years, they place a value on work behaviors as others have taught them through peer interaction and prevention. The prevention of working with a positive clear conscious and ethical heart and mind so their decisions can be done with a more radical approach of not caring what the impact is on others since it’s their own survival they are interested in.

Being congruent with your peers who promised your personal growth if you are willing to follow their footsteps and management style, can result in interesting times as the bottom line is for you to forget many of the positive things you have learned and take on a new approach that disregards your family and other significant persons in your life. Setting out to become an island that can weather any storm that comes its way, you learn how to blame others for your shortcomings and praise those who see your point of view as a viable avenue to take and as a roadmap to success. Secondly, ignoring these family values and other influences, you set course to disregard others and become more independent in your thinking noticing the reaction of others to determine your next move.

Formulating your own perceptions and socialization of the system you are manipulating, others will perceive your work attitude and ethics as a part of their own and join you in the quest for power and control. Like children following their fathers, they work hard to shape these new work attitudes and develop a bias in the environment that is very much in your favor. The influence of socialization begins with knowing yourself first. It has been said that the more you know about yourself first, the easier it is to stick your nose in other people’s business. Fostering new norms in your lifestyles and management principles shapes new socialization methods and enhances your chances to get people to follow you through your entire journey to the top. This is an important element of who you make friends with and who you surround yourself with during this entire episode of gaining power.

Hone your skills so that in a few moments of meeting someone, you can tell if they are onboard with your methodologies and ideology so that you don’t waste your time recruiting someone who will jump ship if the going gets rough. This socializing process should include looking for persons who are capable, hard-driving, logical, scholarly and organized. Take these above those who are gifted with those who possess the skills of negotiating, mediating and compromising but do not discard them for they are valuable down the road to recruit others who the “dirty work” for you or your management team. Creating this inner fraternity of leaders and followers, you will gain a significant impact on the attitudes of others as you gain your strength along the way. Slowly, you must convince your team to sacrifice their personal lives and focus on their professional goals to be successful in their quest for achievement in this most negative environment. Transforming such values takes time and with patience and careful selections of individuals who can perform these functions of fostering support for you, they too will benefit from the recognition of acceptance by the powers to be.

Promoting work ethics that are transformed to meet your individual styles and needs are important and essential to the injection of good work attitudes that promote your goals. Although these “good work attitudes” promote your agenda they may not necessarily promote the best interest of those you surrounded yourself with during this process of vetting the perfect candidate to help you gain influence and power along the way to success. It is important to select and identify those you feel are the most qualified before you allow entrance into your private and often secret circle of influence and avoid grooming those not compatible like a plague any further and discard them for others to pick up or mentor into their own destiny or form.

This way, your finalized strategy and goals are not revealed to anyone except those loyal to you and your cause. Life isn’t fair and for this kind of person to not understand the ramifications of such a life is foolish. Corrections is a disposable world where valuable minds are disposed of daily and sometimes salvaged by others who see the potential of using you for their own gain and games. This kind of work conflict of sorting out candidates or non-candidates is important because it allows the individual to manage his or her own environment particularly their individual wellbeing and determining the ability of how they will perform within a particular workplace or the organization. Using this method these demonic individuals will seek out competent and hard driven individuals who have exemplified their abilities to work under high workload pressures, long working hours and a frequent unsupportive management concept insisting that it is a weakness to ask for time off or other special favors to enhance the personal lifestyle. Thus it comes down to finding individuals who can meet the competing work demands both at work and home but willing to sacrifice the home front for the work place. Now that you have determined your basis for keeping or disposing the individual for your own personal career growth, you have to decide which is better, male or female.

It has been primarily said that men, in relationship to job stressors, family ties, socialization and market opportunities women are more likely to hold their commitment for such challenges. Based on the fact you are seeking a person for a high organizational position, it is likely such choice would be a man due to certain conditions within a prison culture where there is in fact a glass ceiling for women thus this stigma is hard to overcome. However, having seen firsthand of the tenacious and selfish the ways of a woman can be, it is likely they are equivalent to the task and only a fool would not consider such a selection for his or her own team. Having two women on the same team can result in havoc and fragmentation of the team and its unity. What happens when you put two alpha minded females on the same team and how does it affect the outcome you might ask yourself before making a final selection. Being careful you must be aware of the fact that some women are willing to exploit their femininity to get their way with men [or other women] to close a deal. Choosing to be in more control of her destiny, she will become a loner and ruthless in nature but with a smile. She will work hard to project an image that sets her apart from the others and do everything needed to be perceived to be reckless and aggressive. Most of all, she will become a dominant figure to reckon with.

Having two of these creatures within the same room elevates tension as both are dominant in nature and eager to grab the tools of power away from one another to show their leadership style and skills. Competing for the lead they may both be contradiction in actions and sells her sweetness as necessary but evil in disguise. Both of them, enjoying the thrill of gaining success in the business, they may anticipate and participate to be involved in characteristics that are essential for the team to benefit from and be successful. However, it is likely that the presence of two of these alpha characters will destroy the team’s goals and must result in the removal of one of these much needed individuals in a corrupt business world that thrives on games and intimidation. Diversity in the work place is an essential influence for many reasons. People of all races, nationalities, color or even sexual orientation and disabled workers have the ability to complement a work group or team to make it function effectively and handle those complicated various tasks at hand with a high degree of effectiveness that is essential in the work group’ success.

Between these diverse groups lays the ability to communicate and demonstrate sending and receiving both verbal and non-verbal messages enhancing the group’s ability to be accurate with purposeful timing and deliveries of their communication.
Culturally speaking, this is a powerful tool for management as it will overcome many institutional issues at hand and deliver the resolution in such a manner, it is handled with sensitivity and determination to be fair and equitable for all those involved.

Their lack of presence can demoralize or sabotage an institution’s attempt to show compassion, empathy and consideration of the issues at hand and lends a hand of credibility to those in power and rule. One powerful effect of such presence is their ability to provide to the work group an appropriate referral based on their linguistic skills to interact and resolve the matter at hand.

Their cultural knowledge is necessary to completely comprehend the matter at hand so credibility is intact whenever the matter is elevated for another review by a third party. Reviewing practices, traditions and other influences in the work place can only enhance the comprehension of those issues that exist within such an organization and avoid potential biases, prejudices, and discriminatory practices. Their cognizance of these elements is important and adds to the final product the work group is seeking. Therefore, when you consider your selection of a confidant for these inner circle positions and during the process of vetting individuals for such confidential position you must take into consideration each and every element discussed here to ensure you have selected prima facie individuals for your team. Socialization, gender and diversity are driving factors for your selection of such preference. Now, using your knowledge of those resources made available to you within your own organization, you will need to identify, pick and select your choice for those confidential mentoring candidates so that you and your group can empower them to lay a foundation for you to trample other people’s rights and privileges through a careful network of social and defamatory techniques that weed out the weak and oppress the strong. Many people know that transparency used a social context which usually implies openness, communication, and accountability. “It is a symbolic expression of the meaning a "transparent" object is one that can be seen through.” Transparent events include open meetings, financial disclosure statements, freedom of information legislation, budgetary review, audits, etc. The definition of Deception is acts to propagate beliefs that are not true, or not the whole truth (as in half-truths or omission). Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda, sleight of hand. It can employ distraction, camouflage or concealment.

