If not us, then who ???

 By Bryan Avila, Backgate Contributing Author

 Every day we loose more and more correctional staff and the reasons are many: “the job is not for me”, got walked off after a relationship with an offender, introduced contraband, etc. The reasons may be many but the end result is the same: we loose staff.

One of the most disheartening things to hear from new correctional staff is that older, more experienced staff did not take them under their wing and teach them what they needed to know. Any pre-service academy serves the same purpose: teach the foundation of the job based on policy and procedure. Since every facility is different in how they operate, the nuts and bolts of the job are left to the facility to teach. Experienced staff dedicate themselves to this mission.

The days of having offenders teach new staff on how to do the job are long gone. Although it is true that this still takes place (in a way), it is the older officers that should be taking that new officer and training them how to do the job. A facility FTO can only do so much and the training of an employee never ends. I don’t care how long you have been working in corrections, you always learn something new.

Have we really thought of the ramifications of not teaching that new officer how to do things the right way? We have no problem teaching them the shortcuts, but how about the right way to do things. It may take more time but in the end, it’s worth it.

When we neglect these new officers, offenders take notice. It is for this very same reason that offenders will go after the new staff and try to turn them into something that they should not be…a danger to the rest of us.

I want you to think back to when you first started working at your first facility. Did it really feel good to have the older staff look down on you and not pay attention to you? Did you truly enjoy when you would ask a question and they would give you a BS answer only making it harder to learn what you needed to learn? How about when you needed help and no one would take the time to help you? I would bet that there was an offender that saw this take place and gave you “friendly advise” on what you needed to do.

It is this same helpful offender that will be there for that new staff member and try to turn them. We know that it starts small but at what point does it end? When will we put an end to this?

There are many veteran officers that will, and do, take the time to teach these youngsters how to do things the right way and will always be there for any staff member. To those of you that are in this category, thank you from all of us. You ARE noticed and we could not do what we do without you.

Keep the lamb away from the wolf and watch it grow into a sheepdog. They are always lurking in the shadows just waiting for the opportunity to strike. If not us, then who?

Editor's note: Corrections.com author Bryan Avila started working as a Police Officer in 1994 while attending Norwich University in Northfield, VT. In 1999 he began working for the Vermont Dept of Corrections while still working as a Part-Time Police Officer. In 2007 he left public service until 2009 when he began working for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.His opinions do not represent those of the TDCJ, or this website.

Lack of South Texas prison staffing continues to pose safety concerns for community and staff.

By Tonya Peters, Backgate Website

The Backgate has done several recent stories regarding staffing at South Texas prisons over the past few months. The Connally and McConnell units are still top the most severely understaffed even today. We recently spoke with 15 TDCJ employees, both employed at that unit, and some from other units providing support at McConnell. What they had to say was frightening at best. All of those we spoke to claimed that the unit is still dramatically understaffed, even though dozens of Correctional Officers are trucked in from around the state to supply much needed daily support. Dangerous short cuts are placing staff in harms way on a daily basis claimed many. When we asked what those short cuts were, 9 out of 15 stated that mandatory inmate cell searches for weapons and other contraband are not being conducted, single instead of double escorts of dangerous inmates are being conducted, and that normal operational procedures continue on even though TDCJ required staffing levels are not being met for those specified activities. They all claim to have witnessed this personally at least once. That in civilian terms means that the foxes have taken control of the hen house.

 Inmates assigned there are clearly taking advantage of a bad situation say those we spoke to. Many of those Officers working the voluntary overtime there have since stopped returning to McConnell. Many claim that the money is simply not worth the trouble and added danger in dealing with the close custody (max security) and other problematic inmates assigned there. The staff that are mandated to to show up for overtime from all over the state are not so lucky. Their failure to show up means certain disciplinary action. Maybe it's time for a different approach to the staffing issues in that part of the state. Either pay staff more money per hour to work those facilities, or close them down and move those inmates. It should not take staff members being assaulted, killed or taken hostage to change things. The general public should also be afraid of the consequences of diminished staffing and the possibility that those conditions could encourage escapes.

The McConnell unit still hovers around 65-70 % staffing levels, and that does not account for Officers on extended leave, sick time, or any other type of leave. Booming industry and oilfield related jobs in that region are blamed for employee loss. But many who have left state employment said it wasn't the lure of more money, it was the working conditions, the overtime, and worsening inmate behavior brought on by the lack of staffing and replacement staff not familiar with the unit and it's inmates. Only time will tell how the staffing issues in South Texas will play out. Hopefully they don't end in the national news spotlight.

