Prison Guard Union Called Too Powerful

A “vacuum of leadership” in state prisons allows the guards union to exert extraordinary influence over everything from who becomes a warden to how a penitentiary is run, the former independent watchdog of California’s correctional system said Wednesday.

Steve White, now a Superior Court judge in Sacramento, likened the prison system to a giant pool table and said the union, the California Correctional Peace Officers Assn., is the “largest ball on the table,” knocking around all other players at will.

White also warned that unless the Department of Corrections is kept under constant scrutiny by an independent overseer and placed under leaders with “a spine,” troubles will continue.

“You have a department that has repeatedly, redundantly ... come before you and said, ‘We’re going to fix it,’ ” White told lawmakers at a hearing in the Capitol. “And they never do.”

White’s testimony came as two Senate oversight committees wrapped up an inquiry into the state correctional system -- specifically, charges that it has lost the ability to investigate and punish wrongdoing inside prison walls.

The hearing unfolded in the wake of a blistering report on the corrections department from a federal court investigator, who found that a “code of silence” condoned at the highest levels of management discouraged officers from reporting misconduct for fear of reprisals.

The two senators who led the inquiry vowed to keep the spotlight on the system.

One urgent priority, they said, was to protect the inspector general’s office, which acts as an independent watchdog over prisons, and give it more teeth to compel reforms.

The office, which conducts audits and investigations launched by whistle-blowers and inmates, suffered a massive budget cut approved by the Legislature last year, slashing its staff by 76%. Now, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to cut more funding and move the office into the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency.

Sens. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough) and Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles) said such a move would all but cripple the office and make independent investigations impossible at a time when scrutiny is badly needed. At least one Republican, Sen. Jim Brulte (R-Rancho Cucamonga), seemed willing to join the Democrats in opposing the Schwarzenegger proposal and restoring funding to $7 million, instead of the $630,000 the governor has proposed.

Speier and Romero also may pursue legislation to require that the inspector general’s investigations be made public. Now, Romero said, the confidential reports “sit on shelves and gather dust,” and prison officials are not held accountable.

Among those offering ideas for reform Wednesday was Roderick Q. Hickman, secretary of the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency. He asked the senators to give him at least two months to rebuild the internal discipline process and begin to change “an environment where people will turn a blind eye” to misconduct.

After the hearing, Hickman acknowledged that the woes besetting the prison system are complicating his search for a new director of corrections to replace Edward S. Alameida, who resigned last month. Alameida stepped down amid charges that he scrapped a perjury investigation of three guards at Pelican Bay State Prison at the request of the union.

Hickman, who is conducting a national search for a successor to Alameida, said that when he approaches candidates, they often “get a glazed look” that reflects the “significant challenges” in California.

Among those challenges are the size of the system -- 32 prisons, 161,000 inmates and about 50,000 employees -- as well as the power of the guards union and litigation against the department on several fronts.

Hickman would not identify who was on his short list of candidates, but officials who asked not to be identified said that one person whose name has been put forth is San Quentin Warden Jeanne S. Woodford.

Hickman said his goal is to hire someone with “the right values to lead.”