Someone once said that “Political correctness is simply a speed bump in the traffic of truth, free thought and speech.” In a world of political correctness, there are ample amounts of both transparency flaws and deceptive practices to deceive the public of the government’s actual state of affairs or purpose for engagement. The rationale why these practices are used comes back to illustrate the need governments to refuse to show people or others how they actually conduct their business and minimize negative impacts that may influence their credibility or social desirability. More commonly, it’s not the way you actually do things but rather, the way you say how you do things. The difference between the two is substantially important to the degree of accuracy involved in the reporting. On the other hand, it’s not a question on how you do actually do things but rather a question on how things are done. One requires more detail than the other and that procedure can be harmful if too incriminating or distasteful. That is the only purpose political correctness serves; damage control. Reporters, being intuitive in nature, are failing to ask the proper questions of public official and are letting them off the hook with dishonest and partial answers. Misleading the facts, they [public agencies] have conditioned their responses to meet the social expectation regardless of the distraction such an answer may provide the public. One method of controlling this environment is to hand out questions and answers before the interview offering a sort of debriefing when in reality it is a deceptive way to avoid being asked the wrong questions that may commonly lead to an imperfection or misperception. Objections to false transparency options or deceptive methods are becoming more and more scrutinized whenever the practice reveals a weak link in the reputation of the agency or public official making the statements to the media or public. Learning how to balance the two and projecting this “credibility” is tricky and requires repetitive practice to appear to be sincere, open minded and willing to cooperate. This is why many agencies have public information officers who can stand the glare and anxiety of releasing information to the press. The objections however follow political paths that create the image that if the party in power has the majority, then they are provided more credibility and more coverage than those in the minority. The lesson learned here is the media’s ability to reach the politicians is only as good as their reputation to not infringe on the political party in question and not challenge their creditability and treat them with velvet gloves. In this manner, they are the recipients of favorable access to the news and given “scoop” assignment advantages over the others who report it “like it is” falling in disfavor immediately and denied the access to those who control the politicians and their activities.

Dancing with Maggots

Some leaders protect you; others lead you to damnation.

“Your job is difficult enough without the eternal punishment of those in power. Instead of looking out for you, they seek to replace you and find cheaper labor. Instead of fighting for your spirit they are willing to give the enemy their souls so the corporate world can profit on the back of our state prisoners. Having no regard of governmental duties and responsibilities of taking care of those who work hard to maintain the peace, they sacrifice public safety for power and profit. This has become a question of domination and who will dominate who for the answers are clearly written in our Constitution. How many near fatal flaws must we endure before our eyes are opened? How many will be blinded by the big picture and see nothing except their own selfish needs to co-exist in a wrongful world where character doesn’t count anymore and ethics can be traded for the all mighty dollar bill.”

“Even a stranger can see what is happening to our systems. They are being weakened and corrupted by corrupt men and women who serve only themselves for profit and power. When will you see the big picture and put the pieces together like a jigsaw puzzle without a cover picture? Although it appears to be intricate in nature, it is very simple to put together if you work hard enough to find the pieces. The big picture, the main theme is the manifestation of power through complex and covert actions that will release the power of control to those who are instrumental in re-structuring our state.”

The advent of a leader within a state or public service entity carries with it extreme opportunities of improvements as well as potential collisions for both society and the effected constituency. Based merely on earlier expectation and inferences drawn from previous leaders, one must frown at times as there are many emotions associated with such a beginning that could create many feelings that may negatively impact your neighborhood, your community, your workplace, your employment or your overall job satisfaction levels. Citizens, anxiously seeking clarification of newly implemented roadmaps and bridges, become most concerned with the mannerism how this new leader will communicate these changes to those persons who seek positive change and resolution to existing inner strife within the state, an agency or public entities.

The propensity to compare from the past is a poor measurement for the future as many things and governmental dynamics have changed that impact our current destination for success. Thus it is best not to compare management styles as much is to be said about their individual charisma, skills, knowledge and experience in the field of serving others. Experiencing change which appears to be seemingly doomed in recently implemented most negative direction by this leader, has taken awash the positive spirits of the many faithful supporters. The time has come to rise above newly created mandated policies and actions in order to restore the sanity of the state, the community and the workplace by reconsolidating our emotions about the vicious roller coaster ride we are currently experiencing as lawful biding citizens and trade professionals hired to do an ethical job. Showing our weaknesses at the beginning by trusting this new leader, perhaps we have allowed ourselves to be exposed to the dangers of betrayal and extortion as the checks and balances were intentionally eroded to take away our options to protest and seek help.

Taking issue with these most hurtful tactics, these injuries are sustainable only if the means to heal is a healthy and prosperous path to restoring the faith and hope in others who can and have promised this emancipation to free ourselves from this politically induced and personal wretchedness. Today, a few have stood up tall and promised us to take us away from the sickness of this leader and the associated vicious wrath of hate cast upon the citizens and employees in lieu of supporting them. Some, standing up for those principles recognized in good leaders are known to posses, have risked it all to help those who cannot fight this battle alone. One must ask this question and find the answer quickly as time is of the essence in the removal of such a cancer such as this. Whose job is it to seek justice for his or her citizens, constituents or employees? Whose responsibility is it to seek out fairness for his or her citizenry and workers?

Each and every one of us has the right to seek justice and fairness within our own community, neighborhood or workplace and we turn to our elected or appointed leaders to echo such concerns to those who control the ultimate tools to provide us such amenities and conditions. Such disappointments of taking no action on our behalf are not impressive qualities of a leader. In fact, these traits are often those possessed by a traitor or coward.

We have asked sincerely and in a most humble manner, to act in earnestness and support us in our endeavors to protect the citizens of this state as this leader took the oath to do so. Instead, we have been delivered silence on our questions and casts frequent shadows of doubt as the wrath of radical changes spreads through newly promulgated policies and extreme budgetary procedures.

We can ask him to act in earnestness and alarm those he works for what the concerns are; he can echo our pleas for sanity and repel the indignation of state employees who are placed under scrutiny of alleged misconduct while trying to keep their jobs and protect others. We can ask him to act in earnestness and alarm those he works for what the concerns are; he can echo our pleas for sanity and repel the indignation of state employees who are placed under scrutiny of alleged misconduct while trying to keep their jobs and protect others.

