Staffing Woes and Increased Risks at Supermax
The Denver Post reports today that staffing problems (background here) at the U.S. Supermax prison in Florence have gotten worse.
The country's most secure prison, 40 miles west of Pueblo in Florence, is staffed at only 75 percent, a "dangerously low level," according to the union....Supermax, which houses the likes of Unabomber Ted Kaczynski and al-Qaeda conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui, has 180 correctional officers to cover 230 shifts, according to a union count. ....Since January, the prison has lost 20 correctional officers, although 10 new ones are being hired.
In practical terms, the Post reports:
Guards at the ultra-high-security prison are stretched so thin that the unit housing terrorists has gone without adequate attention for up to 24 hours, said Mike Schnobrich, legislative liaison for the local prison union, part of the American Federation of Government Employees. That means guards are not bringing inmates toilet paper or toothbrushes or taking them out of their cells for the required one hour per day, he said. The inmates still get meals, though sometimes not on time, and other guards check on them. "The tension between the inmates and staff is at an all-time high," McFadyen said. Threats of assault have increased at Supermax, the union said.
Last year, a federal arbitrator ordered the Bureau of prisons to take action to "lower the inherent hazards" at Supermax. Amid great publicity, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Senators Ken Salazar and Wayne Allard toured the prison. What have Senators Salazar and Allard done in the past year to follow through?
Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., said he was told by the Bureau of Prisons that the guard-to-inmate ratio was improving. "I would be gravely concerned" if the union numbers are accurate, he said.
Did either Senator check with the prison guards' union to get their take on whether things were improving? Did they not receive any communications from Mike Schnobrich, the union's legislative liaison in the past year? I don't know the answer, but I hope the Senators' involvement didn't end with their photo-op tour of the prison. Supermax prisons are inherently risky for prison guards. In many cases, they are dealing with inmates serving life sentences, who, given their extreme isolation, aren't inclined towards good behavior. Adequate staffing is essential to protect the guards as well as to ensure the inmates are being properly treated. Both of our Senators need to swiftly address this problem. Alberto Gonzales sure doesn't care any more.
Comments
Submitted by tallport (not verified) on Sat, 2007-09-01 18:51.
Great post Jeralyn. We appreciate your support. I concur with my colleague. This is an another good example where labor unions help promote the public interest, which is the common interest.
Submitted by Mike Schnobrich (not verified) on Sat, 2007-09-01 07:28.
The comments here in 5280 are one of the better summations of the media coverage from this past Tuesday press conference in Denver. Our main message was that it is has been clearly established in multiple ways (not just in the Council of Prison Locals' opinion) that low staffing levels at the ADX and other Federal Prisons is a bad thing and that the real current issue is not 180 officers versus 175 officers on staff, but why is it still happening after Attorney General Gonzalez, Senator Allard, and Senator Salazar said it was to be fixed. For those that attended last winter's press conference and staff town hall meeting with the Attorney General (the elected union representatives didn't attend the press conference because they were barred at the door and specifically told they were not welcomed) many of us remember the Attorney General admitting to the public that there were problems and that they were going to be fixed. Incidentally, this was no small feat to get the Attorney General to admit to the staffing problems in our Federal Prisons since the Bureau of Prisons still has not agreed with the rest of the world that low staffing levels is a bad thing.
The results of the Attorney General’s visit were that the problems at the ADX were fixed - for a time - but by compromising the safety of the other two facilities located on the complex. Staff intended for those facilities was diverted to the ADX leaving their staffing levels dangerously low. It wasn't until about late March, early April (about the time the media moved on to other important stories) when officer staffing levels again began to drop down to the previous dangerously low levels at the ADX as staffing was moved back to the other facilities.
It should be noted that during the low staffing levels at the other two facilities, people like AFGE Local 1301 President Ken Shatto, who represents the professional correctional workers at the penitentiary next door to the ADX, has worked hard to bring their staffing concern to the attention of responsible authorities, but it's a sad fact that few people are interested in correctional officer concerns about staffing levels, especially when it is expressed through their elected union officials. It was only when the issue again became staffing levels at the ADX which houses many high profile inmates, which the media and others have again focused on the problem and so, sadly again, we are hearing about it; and again, the public is wondering why Congress and the Bush Administration just can't seem to properly fund these facilities.
Additionally, President Barb Batulis and members of her executive board who represents the correctional staff at the ADX, State Representative Buffie McFadyen (Pueblo West) whose district includes the FCC complex in Florence, members of various Congressional staffs from the area, Council of Prison Locals President Bryan Lowery and National Legislative Coordinator Phil Glover who represent all Federal Bureau of Prison line staff, and American Federation of Government Employees (AFL-CIO) District #11 Vice President Gerry Swanke and President John Gage who represent the majority of federal workers world wide, have continually been monitoring the problem and have been working with Congress, the public, and other organizations to keep our prison system safe for the staff, inmates, and the communities that host those facilities.
In fact, the union is one of the few organized voices besides inmate advocacy groups that have been critical of the current correctional practices of the Federal Bureau of Prisons and corrections in general here in the United States. AFGE and the Council of Prison Locals has been a leader in the fight to holding government officials accountable for managing responsible and effective corrections programs and not just working to see how fast the system can be privatized. It is to the union's credit that this issue is again in the public eye and being looked into by responsible authorities in a much more timely manner than in the past and before a major disaster happens.
With the union's efforts and the help of Congress, let's all hope we can get this staffing problem fixed once and for all.
Submitted by tallport (not verified) on Sun, 2007-09-02 02:41.
Rep. Buffie McFadyen, has shown unrelenting determination with her efforts to bring this matter to a positive conclusion. She has done an outstanding job for the people she represents and the entire community.
