For Once I Agree With Jeb!
By Kay Lee
I'm not sure if a raise in pay would assure us of more professional officers or not, since we build and staff our prisons in tiny towns with a limited employable populace.
For once I totally agree with Jeb Bush though - the focus in Florida's prisons DOES need to be on safety - for both the officers AND the inmates. After all, the DOC's mission statement begins with the concept of operating a "safe, secure, humane, and efficient corrections system" and the very first Goal they list is: "Protect the public, staff and INMATES."
However, I think attempting a purely monetary solution to the problem is a dangerous and costly mistake that will become painfully obvious to the public as the years go by and the problems grow worse.
The department's guard ratio problem has much more to do with the conditions C/Os have to work in than with the rate of pay.
The DOC has an employee turnover rate that surpasses McDonalds. I've talked to hundreds of people who have left the DOC (and some who are still there but perhaps not for long). The main reason they recite over and over for leaving is that they were not able in good conscience to stomach the things they saw bad guards doing, and if they tried to report the misdeeds, were either ignored or given grief. I've also heard a lot of the female officers complain about sexual harassment that they received from male officers.
Although I'm sure there are some who must have quit over the pay, I personally have never once talked to an ex-employee who stated that the primary reason they quit the DOC was low salary.
With a little imagination and a lot of housecleaning, the department could fulfill the "safety for all" goal without a budget increase.
The FBI Preliminary Crime Statistics 2002 Report tells us that all seven crimes listed on the Crime Index are going DOWN in Florida at a rate 6 times that of the national rate. Yet state officials tell us that incarceration rates are headed UP, which means we're locking up a lot of people for 'crimes' we could deal with without incarceration. So perhaps one answer to balancing the guard to inmate ratio is to lock up less people, which would be far less expensive than hiring more guards.
Other solutions might be to make a real effort to stop the stealing and illegal use of state property by so many DOC staff and officers; put some fans in those cells so inmates don't feel so aggressive, and most importantly, the department could fire a bunch of bad guards, spread their pay among the remaining professional C/Os who could then do some actual rehabilitating and role-modeling so that the inmates become less aggressive and officers don't have to live in such fear. Might help us out here feel a lot safer too when the prisoners get released!
I'm sure there are lots more solutions without depriving the rest of the citizens of Florida of funds (like schools). If we spent more on education than incarceration perhaps we wouldn't need so many guards.
Kay Lee kaylee1@charter.net 4900 Olson Drive Eau Claire, WI 54703 715-831-0076
PS *The CRIME INDEX includes the four violent crimes of murder, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault; and the three non-violent crimes of burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft
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Wednesday, June 18, 2003 Guard-to-inmate ratio concerns lawmakers. Officer ranks dwindling as jail populations grow http://www.news-press.com/news/local_state/030618prisonerfoloside.html By Alisa LaPolt, The News-Press Tallahassee Bureau feedback@news-press.com
TALLAHASSEE - While Gov. Jeb Bush and lawmakers say $45 million in cuts for the coming year to Florida prisons did not play a role in last week's killing of a prison guard, records show state funding of correctional officers is slipping.
Department of Corrections records show the number of correctional officers has fallen by 1,292 during a three-year period ending in 2002.
Over the same time, the number of inmates increased by 2,320, making Florida the third-largest prison system in the nation.
"These ratios are getting out of control," said Sen. Rod Smith, a Gainesville Democrat who voted against the state budget because of its cuts to the corrections department. "These guys are telling me they need more help."
The department on Tuesday was unable to provide current staff ratios for individual prisons.
More than a year after state prisons eliminated correctional officers posted in outside prison towers, the personnel shortfall is underscored by last week's killing of Charlotte County correctional officer Darla K. Lathrem.
DOC still is reeling from the loss of 240 correctional and probation officers who were called to active duty for the war against Iraq.
Also on Tuesday, a state government job Web site listed 100 job vacancies for correctional officers and supervisors throughout Florida.
With officers facing high risks and low pay - the starting salary for certified officers is $28,461 - one lawmaker fears that Lathrem's death will lead to more job openings.
"These people aren't paid a lot, and this brings the level of risks home," said Sen. Burt Saunders, a Naples Republican whose district includes the Charlotte County prison.
The new state budget that takes effect July 1 sets aside $28 million for 383 additional correction officers.
Al Shopp, director of the Police Benevolent Association that represents correctional officers, said it doesn't go far enough.
"You know how they say we're cut to the bone?' Well, we're into the marrow," Shopp said.
The new state budget approved by lawmakers and awaiting the governor's signature makes $45 million in cuts to the prison system, slashing 90 vacant positions and other administrative operations.
"We're still looking to see how deep and wide our budget cuts are going to be," said DOC spokeswoman Jo Ellyn Rackleff, adding the cuts would not affect prison security. "Officers are on the front line of our public safety mission."
Gov. Jeb Bush on Tuesday acknowledged concerns from his newly appointed secretary, James Crosby.
"Secretary Crosby has made it clear to me that we're kind of at our limit as it relates to efficiencies, mainly peripheral programs, and we can't absorb many more cuts - or any more cuts," Bush said.
"The focus needs to be on safety inside the prison," Bush added.
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