We can ask him to act in earnestness and alarm those he works for what the concerns are; he can echo our pleas for sanity and repel the indignation of state employees who are placed under scrutiny of alleged misconduct while trying to keep their jobs and protect others. Significant to all of us is the ability to live and work free from discrimination, harassment, intimidation and coercing but lately, this has been the norm within the state and particular state agencies and nothing is being done to correct such conditions.

In fact, if you get close to the matter, you can feel the increasing warmth of the advice radiating a group of select few advisors or politicians on how to spread these vile and nasty qualities of what appears to be gross mismanagement to spread it into an epidemic. One must ask themselves, why all this attention to this leader and what can we do about the situation? Every person who takes the responsibility to take charge of a state office, a state agency or publicly funded program or task that is dutiful and bound to perform in an ethical and caring manner. Public service is a field of humanitarian proportions and requires a sincere and genuine attempt to achieve certain levels of proficiency, fulfillment and continuous quests of improvements for operating in a safe and secure manner to protect citizenry, workers, patients and others from unnecessary harm, injury or death.

As I appeal to this leader to find inside his heart a common thread of decency by making our worth in our daily lives significant to those who love and treasure each other; by making the value of life worth taking risks to bring peace and harmony within ourselves and our neighbors. Shed away the feelings of your constituent's despair and rejoin us with hope and wellness by coming together as common ground to heal the state of Arizona and move on with those complicated issues that impact our lives daily and remind us that we are here to help each other and do unto others as they would do unto us. Spending my last eleven years out of a twenty five year career, as a top aide and confidant to various chief executive officers of a correctional facility [wardens], it has become clear to me that this role is much more fulfilling than being the top dog or the designated chief official executive in charge of the facility or complex.

In traversing these multitude of challenging and arduous years as a minion has allowed my eyes and to grow and mature in epic proportion to the degree that today, I am very well aware and learned of the various operational situations, political affiliations and sometimes the demeaning state of affairs in regards to how life really is behind those tall grey walls or rows of stainless steel razor wire. Exposed daily and intimately how they are treated by the upper echelon of so called self appointed leaders and bureau chiefs, I find it puzzling why they endure such torture from this incompetent and often disrespectful group.

Exposed to this sometimes lethal dose of second hand smoking gun, it was interesting to say the least of how these masters of deception and extortion working up there in their well guarded ivory tower can shred away every decent moral value you may possess before their corruptive methods take a hold of you, just to show who is in charge and how easy it is to manipulate their course of action with their coercive mannerism and tactless ways. Constantly purging the common sense of intricate matters at hand and sharing the same room with these elite decision makers, this management process of judging and deciding who is faithful and loyal and who is not is decided by simple mere questions asked to test their loyalty. Rarely do these conversations held on three way conference calls focus on the matter at hand but rather, it stresses the importance of the elite kiss-and-tell their will on these leaders, attempting to reveal the personal thoughts of these men and women during their trials and tribulations while performing their lawful duties as a warden inside a state operated prison.

As more time passes by, it will become clear they are not the ones that run the place, rather you will glean in your own mind and your own eyes, the microscopic role they play in keep the prisons running as they work overtime to apply their indisputable and unconditional loyalty to these elite, begging and role playing a tune of harmony to keep their politically sensitive jobs..

The process of being selected into this elite group of executive assistants to the warden is also a complicated and tenuous progression followed by a vetting method that will reveal your personal history, personal ideas, thoughts and beliefs. Nothing is omitted whenever you are chosen or identified as a person to aide the warden in his or her quest to run the biggest show on earth. This greedy feeling to obtain absolute power and decision making authority regarding life and death is dealt with gross disbelieve and mistrust that these fine men and women will do anything to corrupt the same laws they are sworn to enforce and as we continue this journey behind the tall grey walls, you will find it somewhat shocking as the challenge to maintain your ethics and safeguarding your integrity is much more difficult than one would ever imagine as they find their own genesis to their journey to become a correctional administrator.
.
Without doubt, because of the extreme influence of the elite ivory tower dominion characters looming above them on a daily basis, these chief executives dare to cross traditional lines of silence and ethics; and aide and abet the powers upstairs in their path to glory.

Dreaming of becoming one of them by preserving political favor with these command level elites for most of the time, they calculate on their years of service to project them into a position of influence and dominance. Dodging the media and scurrying out of sight to avoid being cast into the headlines they often defer such tasks as delivering a message to their executive assistants. Appearing progressive and worthy of their appointments they play their cards well and achieve a favorable status through their pseudo personal achievements which were artificially inseminated by those hard working subordinates who have worked hard to bring their energy and efforts to the table, the paper and then the final product.

In an informal attempt to put together an organized and truthful impression into the symptoms of the Code of Silence one has to dig for the facts inside law enforcement and how it impacts those who participate in this type of conduct either willingly or under duress is a task that is most difficult to understand. One important fact to remember is that the code will vary from agency to agency but shares many commonalities. This critique is a rational explanation of the culture that exists. It is important to illustrate how administrators handle the risks associated with hostilities and challenges in the profession as it has recently become recognized that there are significant numbers of administrators who endorse the code of silence through passive enforcement. First distress sign for the rookie officer is the feeling of vulnerability or needing help fresh out of the law enforcement academy. Strange enough, it is here, in a learning environment, where their judgment has already been prepared to react to the expectations of the Code of Silence.
About 4 out of 5 cadets will acknowledge that such a code exists within their agency and that some of its reasoning is both logical and comprehensible as 50 per cent have indicated it won’t bother them to work within such a customs.

Through the natural process of being involved with the team concept from the beginning, they learn how to follow the culture from within. Quickly, they will be acquainted with good ethical conduct versus bad ethical conduct and many other performance issues. It is most likely that in their early contact with such events, they will remain silent and studiously listen to their mentors or training officers. Many react in the manner trained; these officers act on impulse and must act quickly. Overcoming this rookie feeling of vulnerability first will require them to accept feedback from the supervisors and peers. Based on their academy training, they must identify the events as justifiable incidents and show how it could not have been handled different. Explaining their role as a public servant, they are there to help each other and identify perpetrators who demonstrate anti-social or disruptive behavioral problems. Second, whether a participant or a bystander, they must understand the rationale for the action taken based on the potential risks of the violent event occurring.

Distinguishing between verbal and physical harassment and translating that into imminent danger or possible threats to inflict injuries, the officer must take into consideration substantial information or data before acting. This has to be a lightening quick process. Watching another officer being assaulted requires a transformation from bystander to active participant. Abrupt or sudden action on an observed threat requires taking risks in doing the right thing to help the involved officer and requires acting out the compulsory response. A response that has a two-fold consequence as their actions will indicate the ability to respond and protect; the willingness to engage in the encounter. In addition, there is a social expectation and the legal option to consider in every such case.

