Comments on: Report: Prisons have security lapses  http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2011/09/26/report-prisons-have-security-lapses/ Your Inside Track to Arizona Politics Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:19:12 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Donna Leone Hamm http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2011/09/26/report-prisons-have-security-lapses/comment-page-1/#comment-69549 Donna Leone Hamm Tue, 27 Sep 2011 19:53:33 +0000 http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2011/09/26/report-prisons-have-security-lapses/#comment-69549 According to the issues mentioned in this article, it isn't just a matter of staff not following policy (they follow it 93% of the time, according to Director Ryan), it also is about staff committing felonies. It is a felony in Arizona (Class 2) to introduce contraband into a prison facility. Cell phones are contraband. Are these staff who bring in cell phones being prosecuted? If not, why not? Director Ryan may be satisfied and even complacent because his staff are following policies \93% or more of the time.\ But inmates such as Anthony Lester, Marcia Powell, Timothy Lucero, Shannon Palmer and many others are dead because staff didn't follow policy, so \almost\ isn't good enough. The policies aren't rocket science and they aren't difficult to follow. It takes dedication, competency and professionalism to follow policies ALL of the time. I wouldn't want to fly in an airplane or subject myself to surgery if I knew the pilot or the surgeon was satisfied to follow policy or procedure \most\ of the time. Arizona citizens have a right to expect more and our legislators should demand it from the Department of Corrections. Clearly, given the tragedy which occurred as a result of the DOC failing to adequately monitor and control its contract with the Kingman Private Prison, the same expectations of 100% compliance must be placed on private prison personnel as well. 100% compliance may seem pie-in-the-sky, but surely it should be the goal. According to the issues mentioned in this article, it isn’t just a matter of staff not following policy (they follow it 93% of the time, according to Director Ryan), it also is about staff committing felonies. It is a felony in Arizona (Class 2) to introduce contraband into a prison facility. Cell phones are contraband. Are these staff who bring in cell phones being prosecuted? If not, why not?

Director Ryan may be satisfied and even complacent because his staff are following policies \93% or more of the time.\ But inmates such as Anthony Lester, Marcia Powell, Timothy Lucero, Shannon Palmer and many others are dead because staff didn’t follow policy, so \almost\ isn’t good enough. The policies aren’t rocket science and they aren’t difficult to follow. It takes dedication, competency and professionalism to follow policies ALL of the time.

I wouldn’t want to fly in an airplane or subject myself to surgery if I knew the pilot or the surgeon was satisfied to follow policy or procedure \most\ of the time. Arizona citizens have a right to expect more and our legislators should demand it from the Department of Corrections. Clearly, given the tragedy which occurred as a result of the DOC failing to adequately monitor and control its contract with the Kingman Private Prison, the same expectations of 100% compliance must be placed on private prison personnel as well.

100% compliance may seem pie-in-the-sky, but surely it should be the goal.

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