See an article by The Texas Tribune on staffing that includes the Backgate perspective HERE !

If you have insight on this issue, a comment, or suggestion, we would love to hear it. Post your comments below. Keep it clean and professional please.

Contraband is Contaband

By Joe Bouchard, Contributing  Backgate Author

Offenders come and go, but the shared goal of contrabandists is pretty much constant: To use goods and services to enhance power and personal comfort while incarcerated. Following are six points to ponder.

Contraband is contraband. As you consider the following, remember that though something looks innocuous, it may be part of something larger. Danger is possible through a chain of events or associations. The potential for peril is not lessened because of staff perceptions of “little, nuisance contraband”. Contraband is contraband, no matter the style, immediate apparent value, or size.

Is an item innocent? For example, though gum and pop containers are clearly not shanks, they are potentially dangerous. Chewed gum, applied correctly, can disable locks. Soft drink containers can store noxious, intoxicating and/or disgusting liquid agents. Corrections staff should remind themselves from time to time that everything has a use. Watch your trash. That which we throw away can be used to compromise the safety of those that we work with rather than those that we watch. Proper disposal of items that we take for granted is crucial. Remember the seemingly innocent often is not.

Ingenuity is alive and well. Here is another uncomfortable corrections fact: If we can conceive it, offenders can probably create it. If we can imagine a simple candy box turning into a weapon, then some weapons-smith somewhere is doing it right now in some facility. The deodorant container, for example, may contain deodorant. Then again, it may not.

Out of sight does not mean out of danger. Consider the lock in a sock. If combination and padlocks were to be removed from the permitted property list, an alternative would be found. Out of sight might mean out of mind. But out of sight does not mean out of danger. Peril exists, no matter how many restrictions are imposed by policy. Just because an item should not be in the facility does not mean that it will not be hidden for another time.

Be realistic. It is best that we apply another contraband control law: "Staff should remain realistic." The realism of contraband control is important to retain. There will always be danger, no matter how well we search. Staff who believe that we’ll find everything in each and every triumphant sweep are bound to become discouraged. This is not to cast a negative shadow over the concept. It is, however, a way to honestly assess the general nature of contraband control.

Collect and remember ticks played upon us. If we do not remember where new concealment tricks, we ultimately make our task more difficult later. While we will not find everything, it is up to us to look, record, and eliminate future bootlegging opportunities.

An example lies in prison-made alcohol. It is no secret that some offenders will constantly try to cook spud juice or its inebriating cousins under our collective nose. On the face of it, these enterprises should be easy to find. But, realistically, we are often surprised by the clever manner in which the hooch manufacturing was concealed.

Staff do battle every day to keep facilities safe from contraband traders. Every contraband control trick we learn is valuable, even those we stumble upon a due to a poorly executed plan.

In the end, the contraband search can be very tedious and very difficult. However staff members that are vigilant, tenacious, and realistic will pull enough bootleg out of the system in order to make the facility safer for staff, offenders and the public.

Washington and Colorado legalize recreational use of marijuana after voting. Could decriminalization mean less spent on state prisons?

Editorial by Doug Glass, Backgate Website

Last night votes were tallied in both Colorado and Washington state that will now pave the way for legalized recreational usage of marijuana. Although the measures were passed by voters in both states, the Federal Government may have something to say about it being that federal drug laws still apply. Unlike California, and Montana,and 15 other states that have some variation of the laws that allow medical usage based on a doctors prescription, Washington and Colorado would both approve sales to anyone over the age  of 18 without a prescription for recreational use. A move that both states see as taxable ways to boosts the states income. Not ever having been a marijuana user, i can't say whether or not the drug provides any relief from medical and or any other issues, but there are doctors and scientists who say it does.

 The next question would be " Has the Federal Government been effective in preventing the importation of the drug, and has it been worth it?" Millions of dollars in tax payer money, many lives lost in the U.S. and abroad over the trafficking of the drug. It's a war many U.S. drug agents, and other law enforcement agencies have openly stated we can't win. Others compare the drug to alcohol and remember back when prohibition drove up the costs and made the transport of alcohol what it is for marijuana today. Of course eventually, as history indicates, alcohol made a comeback and was taxed with great success. Just look at the latest major beer label stocks to see for yourself. There are also the groups that want to keep it illegal. Their reasoning is just as convincing as all others.