This sometimes creates a loyalty versus ethical situation that is often decided on loyalty. In the effort to prevent further violence, the officers focus on controlling the situation and use the tools available as issued. Almost immediately after the incident is under control, there is a pivotal moment of doubt whether or not the actions taken were either sufficient or too much. Because it’s likely the event took place either in front of another officer or a supervisor, the violent encounter is psychologically scrutinized and evaluated by all involved. At times, this presence of others actually stabilizes the environment for chances of de-escalating the threat.

However, whenever such an event is isolated and nobody is present, your ability to control the environment is very limited when confronted with potential violent situations. Thus de-escalation might not be a viable solution at that moment. Taught not to allow the ego to get in the way, officers are taught to stand up for their authority and defend in place, protecting the public. When successful in preventing an escalation of violence, the officer pauses to reflect the action taken and looks at the entire event to see if there was anything that could have been done differently.

This entire psychological chain of events contributes to specific an element that leads officers not to talk about the matters at hand for many reasons. The officer will anticipate an administrative review of the actions as the perpetrator or their families will claim allegations that inappropriate action was used and imply that the act by the officer(s) was unnecessary and excessive. This mode of Monday morning quarterbacking situations can lead to poor morale yet it is done in almost every incident recorded.

Rather than focusing on ethical conduct, some supervisors judge these events by loyalty rather than ethics. Whistle blowers are not accepted within this culture and pay a high price if identified as one. In fact, many administrators will deny there are any ethical issues within their command and encourage others to cast whistle blowers out of their ranks from within. In addition to their denial, officers are often secretly or subversively ostracized and “black balled” from promotion or other career assignments or leadership decision thus adding to the incentive to remain silent. In the end, they justify their silence through the “root cause” of feeling alienation by others as they feel they are being victimized by other people in their own workplace. Setting aside the preliminary questioning and constitutional issues at hand, the officer is taught the confidentiality of such events and issues. Maintaining silence has become a tool of the trade to protect both the innocent and the guilty. Minimizing their involvement creates a buffer for the facts while it enhances the officer’s credibility to work closely with coworkers. Proactively seeking resolve on these matters through silence, the officer knows that unless there is other evidence out there that contradicts the events are reported, this matter will pass.

Hence, the presence of dashboard and surveillance cameras, recordings and other technology has expanded the administrator’s role in the investigation and places more emphasis on finding the answers and the truth. In the study of the National Institute of Ethics, the writer explains that the “rotten apple” theory that some administrators propose as the cause of their downfall has frequently been nothing more than a self-serving, superficial façade, intended to draw attention away from their own failures.”

To summarize the code of silence, it has long been an acceptable practice to shield and protect the innocent as well as those few who are guilty. The threshold issues of custodial responsibilities are heavy burdens and handled the best way by the majority of officer most the time. The American criminal justice system and in particular law enforcement, has been negligent by not attempting to resolve the negative impact the code as it has been found to nurture other unethical conduct. Realizing the reality that such a custom or practice is difficult to measure; the only ramification for combating such a culture is to conduct intensive training on the subject.

Lurking at the top of negative consequences are the main reasons for silence as whistle-blowers or snitches, are not supported by the administration as hypocrisy and fear dominate this culture. Identified to be much more destructive than the support from field supervisors, administrators must encourage positive role modeling and strong moral courage to openly acknowledge such misconduct when it is identified.
To ignore such a priority would to allow other ethical misconduct to occur. Historically, it is the people outside such law enforcement circles that divulge the ethical issues rather than its own employees.

Another tactic provided for top administrators are the unspoken or silent means to endorse an action, a problem or a situation without saying a word about it, literally. Merriam Webster defines tacit approval as “expressed or carried on without words or speech - implied or indicated (as by an act or by silence) but not actually expressed. One must ask why these words are so important when implemented into a strategic plan or mission. The impact of such conduct determines how a set goal may ultimately change the direction or intent of legitimate goals and objectives designed to facilitate an operation within organizations or public service agencies.

Putting examples towards this concept will reveal how destructive such ambiguous or vague direction alters the behaviors and ethical conduct of those held accountable for desired productive and results. Within any military or paramilitary organization, tacit approval leads to misconceptions and corruption as the various acts or silence creates a culture that thrives on the concept of Colin Powell’s quote “You don't know what you can get away with until you try.” This type of unauthorized but yet condoned flexibility build into a management concept or strategic plan may ultimately weaken the ability to be successful as you inject personal opinions, variations and principles into a directive that has been mutated from the original design or intention. Rather than being labeled outspoken, you are considered to be “butting in.”

Conceptually wrong, the presence of such a potentially poisonous management principle allows corruption to foster, unethical conduct to be ignored and wasted resources to be spent on activities or programs not contained within the original design or prospect. Tacit approval can break or create cultures and be used to sabotage the establishment of one. It can provide conflict and break down the work force and create dissention, discord and hatred if injected by the right people at the right levels of the organization. This poison can destroy every effort to perform at expectable levels and create a division that fosters fear and intimidation. The key to minimizing this type of approval is to hold each and every person employed by the agency or organization to their job description and ultimately hold them accountable for specific objectives attained and through a pre-approved method not subject to alterations unless brought to the table for conference and unanimous approval by all decision makers.

Realizing that this type of action could be a very effective staff method for those wishing to sabotage a program or direction, it must be viewed through a microscope by competent and free thinking individuals or committees. Free from undue duress or influence, approvals for alternatives to the original design must carry with them a validation of evidence based results or content that can be measured and tracked for flaws and improvements. The reason so many agencies have inspector general positions are to conduct such a review on many matters that pass through their office. These would focus on ethical and legal matters more than anything else.
On another level, a local internal coping system must be established and adhered to in addressing all internal alterations or suggestions that deviate from the original proposal or plan. Each administrator must be held accountable for their group of supervisors and maintain a tracking system to illustrate upon demand, actions taken according to the plan and how they were implemented meeting both desired objectives and time frames.

Without oversight of the quality control of any strategic plan or desired objective outcome, the potential for failure is multiplied for every instance where the element of tacit approval to make a change or decision that drifts away from the original intent. Not suggesting micro managing the elements of the workplace, there can be checkpoints of accountability along the way to reaching the summit of the plan and make the appropriate changes based on the original intent or design to accomplish a certain task or goal. Rather than using tacit approval to make the change, it is strongly recommended that those same recommendations are brought forth to the proper authority to bless such a change as it is productive to their arrangement and goals contained within the strategic plan.

