CA: Report slams governor on prisons

The special master overseeing discipline and other issues within the state prison system issued a report Wednesday that rips the Schwarzenegger administration for reversing course on prison reform.

Special Master John Hagar's report said that "a recent series of disturbing events signals an abrupt reversal of policy by the Governor's Office."

Hagar, who works under U.S. District Court Judge Thelton Henderson in San Francisco, linked the policy shift to the January appointment of Susan Kennedy as Schwarzenegger's chief of staff.

Under Kennedy, Hagar said, prison policy developments under Schwarzenegger have signaled "a return to the Davis Administration's practice" of allowing the California Correctional Peace Officers Association "to overrule the most critical decisions" of the secretary in charge of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Hagar's report said that two former CDCR secretaries "committed to reform," Rod Hickman and Jeanne Woodford -- both of whom resigned within six weeks of each other earlier this year -- departed as a result of "CCPOA's influence with the Governor's Office."

Judge's prison watchdog blasts Schwarzenegger, guards' union

http://www.bakersfield.com/119/story/58117.html

By DON THOMPSON, Associated Press

A report released Wednesday by a federal watchdog appointed to oversee California prison reforms says the Schwarzenegger administration is backpedaling on needed changes, a course that prompted the resignations of two corrections secretaries in quick succession this year.

"A recent series of events signals an abrupt reversal of policy by the governor's office, a retreat from prison reform," wrote John Hagar, the special master who reports to U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson.

The change in course prompted Hagar to write the report and schedule a hearing for July 12 at the federal courthouse in San Francisco. He recommended that Henderson order a further investigation with public hearings conducted by Hagar to determine if reforms have been so undermined that the judge needs to step in with more federal oversight.

Henderson has seized control of the state's inmate health care system, while taking other steps to force an end to what Hagar called a "code of silence" among prison guards that punished whistle blowers and protected wrongdoers.

The state's investigations of inmate abuse and neglect "changed for the better in dramatic fashion" after Schwarzenegger's election in 2003, Hagar wrote in a draft report praising former Corrections Secretary Roderick Hickman.

But Hickman quit in February, saying he was frustrated with a lack of support in the administration and with the powerful role played by the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, the union representing prison guards. His replacement, prison veteran Jeanne Woodford, abruptly announced her retirement in April.

Hagar blames Schwarzenegger Chief of Staff Susan Kennedy for "allowing the CCPOA to overrule the most critical decisions of the (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation) secretary."

Kennedy has sought a rapprochement with state employees' unions as Schwarzenegger seeks re-election in November.

Schwarzenegger's office did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment. The corrections department and guards union also were not immediately available.

July 20th, 2004

TEXT OF LETTER FROM LEGAL AFFAIRS SECRETARY PETER SIGGINS TO JUDGE THELTON HENDERSON

http://www.schwarzenegger.com/en/news/uptotheminute/news_upto_en_JudgeThelton.asp

July 20, 2004

The Honorable Thelton E. Henderson
Senior United States District Judge
United States District Court
Northern District of California
San Francisco, California 94102

Dear Judge Henderson:

I am writing on behalf of myself and Secretary Hickman in reply to your July 19, 2004 letter. To say we were surprised to receive your letter is an understatement. We were both shocked and disappointed. Throughout my personal participation in these proceedings, and for as long as I have known Secretary Hickman, we have shared a commitment with the Court not only to improve the quality of correctional officer investigations and the discipline process but to hold all employees to the highest ethical standards. Governor Schwarzenegger also shares in that commitment and has made reform of the correctional officer investigation and discipline process a priority. As I stated in our July 7th meeting, we'd be pleased to arrange a meeting between you and the Governor.

It has been our understanding that the Court recognizes the special commitment to the California Department of Corrections (CDC) reform embodied by this administration. In his recent final report, Special Master John Hagar observed that: "All in all, defendants' effort to formulate an adequate remedial plan is better organized and staffed today than at any time in the past nine years." That commitment will continue to yield positive results.

We hope to craft a process that results in timely, fair, and effective investigations of inmate abuse and imposition of just punishment when called for. But as you and I discussed in our meeting on July 7th, the kind of institutional reform we are trying to undertake within CDC will take a long time and steady attention to our shared objective. In the short time that Governor Schwarzenegger has been in office, he has:

replaced the Secretary and staff of the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency;
replaced the Director of Corrections;
replaced two wardens;
appointed a new Inspector General and key staff;
re-designed the Inspector General's Office and infused that office with key resources;
created a Bureau of Independent Review in the Inspector General's Office to conduct real-time audits of the most critical investigations of employee misconduct;
appointed an Assistant Director at Corrections to oversee changes to the officer discipline and investigation process designed to assist in implementation of our shared objectives;
appointed a new assistant chief counsel of the employment law unit at CDC to implement reforms, including establishment of a vertical prosecution unit for staff misconduct;
appointed a special commission as part of the California Performance Review to review CDC operations, including officer investigations and discipline and those affecting the "code of silence;" and
ensured that the action plan for reform of the investigation and discipline process presented to you and Mr. Hagar in the Madrid case compliance process is implemented and that all the required timelines have been met in order to achieve the scheduled April 2005 implementation.
We understood in our July 7th meeting that the Court was satisfied with the efforts and progress that has been achieved to date by the Schwarzenegger administration and, in fact, were heartened that you complimented the group of talented people who have been assembled to achieve these truly needed reforms.

Our work continues. Just last week, Secretary Hickman, along with the entire management team in the departments under his direction, met to evaluate and consider implementation of reforms suggested by the California Performance Review team. Mr. Hagar was in attendance for a part of the time, and we understand it was a very productive week.

We disagree with your assessment that the proposed modifications to the California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) give up important management prerogatives to the union. We believe they do no such thing. In renegotiating the MOU with CCPOA, we achieved a significant saving to the State ($108 million over two years). In reaching that agreement, as in all negotiations, some compromise was necessary. Any compromise, however, must be viewed in light of our need to get CCPOA to the bargaining table to change an existing contract. We consulted with the Agency and Departments at every turn in those negotiations. We explored with department management the proposal that a joint labor management committee explore a plan to evaluate the effectiveness of a prison education program. But any decision regarding the effectiveness of that program will be made by qualified experts. Any videotapes to be provided under the MOU will be provided after investigations are closed and when CCPOA could obtain the tapes under a request pursuant to California's Public Records Act. We agreed to the provisions in the amended MOU only after concluding the agreement would not significantly impair management prerogative.

We remain committed to achieving true reform of the California prison system and will continue to work with the Court to that end. Rest assured that, despite recent events, our resolve remains unshaken.

As I said at the end of our July 7th meeting, the Governor is very willing to meet with you should you wish. But I want to repeat that such a meeting is not necessary to ensure that he is committed to complying with the Court's orders or reforming the CDC. We will certainly contact Ms. Smith as you request to arrange a meeting.

Sincerely,

PETER SIGGINS
Legal Affairs Secretary

cc: John Hagar, Special Master
Don Specter, Prison Law Office
Mike Jorgenson, Deputy Attorney General, San Francisco
The Honorable Jackie Speier, California State Senate
The Honorable Gloria Romero, California State Senate

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