State Offers Prison Guard Plan

California prison officials have submitted a plan for revamping the disciplinary system for guards and for wiping out a “code of silence” that a special court master found has impeded and corrupted internal investigations.

In a proposed 10-page “remedial plan” filed this week, state officials said the Department of Corrections would adopt a code of conduct “which compels all employees to immediately report misconduct, and a process that ensures anyone who retaliates against such persons is punished.”

Some steps already have been taken.

A policy of “zero tolerance” for covering up wrongdoing was announced in a Feb. 17 memo to all employees from Roderick Q. Hickman, the new secretary of the Youth and Correctional Agency.

“Any employee, regardless of rank, sworn or non-sworn, who fails to report violations of policy or who acts in a manner that fosters the Code of Silence, shall be subject to discipline up to and including termination,” the memo stated.

The court filing also said Hickman had met with all 32 wardens in the adult prison system this month to reinforce the message.

The plan was submitted in response to findings of Special Master John Hagar, a prison expert whose draft report in January found a culture of corruption in California’s $5.3-billion penal system.

Hagar discussed the plan Friday with the parties involved in the complex civil rights case that gave rise to his report.

He said he was very pleased with Hickman’s progress in addressing the issues.

“The Department of Corrections is determined to aggressively tackle these issues in order to reform its investigative and disciplinary action practices,” the proposal stated.

It calls for ethics courses for staff members at all prisons, and revising the department’s code of ethics to include the duty to report misconduct and fully cooperate with investigations.

The prison operations manual would state that workers could be fired for ostracizing employees who report serious wrongdoing.

The proposal also calls for earlier use of attorneys in disciplinary investigations.

A sticking point with the plan, however, is the state’s proposal to provide additional review of the corrections department’s investigations into alleged misconduct and other matters.

State officials want the review to come from an entity that would report to the Youth and Correctional Agency, which oversees adult and youth prisons.

But Don Specter, director of the Prison Law Office, which filed the civil rights case, said the oversight should come from a truly independent body.

Lance Corcoran, vice president of the California Correctional Peace Officers Assn., said during a telephone interview that the department’s proposal was “ridiculous. I think we have enough layers of bureaucracy.”

“The department has shown an inability to investigate itself. It’s time to clean house,” Corcoran said.

Ultimately, the decisions belong to U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson, who in 1995 found that brutality by guards and poor medical care at the Pelican Bay prison near Crescent City violated inmates’ rights.

The judge plans to discuss the proposal with prison officials March 9.