Tired of seeing this senseless play making for a good Broadway show, it has become clear to my peers and former correctional administrators that those with good ethics and unquestioned integrity are disposed of like a BIC cigarette lighter. Following a gauntlet of fallen heroes who could not withstand the force that was brought upon them form the evil force above, it is now time to reveal the truth of these fanatical games they play and how they influence your lives with their petty views of issues so important to you and your family. Truly it will show them without their body armor and brittle minds when it comes to dealing with the reality of taking care of business and keeping people safe while exposing their true feelings why they care for the convict more than their staff due to political fallouts that are hard to control. Exposing their weaknesses, it is high time we get the facts straight on who really runs the prisons in these most complex correctional systems.

Leaving behind a legacy of strength and power, these individuals have tapped out their resources and absorbed every good idea from their underlings to look good and not necessarily be good. This will also explain the rationale behind moving them around so much because of political factors hard to control and necessary to preserve their careers and so-called integrity. Initiating damage control every so often, some are more problematic that others but all, even the weak ones, will eventually seek to gain the power and control they envisioned as they started this journey to hell.

Corruptive, easy to manipulate and persuade, these men and women have sold their souls to the devil who often dwells inside those ivory towers untouchable by laws of men and society. Working with these people at the peak of their career, one should expect a relationship with the devil some time in their quest for power as this is a most common associate within this circle of friends. The prison world, ripped between two worlds brings to the surface evil influences and sinister promises to Lucifer to get where they want to go.

Goodwill to all mankind is thrown out the window and choosing to live in the chambers of hell, takes the front seat of the limousine they so badly want to own and drive around the block. Impressing all and eliminating those who do not want to associate with them on this elevated plateau of arrogance and corruption, they progress into a lifestyle that will eventually bring them loneliness and sorrow. Hanging out with fellow sinister groups and attempting to rise above the clouds of control, these individuals are above contempt and unlawfulness.

Doing the devil’s bidding, they turn into demons which practically makes them un-killable and immortal. Rising in the morning to spread their disease and dealing with a host of issues they are most certainly uncomfortable with, they close immensely close to the devil to seek his support and wisdom. Hostile to change and experiencing paranoid illusions to intrusions of their thoughts and actions, they absorb the airborne virus of self-preservation and inject themselves with its poison to survive and keep their promise to live with the other demons. Never alone, and almost in the company of other magical creatures, they prey on normal human efforts to glorify their own image and brandish their wisdom and influence over their opponents with righteous beliefs and swords of justice.

Failing to fool all, they hide behind their cloaked garb and target those who are weak to their influence. Those who are not familiar with this demonic world and have difficulties in believing in their existence, will eventually be sucked into their world. Perhaps because they are naïve and less experienced than their masters who will reach out and grab those eager to please and raring to go to work for them to show off their talent, their ability to be creative and energy to finish the tasks at hand. This will slowly wear off as they will experience the burning of their powers and the emergency of their true feelings as time goes by. Never possessing any psychic powers to tell the good guy from the bad guy, there are trials and tribulations you must experience before such a judgment is made or confirmed.

Emerging a winner in such a situation requires strength, fitness and perseverance as these powers imposed on you are satanic in nature and creates issues within you own world where you have to make morally driven decisions between good and bad. Trying to be sophisticated and intelligent in your decision making, you hopefully choose the path of righteousness and not that of evil. For someone to choose the evil way is dangerous and not without heavy risks. Going along with a barbed and smart mouth attitude you can handle anything is not unique to this situation.

Many have tried and many have failed to contain their own existence in this world without giving up a part of their own lives or struggling to maintain such portion of their individual lifestyle. The issue of will is at the forefront and must be addressed quickly in the path to success as waiting will only prolong the inevitable that you will be sucked into this evil world dominated by captive individuals either settling in to achieve raw power or crawling to get out to save their sanity or souls. Either way, it could be a path to self-destruction if you don’t deal with it immediately when approached.

Arizona Puts our Children in Harm's way

Arizona has a serious problem and nobody in the government has done anything about it. Instead these fearless leaders run on platforms of building more prisons, and funding projects that suit their own needs and wants rather than the wellness of our children who are being abused and dying because of neglect or torture by either their parents or other persons. It has been reported that in 2010 there were 23 children that died from abuse or neglect according to the children protection services records. The year before, there were 22 children that died and the numbers are staggering as the state ignores this jump in statewide abuse.
It is recognized that the Child Protective Services (CPS) cannot and do not avoid any deaths in an immediate way through intervention except in maybe a few of these cases but the disease that is running rampant throughout the state is supported by the agency’s inability to carry its load and responsibilities to protect our children through sound practices and reasonable caseloads that allow inspections and home calls to investigate cases thoroughly. According to CPS their workers are exceeding the state’s caseload by a whopping 62 per cent.
Written just a few weeks ago, in a blog owned by Phoenix Channel 12 Brahm Resnik reporter, the Director of DES, Clarence Carter, who heads the parent group of CPS, wrote in an email to all his Department of Economic Security (DES) workers conceding that their work environment “is toxic” and goes on “to pledge his employees to change the department.” He boasts these changes in the workplace as the state continues to privatize essential services of the government, reduce funding and furloughing staff to address serious budget deficits in the next few years. According to records released to ABC15, CPS workers have seen a recent jump in calls to a statewide child abuse hotline. From April through September of 2010, the agency received 17,068 calls that met the criteria for a CPS report. From October to March 2011, the agency received 17,586 calls.Child Protective Services (CPS) is a program mandated under ARS §8-802 for the protection of children alleged to be abused and neglected. This program provides specialized welfare services that seek to prevent dependency, abuse and neglect of children. This state web sites states “The Child Protective Services program receives, screens and investigates allegations of child abuse and neglect, performs assessments of child safety, assesses the imminent risk of harm to the children and evaluates conditions that support or refute the alleged abuse or neglect and need for emergency intervention. This program also provides services designed to stabilize a family in crisis and to preserve the family unit by reducing safety and risk factors. This program provides an array of services, Family Group Decision Making, Family Preservation Services (Intensive Family Services), High-Risk Infant Services (in Maricopa County), case management, parent aide and other in-home family support services.”
“Not all programs are offered in every geographic area. In addition, services to promote permanence, stability and continuity of care are provided for children who enter out-of-home care. Services include, but are not limited to case management, permanency planning, and provision of out-of-home care, kinship foster care, adoptive and foster home recruitment, other out-of-home services to individuals or families, and assistance to young adults in transition from adolescence to adulthood.”
One such report found on in the annual report mandated by law showed some statistical data that is just overwhelming CPS staff when processing these calls. In a report titled Child Abuse Hotline and Child Protective Service Investigations the report reveals: The statewide Child Abuse Hotline received 27,715 calls during this reporting period. Of those, 10,129 – or 36.5 percent – did not meet the statutory criteria for a CPS report. Calls that did not meet the criteria for a CPS report included: requests for information or referrals for services; questions about current cases; and allegations of abuse or neglect where the alleged perpetrator was not the child’s parent, guardian or custodian (those calls are referred to law enforcement for response). Every call that does not meet the criteria for a CPS report is reviewed within 48 hours by quality assurance staff to ensure the accuracy of that decision. The statewide Child Abuse Hotline received 17,586 calls during this reporting period that met the statutory criteria for a CPS report. Of those, 208 were referred to other jurisdictions, the military or tribal governments for investigation. This resulted in 17,378 CPS reports being assigned to child welfare specialists for investigation. Compared to the same reporting period last year, this represents an increase of 776 CPS reports assigned for investigation – or 4.7 percent. This increase in CPS reports requiring an investigation has mainly occurred in Maricopa and Pima counties.
Of the 17,378 CPS reports assigned for investigation during this reporting period, 8,481 reports – or 48.8 percent – had investigation closures entered into the Children’s Information Library and Data Source (CHILDS) statewide case management information system. Closing a case means that the initial investigation to the original allegations of abuse or neglect has been completed and the appropriate case plan is put in place, as needed. Many factors can impact the closure of investigations, including time needed for child welfare specialists to obtain all information needed to complete an accurate and thorough assessment. Of the 17,378 CPS reports subject to substantiation during this reporting period, 1,366 – or 7.9 percent – were substantiated. An additional 441 CPS reports – or 2.5 percent – were proposed for substantiation by child welfare specialists and are currently awaiting the results of the appeals process.
The report delivered to the Governor’s office and members of the legislature lists its challenges for 2011 but it appears that these recommendations or shortcomings are falling on deaf ears. They wrote: The Division continues to face challenges in its efforts to ensure safety and promote permanency for abused and neglected children. Some of the challenges the Division has faced in meeting these goals are: *Impact of vacancies in CPS specialist positions. *Hiring and retaining trained and qualified staff. *Economic factors which create additional stress upon families and increases factors that place children at risk of maltreatment. * More complex family situations, as noted by child welfare staff who conduct investigations and work with families. * Recruitment of foster homes for older youth ages 12 to 18 years old. *Impact of reductions in behavioral health services for both children and adults. * Increase in the number of Child Abuse Hotline reports in the urban counties.


