This is an interesting opinion piece on the importance of adequate state prison funding and the impact of insufficient financial resources on prison safety, correctional officer morale and prisoner recidivism.

There is an opportunity however to turn this budget-busting problem into a source of new revenue by offering a secure prison cell phone solution that provides inmates a sanctioned, controlled cell phone service in place of a smuggled cell phone.

Some attempts to get tough on prisoners have turned out to be tougher on prison guards and staff.

And some measures to save money have ended up costing more.

The Legislature should recognize that protecting the state from criminals is one of its core functions — and should be funded adequately.

Stanley Burtt, retired warden of Lieber Correctional Facility, lays the blame for problems on politicians. In a recent letter to the editor, he asserted that Lieber’s staff does a good job in very difficult circumstances.

Even still, problems arise. Last month, two correctional officers standing watch over 229 of the state’s most dangerous offenders were injured after inmates set off a five-hour riot.

With more money to pay for more staff, and to pay staff more, Lieber would be a safer place, even with its population of hardened prisoners.

Not only would they be better able to intercept contraband items like cell phones and drugs thrown over the fence to prisoners, they would be better able to slow down the high rate of turnover among the staff.

In a later interview, Mr. Burtt told us that the people who work at prisons where the worst criminals are kept are paid only slightly more than those who work at lower security facilities. The working conditions at Lieber are sometimes akin to “open warfare,” he says.

So there is little incentive to stay at Lieber if there is an option to work at other institutions like McDougall Correctional Institute in Ridgeville, which Mr. Burtt describes as more like a day camp.

Budget cuts can mean that prison guards work virtually in isolation. That increases risk and eliminates the esprit de corps that Mr. Burtt says is needed to help staff members cope with their often unpleasant jobs. It’s another disincentive to stay on the job.

And when the budget gets tight, prison schools are often targeted. Another mistake. Inmates who are in school — many learning the most basic skills like reading — are less likely to be a problem that those who have nothing to do.

The legislative decision to take away weight training from prisoners also has backfired, Mr. Burtt says. Inmates need a way to expend energy. Weights provided that release.

Funding also should be adequate to maintain programs to rehabilitate prisoners who will eventually return to the community and live.

To do otherwise is to encourage recidivism.

Mr. Burtt believes that more resources for mental health treatment would ease the tensions. A significant percentage of prisoners have severe psychiatric problems.

Better funding for prisons isn’t a popular platform for a politician.

Prisoners don’t vote. And taxpayers resent having to spend a dime to keep murderers, rapists and thieves fed and sheltered.

But failing to fund prisons adequately shouldn’t be an option. Security is essential to keeping the bad guys in jail — and keeping prison staff members safe.

Both should be a priority for lawmakers in their budget deliberations this year.

Source

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The legislation to curb contraband cell phones in California prisons is headed to the governor’s desk for signature. Additionally, it paves the way for wireless signal jamming via managed access systems. No consideration in the push to legislate on how to curb demand however.

Update – May 9, 2012: For an update on this legislation and the planned deployment of wireless managed access systems in the CDCR facilities to block contraband cell phones, see this post.

Senate Bill 26, authored by Senator Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima), won final legislative approval with a unanimous, bipartisan vote of the State Senate. SB 26 would crack down on the smuggling and possession of cell phones and other wireless communication devices in California prisons. The legislation now goes to the Governor for his signature.

Senator Padilla’s bill imposes tough penalties for both smugglers and inmates. It also facilitates the deployment of managed access technology to prevent illicit cell phones from sending or receiving communications within the secure perimeter of a prison.

“Cell phones in the hands of inmates are a clear and present threat to the safety of correctional officers, victims, and the public,” said Senator Padilla. “We know that inmates with cell phones are ordering murders, organizing escapes, facilitating drug deals, controlling street gangs and terrorizing rape victims. With this bill we will finally crack down on cell phones in California prisons,” Senator Padilla added.