  In Texas, stats show that many convicted felons have seen the insides of state prisons and jails based solely on the possession or usage of marijuana. With state budget cuts looming once again this session, is it cost effective to use prison and jail cells for marijuana users ? That's anywhere from 50-100 bucks per day, per offender, in every prison or jail. That doesn't include the costs to prosecute such crimes in court at tax payer expense. After being involved in both the law enforcement side, and corrections side of the coin for nearly 30 years, i think it may be time for the discussion to take place at the capitol either way. I have presented both sides of the issue for our readers to consider. Whats your thoughts ?

Is prison love on the rise ?

By Tonya Peters, Backgate Website

In the next few weeks we will be examining how TDCJ employees have managed to get their honey where they get their money. And it's not fellow employees they are getting. The numbers statewide seem to be growing, and it's still an issue that co-workers tend not to report when witnessed. Is prison culture keeping staff mum ? Coming soon.

Are Texas Prisons water hogs ?

From our friends over at the Grits for Breakfast Blog

TDCJ's Clements and Neal units, reported the Amarillo Globe News ("'An intervention' on water usage in Amarillo," Oct. 14) are together the second largest water customer in Amarillo, soaking up 44% more water than the city of Amarillo itself (395 million gallons and 275 million gallons last year, respectively). Grits has written before about prisons as water hogs. While TDCJ is the second biggest water customer in Amarillo, it's the largest in Abilene. In South Texas, the Connally unit had to begin rationing water and closed two wings because of excessive staffing vacancies and a chronic municipal water shortage.

Prisons' vast water use in mainly rural areas is a largely unexplored aspect of mass incarceration, but one wonders if, in the coming years, Texas' water wars might ever contribute to de-incarceration pressures? As water problems which are today viewed as annoyances become more acute, towns like Amarillo may begin to look at who's using up most of their water and decide whether or not the juice is worth the squeeze.

What are your thoughts?

EX-TDCJ Public Information Officer still awaiting federal civil court date after alleged agency harassment and retaliation

 By Michael Williams, Backgate Website

Michelle Lyons, TDCJ's previously terminated Public Information Officer, has her suit filed against the agency, and is now just awaiting her day in court. Lyons, a longtime TDCJ employee, was ousted after she took a stand against the way the agency was keeping time in her department. Later she was harassed for supplying this website with public information. The same information she supplied the media outlets, and covered under the Texas Open Records Act. This all eventually brought about her constructive termination by the agency she served so diligently for years. Check out the original story as posted by the Backgate back in June of 2012.


 Reprint of the original story posted by a Backgate Reporter;

Ousted TDCJ Public Information Officer Michelle Lyons sits patiently as she awaits her day in federal court after filing a lawsuit against the TDCJ for gender discrimination and retaliation. We heard from Michelle today and she is doing just fine. Her attorneys are working diligently to clear her good name, and to prove that the agency is nothing more then bullies harassing good employees. Something that most TDCJ employees already know and have seen themselves. Michelle sends thanks to all who have continued to support her in her actions against the agency.

Weeks back, The Backgate spoke to Texas Senator John Whitmire regarding a statement he made to a local reporter regarding Michelle Lyons and her ordeal with the TDCJ.  Whitmire stated that he threw Lyons out of a public meeting after she was disrespectful and " popped her gum" while he proceeded with the meeting. A charge that was unfounded after evidence proved that he and Lyons were never in that type of environment together other then at a Senate hearing regarding cell phones, and on that occasion nothing happened. Insiders say that Whitmire confused Lyons with another staff member who did create an issue at a meeting involving Offender families. Whitmire called us at the Backgate to " clear the issue up" but never actually spoke with anyone here. We suspect he realized that Lyons actually filed the lawsuit against TDCJ and that what he said about Lyons was slanderous, so he recused himself of the matter. Recent attempts to contact his office have gone unanswered.

Although Senator Whitmire has typically been of assistance to us here in this forum, it seems he is riding the fence on this issue. We would like to see him do the right thing and set out to find the truth before the state loses millions in law suits over inept administrators in Huntsville. On another note, one of our staffers is one step closer to proving his case of retaliation against the TDCJ after he was targeted after being identified as one of our affiliates here. Attorneys are involved, and we cannot speak on the issue in depth, but it appears that the writing is on the wall with this one as well. These are just two of the stories on the issue of corruption within the agency itself. I am sure there have been thousands of others affected over the years. Well TDCJ, looks like the taxpayers and Legislators aren't amused by the lack of direction and poor management. Time to clean out the attic so to speak.

To see a recent article on the latest with Michelle Lyons, CLICK HERE to go to the Austin Chronicle!
Click HERE to read the lawsuit !