Sources:

1. http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_phoenix_metro/central_phoenix/cps-seeing-a-growing-number-of-child-abuse-deaths#ixzz1WYgBcjM1

2. https://www.azdes.gov/main.aspx?menu=154&id=2030
3. http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/Brahm1700/139119

9/11 – Broken hearts – Rekindled Spirits

The morning of September 11th was an ordinary wake up with the normal routine as I readied myself to go to work that day and take the 75 daily commute in stride as I have done for the past many years working in a prison so far away. Living in a small rural town of Los Lunas New Mexico, I started the car and turned the radio on my favorite station that gave me virtual company on my way to work as I have done many times before. Traveling this poorly kept road was a rigorous task as the road was narrow and barely traveled but often besieged in the early morning by speeding 10 wheelers taking a short cut to the interstate as they avoided the heavy morning traffic of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Concentrating on the twisting road was a must to remain on the poorly maintained tarmac road. About 15 minutes into the commute, the sounds of rock and roll kept my head focused on the road ahead as the morning sun was creeping over the small mounds of the black lava rocks hiding places where volcanoes once spewed out their once molten rocks during an eruption once million years ago.

Taking the winding and sharp turns of the narrow highway with the window down to feel the fresh morning air, I heard a newsbreak that caught my awareness quickly as it mentioned an airplane crashed into a high rise building in New York City. I quickly rolled up the window to hear the message but no information was available yet and the announcer calmly explained the story had to be confirmed further. Moments later, there was another break I the music as the announcer, now exhibiting a serious tremble in his voice, tried to describe what he referred to as a horrific accident in the sky with two aircrafts crashing into the high rise structure identified as the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York. Breathlessly and at the same time, fervently filled with tremor and bewilderment the announcer told the story in a different tone and with much seriousness that way too dramatic to ignore.

Sensing pandemonium in his voice, I dialed my cell phone and called work to verify the information I had heard on the radio but was unable to reach anyone as I was in a no service zone. Speeding up to get out of the dead zone, my mind was racing with horrific images of what I had heard. The vision of was now announced as two airplanes, identified to be commercial type, crashing into a towering building occupied by thousands of innocent people was too much to bear and comprehend as I continued to race beyond the speed limit to get to a signal for my call. Once out of the dead zone and already worked up by the radio announcer, my heart had beat so fast and sunk so low I could hardly breathe as I thought of all those people who were hurt or died in what was being described as a fiery flaming inferno by witnesses being interviewed on the spot.

Helplessly trapped inside my car on a desolate highway I prayed for the welfare of those innocent trapped victims and first responders, as I listened closely as news became bleaker and depressing that this was indeed a deliberate act by a group of unknowns and the impact so far was horrendous and beyond comprehension. Sweat flowing from my forehead as well as my hands on the wheel, as my mind was picturing images of death and horror I experienced while a medic in Vietnam and with this reality of pain setting in, my emotions revealed the bitterness and hate that had been lurking inside me for the past several decades. Slowly my senses could pick up the smell of smoke and fire as I could feel the heat from the burning inferno thousands of miles away. Reconnecting with the sanities of war, I could feel my pulse racing with adrenaline filled energy that created a hyper awareness of the tragedy unfolding as the news kept bringing details of the outrageous event now becoming more suspicious as time unfolded more facts and tragedies.

Parking the car some 50 minutes later, I ran as fast as I could I inside to get where there was a TV set. Already on, I stood there with others in disbelieve as the pictures shown were implausible and histrionic to say the least but nevertheless, real. Shaking my head in doubt and confusion, I looked at the pale faces of my coworkers and sensed we were all in a severe state of shock as the news revealed more facts that indicated an attack on our country by a terrorist group unknown at this stage.

As the subversion unfolded and more details were coming in throughout the day, there was no doubt in my mind that America had been attacked. The beasts flying those planes into the Twin Towers struck a preempted blow to our nation’s security systems and like Pearl Harbor; I felt we had been victimized by an act of war. More and more specifics came into the light as news of other terrorist type of activities were reported indicating more acts that took blameless victims that day. As a veteran of a foreign war it was the first time I felt we had taken a direct blow to our freedom, our individual safety and our national security and was enraged that this was allowed to have happened. Immediately, I was looking for someone to blame.
The TV showed first responders working frantically to save or rescue these victims caused me to become even angrier as these scenes triggered a fighting mechanism that had been hidden for so many years. As the day went on, my emotions were out of control and my hate had reached maximum stages that blinded my sense of fairness and justice as I wished death to many of those that supported such terrorist act that took the lives of so many Americans caught unaware between the politics of the world and the religious beliefs’ of radicals. Those around me sensed my fury and kept quiet as I raged away at the TV set shouting obscenities every few seconds in total disbelieve that this tragedy has really happened. Nobody I knew or watched that day could do any work worthwhile to mention as we all zombied out for the entire workday. At the end of the day, exhausted, and somewhat parched with comprehension, I stayed close to the TV. In fact, trembling and glued in my chair, I shook my head so many times as it was revealed that a multiple attacks were reported that day with an impact of terror in so many different places that included the Pentagon and the events of flight # 93.