Senator Padilla has strong support from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) in his effort to address the rampant problem of cell phone use in California’s prisons. “Contraband cell phones in prison continue to be a problem for CDCR as they allow inmates to circumvent our monitoring process and commit crimes,” said CDCR Secretary Matthew Cate. “This year we have confiscated 6,000 phones through May at our prisons. Senate Bill 26 will strengthen our efforts to curb this problem,” he added.

Forty-four states and the federal government have taken action to tackle this problem. The number of cell phones confiscated in our prisons has grown exponentially. In 2006, prison officials confiscated 261 cell phones in California prisons. In 2010, 10,761 phones were confiscated. Smugglers are selling these phones to inmates for more than $1,000 a piece. One person caught smuggling, bragged about making $100,000 in a single year providing cell phones to prisoners. Charles Manson had been caught twice in possession of a cell phone.

Source

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These searches are necessary because the high contraband value of smuggled prison cell phones has a corrupting influence on guards and staff. With prisoners paying as much as $1000 per contraband cell phone, the temptation to smuggled wireless devices is too much for some prison staff. We beleive part of the solution is to lower the contraband value of the smuggled cell phones by implementing the meshDETECT secure cell phone service solution.

Random staff searches that are part of an effort to curb the smuggling of cell phones into state prisons are drawing objections from the powerful union representing correctional officers.

At issue is a two-year program – known as Operation Disconnect – that requires all adult prisons to conduct monthly searches of employees and others as they enter state facilities.

Fewer than 500 cell phones have been confiscated under the program, though some lawmakers still suspect prison employees are the main suppliers of cell phones that are reaching inmates in ever-larger numbers.

But Joe Baumann, a chapter president with the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, said the modest results suggest the program is targeting the wrong people.

“Staff are just a small part of the problem,” he said. “If an employee is dirty, word gets out pretty quickly.”

Baumann said the union has complained to state officials that the searches are misguided and overly intrusive.

“There are no boundaries as far as how invasive the searches are,” he said. “People have had to take off jumpsuits, pull off vests, pull up T-shirts. They’re setting themselves up for litigation with the way they’re doing this.”

Baumann declined to say whether the union has any immediate plans to challenge the program with a lawsuit but he warned that “something is going to have to happen” if the department fails to make changes.

Unlike many other states and the federal government, California does not routinely search staff as they enter state prisons. (Visitors are required to pass through metal detectors.)

Some state officials have said they would like to impose airport-like security checks on staff at all state prisons. But Baumann said such a move would require the state to renegotiate its contract with the union and would add to the time it takes correctional officers to get from their cars, or the prison gate, to their work stations. Union members are paid for this “walk time.” Added walk time could cost the state millions, according to some analysts.

While the union presses prison officials to modify the searches, lawmakers are calling for new legislation that would toughen security and sanctions.

Last month U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein appealed to the state Senate Appropriations Committee to revive a bill that would stiffen the penalties for smuggling cell phones into California prisons.

Meanwhile, state Sen. Elaine Alquist, D-San Jose, is sponsoring legislation that would transfer oversight for searches of prison staff to the inspector general’s office “to ensure there is a neutral third party watching these to ensure their integrity.”

Alquist said the department’s current program isn’t going far enough.

“We have seen a 38 percent increase in the number of cell phones found in prisons in the first three months of this year compared to the same period last year,” Alquist said. “Given those numbers, I cannot say the department is doing a good job stopping cell phones from getting into prisons.”

“A public safety problem of this significance and magnitude should not be left to the discretion of a department to address,” she said.

Last year, more than 10,000 cell phones turned up inside prisons but so far officials have failed to close the pipeline that feeds the lucrative trade. Prices for “jail phones” reach as high as $1,000.

Corrections officials defended Operation Disconnect, saying it uses existing funding and is just part of a multi-prong effort to disrupt the trade in contraband phones.

“The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is working hard to stop cell phones from getting into prisons,” said spokeswoman Terry Thornton. “We’ve identified this as a major priority but obviously a lot more can be done.”

Thornton was unable to provide data on the number of staff disciplined under Operation Disconnect.

However, earlier this year the department informed state lawmakers that it disciplined 200 prison staff for cell phone smuggling in 2009, including 100 peace officers. Of the 200 employees, eight people were dismissed from state service.

Source

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