Flight # 93 was described as a most heroic act where other victims, true American patriots, unwilling to allow their hostage takers to impact their wrath on others, took control of the flight and unselfishly and deliberately with the inspiration of an American revolution, crashed the airplane into the ground to avoid further acts of terrorism to occur that day as it was already described as a day from hell.
September 11, 2001 rekindled my patriotism, my love for my country I have served faithfully and in a most dutiful manner. Unfortunately, it also failed to control my internal mechanisms to dampen my resentment of violence, my rage and scorned and ill feelings towards other humans in this world not of this country’s nationality. I wanted revenge. This day of broken spirits and multiple sorrows was the day it reconstituted my undivided and devoted pride to my country, my flag and its freedoms. Stored away deep inside of me since my society-imposed shameful return from the Vietnam war years ago, I wanted to lift up the flag higher than before and shout" I am American” out loud in public like never before.

It reaffirmed my allegiance to the oath of an American citizen. An oath as a serviceman in war and post-war, I swore that no foreign power will ever destroy our way of life. The moment I had heard we had been attacked, I knew that the reality of living in a world of hate and anger had come true again and struck home like nothing ever before. It was without any doubt, the worse day of my life since Vietnam days as I felt helpless to render aid or comfort to those thousands of innocent victims struck by the evil of less than human beings that undertook this task to strike terror into the heartland of America and those who believed in love, dignity, humanity and fair-mindedness for all in the world and who have often fought, defended or protected those rights to co-exist in this world.

Private Prisons Raping Arizona's Natural Resources

Arizona Wastes Water Supply on Prisons
By Carl ToersBijns

Back in January, 2005, the Arizona Republic article titled Farms swallowing most of Arizona's water written by Shaun McKinnon shed some interesting facts on how Arizona farmers consume their ground water. Writing "The arid conditions are obvious - Phoenix receives less rain in a year than some American cities get in a month, there's only one natural lake of any size and few rivers even flow year-round. But we use water sometimes as if the supply were endless. In an average year, Arizonans go through about 7.25 million acre-feet, or nearly 2.4 trillion gallons. Put a different way, that amount of water could support a residential population of nearly 30 million people."

The article goes on to read "In Greater Phoenix, farms now use about 46 percent of the supply, down from two-thirds or more just 30 years ago. Industry - mostly power plants, sand and gravel operations, and golf courses - uses about 6 percent. The rest is residential, business and government - everything from Arizona State University's 50,000-student Tempe campus to your back yard." Farmers have also served as an important buffer for the state's water supply, in effect holding on to a reserve that could be used in dry times or converted to residential use. But as farms give way to subdivisions, the reserve is shrinking and water once used in fields is now claimed by homes and businesses. That change in demand is forcing water providers to watch more carefully the way water is used and look for ways to better manage it as the supply tightens."

In a clever plan to expand prisons inside Arizona through the means already established by private prison lobbyist with close ties to the governor's office, citizens and taxpayers alike are totally unaware of the consequences of building more prisons inside the state. Not one politician has stood up during any hearings related to prison expansion how these new beds provided by Corrections Corporations of America, the GEO group and others who have bid on recent contracts impact our natural resources and ground water. Perhaps they all share the same view that the water supply in Arizona is endless and to tap into the precious commodity is nothing to worry about. After all, who worries about running out of water in a desert state such as the Grand Canyon state?

Because of the recent contract bidding, there will be a series of six town halls in AZ where locals will attend presentations from for-profits seeking to site there to respond to which will impact our state's resource hugely. For example, does the average citizen realize that for every 1,000-bed prison in the desert uses about 150 gallons per prisoner per day, so we're talking about 55 million gallons of water annually? That's 170 acre-feet. Multiply this by the amount of beds requested in the current expansion and that's a lot of water taken out of the ground to accommodate every new prisoner brought into the state for either detention or incarceration purposes.

One must wonder how much of a drain this state can take for such a purpose as incarceration and how this will impact future development of our communities as the water is abused in the manner proposed.

Last February, the city of Eloy held a meeting where CCA has a conglomerate interest in prisons and the construction of more. During this meeting many issues were discussed yet none were challenged by the council or the mayor [who has demonstrated a very strong possibility of a conflict of interest]. The utility manager made a presentation where water and water waste treatment facilities were discussed and illustrated the drain on the local water resource for so many prisoners denying the citizens of the town any main share of the water rights as they are now used solely to support the prisons built there on surrounding lands. One must ask the same question again and inquire how much water and how much waste will be generated out of these prisons if expanded by 3,000 prisoners and the answer was a head shaking, shoulder shrugging duh I don't know attitude by the council who is only interested in the wealth that is produced by these prisons for profit organizations. Doing the math on the expansion, Arizona landowners, taxpayers and law biding citizens will be giving up over 274 million gallons of water for such purposes in addition to the costs of building the infrastructure that is required to provide such services to the prison complex. Blind folded and ears plugged, the council quickly approved the CCA request unanimously, with only one member asking a question.

It appears that the locals in Eloy and all those other communities considering building private prisons on their local lands have forgotten just how precious the water supply is in this state. Where does the water come from when it runs out and Arizona is dry? What is the future of our state if the development continues and the prisons suck the water out of the ground for commercial purposes of incarceration? Will our children benefit from our water supply or will they suffer? The answer is in water management techniques already established to be effective but ignored in Arizona for the sake of building prisons. One must ask why Arizona politicians are willing to sacrifice our ecological and environmental future for the sake of prisons when there are so many other better reasons for water conservation and water use in this state.

Sources:
http://www.azcentral.com/specials/special26/articles/0103conserve-main03.html?&wired
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/07/11/20110711arizona-new-private-prison-contracts.html
Frank Smith

Arizona Treading on Water Use and sucking out residential water supply

Politicians, business leaders and economic professionals who promote the construction of new businesses, housing developments and private prisons often do not discuss or dwell into the subject of water conservation or water shortages for obvious reasons. The fear of discovering the facts that Arizona is in danger of losing its ability to sustain the mega growth is haunting the very same people who say there is enough water for our state for all future growth and planning. Surely running out of water is no one’s fear right now although studies show that we are treading on dangerous grounds in the area of water supply in our state.

Private prisons sustain large populations that are concentrated in size and can exhaust or consume the daily water consumption at an enormous rate that has never been planned or calculated in the planning or construction stages of such mega structures. Taking the three most active counties in the state, Maricopa, Pima and Pinal counties, there are some things that have to be revealed in order to understand the complete consequences of building new prisons and housing associated with this venture. Factors have been added to give more credit to the speculation that a water shortage is imminent and they are being ignored by our state leaders. One fact is our region is the one of the most threatened regions in the United States because of its limited rainfall and yearly accumulations. Global warming, whether you believe in it or not, could impact our water availability thus should be taken into serious consideration as part of the impact statement. Thirdly, this region of these tri-counties is connected by a water corridor explained in a Morrison Institute report as the odds of this water phenomenon connect us to the very root of the resource anticipated to be overloaded in the near future.

In the Morrison Institute report titled “Watering the Sun Corridor” the answers appear to show a degree of certainty that this regions is dramatically being drained from existing water supplies as it is “pumped, dammed, moved, hoarded litigated away and fought over “ because of its precious value to the land and its people. These counties already mentioned are bound together by the Central Arizona Project and the limitations of the Groundwater Management Act. Never in the past did the economists, state leaders or other speculators of business calculate the heavy drain of prison populations in these times of worry about having sufficient supplies for our major metro cities that are interconnected to the water pipe. Gambling that the water supply is sufficient to support such a substantial load of multitudes of thousands and thousands of prisoners can be the fatal mistake in the overall plan. The reports will address several issues such as: are population projections for this corridor still meaningful in light of the current economic downturn? How many people can be supported by the corridor’s water supplies? What happens if the conventional assumptions about water availability prove inaccurate? How should the impact of climate change be assessed? How would lifestyles have to change by dramatically decreased water use? Does more efficient water reuse stretch existing supply? What water supplies are available for the future?

Population projections are running interference of the plans to build prisons as this tri-county area is project to have much more of a burden that anticipated ever before. The Morrison Institute commissioned Marshall Vest, director of the Economic and Business Research Center at the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management to do population projections. In its report it states that it is projecting “approximately 10.1 million residents in 2040 with a “low” projection of 8.9 million. Reading the report it becomes rather positive in content as it assures the residents won’t run out of water if water is managed and conserved. It does caution residents that abuse or excessive uses of water can impact their availability thus water must be used wisely and restricted to more agricultural or commercial uses in the future.

The main area of concern for residents wanted instant access to water is the use of underground water. As of 2006, 45% of the three-county supply still comes from groundwater pumping. Arizona continues to be a most an active partner in groundwater management. One important requirement is that new developments demonstrate secure physical, legal, and continuous access to a 100-year assured water supply. This is a stricter standard than California’s, which requires a 20-year access (and only for large subdivisions). The 100-year supply in Arizona should generally come from surface water, preserving groundwater for when surface water is not available. It is strongly suggested that before any new prisons are built to accommodate the state’s prison growth plans, there are sound methods in place to evaluate the usage and the availability of such water supply for inmates to brush their teeth, use the toilet and shower daily at the cost of taxpayers unaware that these resources are being stolen right from under their noses with no resistance from state leaders or politicians.

Source:

http://morrisoninstitute.asu.edu/publications-reports/2011-watering-the-sun-corridor-managing-choices-in-arizonas-megapolitan-area

Arizona Counties on the hook for prison costs

Reading a price study of incarceration of the California prison system has brought to light a most important fact that many people seem to forget whenever there is talk about prisons or prison expansion or cost. These “tough on crime” facts are often collected and put into one basket to make an argument that prisons are cost extreme and effective method to deal with crime in the community. They are necessary to meet the needs of the criminal justice system as deterrence and reduce criminal behaviors. Then after the rhetoric of politicians drumming up enough votes to pay for this public service one fact is conveniently omitted to the legislative body and the entire state’s population of tax payers. The costs incurred are paid by all taxpayers inside the state and every county that is part of the tax base in government.

Fact is, many counties in the state pick up shares of the bill of confinement for other counties with high incarceration rates, as the state prison system is a place where all prisoners are house and fed and taken care of but the money comes from the entire state to pay the final bills. In Arizona, it means that those counties that have a low crime rate and low number of convicted felons going to prison are picking up the tab for those counties with a high crime rate and a high number of convicted felons. For example, Maricopa County’s share of the state’s prison population averages around 64 per cent of the total number of persons incarcerated in state prisons. Two more counties (Pima and Pinal) follow them making up the majority of convicted felons in the state. Translating that into figures of dollars the fact is that burdens the tax payers throughout the state, it becomes clear that the residents of those low crime areas have no say so in how much they pay for their share of the crime bill of running prisons. One could ask the question “why does a county such as La Paz have to pay so much for the use of prisons when their counter partner such as Maricopa County is responsible for over half of the persons incarcerated in the prisons?”

According to the Arizona Department of Public Safety report, there were 354 homicides (murders) reported in their annual crime report, 2010. Looking at their breakdown, Maricopa County reported 202 murders, Pima County reported 78 murders and Pinal County reported 20 murders adding up to 300 leaving the remaining twelve counties with 54 murders for the year. Readers can apply this method to other crimes as well and quickly discover the disparity in the rate of crime numbers throughout the state.

There are other factors that drive up the costs of incarceration often not taken into consideration as they are well hidden in the rhetoric from state leaders. For example, the cost of a death sentence is much higher than the cost of a life sentence or lesser felony offenses. Maricopa County clearly leads this number of prisoners as the majorities come from this county and are sitting on death row waiting the exhaustion of their expense appeals and when the time comes, their executions. The list goes on to illustrate the severity and the burdens placed on the state systems from a few counties when the other counties are rarely even close to attaining such a high number of felony crime convictions yet pay for the bill regardless of the costs.

In California, the question is posed “If counties want to use more prison services than the statistical average….. they should pay for it.” However, politicians oppose such a thought by their own rhetoric that all counties have a partnership with the state and that a joint account would be better to cut the costs and lessen the burden on those that lead the rate in imprisoning people. These costs of incarceration don’t stop at the prison costs as the population that is impacted by high incarceration rates picks up more social services and other state expenses based on these persons going to prison and having families that are left behind. The Arizona state corrections budget for this fiscal year is $ 1 billion dollars. This is the highest incarceration budget in history and makes up approximately 11 % of the state’s budget. Taxpayers should take the time to read the annual crime report issued by the Arizona Department of Public Safety and glean how their county fares in their fair share of paying for the state prisons that are projected to costs more as the years ahead create a need to find more space to house these criminals in our state.

Source:

http://www.azdps.gov/About/Reports/docs/Crime_In_Arizona_Report_2010.pdf