Click HERE for KCRA Video.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Direct Adverse Actions
Allegations of employee misconduct are not new, they are as old as civil service itself. Recently however, correctional managers are dealing with these reports in a manner which demonstrates their inefficiency, incompetence and inexcusable neglect of duty, any or all of which these managers will forgive of themselves while indicting subordinates for the same transgressions.
In times gone past, Wardens receiving reports of employee misconduct by supervisors against subordinates (it never works the other way around) would send these reports to either institutional investigators (ISU) or regional departmental investigators (OIA) to determine, through investigation, the veracity of the allegations, as per Chapter 3, Article 14 of the Departmental Operations Manual (DOM). In theory, the process was a valid step in the employee’s due process as, theoretically, it filtered out allegations which were unsustainable based on the available evidence. During the investigatory process, the accused would have an opportunity to present exculpatory evidence. Whether or not this evidence was well received by the investigators was largely a matter of politics. Recently however, all pretense of fairness and due process has been shed in favor of “Direct Adverse Action”.
In this, most recent, aberrational departure from the philosophy of due process, the Wardens at California’s State Prisons have embraced this terrorist tactic in adjudicating claims of misconduct by supervisors against subordinates. Claims that, oftentimes, are based on a personal dislike supported by nothing more than acerbic vitriol. It is only at the Skelley hearing, the last chance at due process prior to the implementation of the proposed adverse action, that any exculpatory evidence is allowed to be presented.
For many employees, this is the first semblance of an investigation that they receive, turning a simple hearing into a combination investigation/hearing, one in which the Peace Officer’s Procedural Bill Of Rights is, routinely, ignored because of this misuse of the Skelley proceeding.
Instead of taking up the time of cheaper wage earning investigators who should be doing the investigations, the Direct Adverse Actions consume an inordinate amount of the time of highly paid Chief Deputy Wardens in protracted investigational hearings that usually take hours to complete. It is only at this juncture that the unmeritorious nature of these charges are discovered. A nature that should have been discovered prior to the Skelley hearing, in a proper investigation wherein the Peace Officer’s Procedural Bill of Rights is observed. The high rate of the failure to sustain the allegations in Direct Adverse Actions speak for itself.
For the Wardens who have adopted this misuse of an otherwise laudable proceeding, it is they who should be attending their own Skelley hearing. If the Wardens consider themselves to be victims of inept investigators who have failed in conducting proper investigations, including affording the accused an opportunity to present exculpatory evidence, then the malfeasant investigators should be seeking new employment for wasting everybody’s time. Unfortunately, as with all else with the Department of Corrections, politics will prevent correction of this abysmal corruption of the Skelley hearing process.
My advice to the Chief Deputy Wardens, employees and employee representatives who attend these hearings is that you should pack a lunch, it will be a long day.
In times gone past, Wardens receiving reports of employee misconduct by supervisors against subordinates (it never works the other way around) would send these reports to either institutional investigators (ISU) or regional departmental investigators (OIA) to determine, through investigation, the veracity of the allegations, as per Chapter 3, Article 14 of the Departmental Operations Manual (DOM). In theory, the process was a valid step in the employee’s due process as, theoretically, it filtered out allegations which were unsustainable based on the available evidence. During the investigatory process, the accused would have an opportunity to present exculpatory evidence. Whether or not this evidence was well received by the investigators was largely a matter of politics. Recently however, all pretense of fairness and due process has been shed in favor of “Direct Adverse Action”.
In this, most recent, aberrational departure from the philosophy of due process, the Wardens at California’s State Prisons have embraced this terrorist tactic in adjudicating claims of misconduct by supervisors against subordinates. Claims that, oftentimes, are based on a personal dislike supported by nothing more than acerbic vitriol. It is only at the Skelley hearing, the last chance at due process prior to the implementation of the proposed adverse action, that any exculpatory evidence is allowed to be presented.
For many employees, this is the first semblance of an investigation that they receive, turning a simple hearing into a combination investigation/hearing, one in which the Peace Officer’s Procedural Bill Of Rights is, routinely, ignored because of this misuse of the Skelley proceeding.
Instead of taking up the time of cheaper wage earning investigators who should be doing the investigations, the Direct Adverse Actions consume an inordinate amount of the time of highly paid Chief Deputy Wardens in protracted investigational hearings that usually take hours to complete. It is only at this juncture that the unmeritorious nature of these charges are discovered. A nature that should have been discovered prior to the Skelley hearing, in a proper investigation wherein the Peace Officer’s Procedural Bill of Rights is observed. The high rate of the failure to sustain the allegations in Direct Adverse Actions speak for itself.
For the Wardens who have adopted this misuse of an otherwise laudable proceeding, it is they who should be attending their own Skelley hearing. If the Wardens consider themselves to be victims of inept investigators who have failed in conducting proper investigations, including affording the accused an opportunity to present exculpatory evidence, then the malfeasant investigators should be seeking new employment for wasting everybody’s time. Unfortunately, as with all else with the Department of Corrections, politics will prevent correction of this abysmal corruption of the Skelley hearing process.
My advice to the Chief Deputy Wardens, employees and employee representatives who attend these hearings is that you should pack a lunch, it will be a long day.
The Blogmaster
Monday, April 23, 2007
Conditional/Continuous Post & Bid Results-5/07
The results for April's Continuous and Conditional Post and bid are in:
Click HERE to see the results.
Click HERE to see the correction.
The Blogmaster
Click HERE to see the results.
Click HERE to see the correction.
The Blogmaster
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Site Tools - Clocks, Calendar and Calculators.
A simple four gadget sidebar (Windows Vista Not Required).
Since this web page is hosted on the free version of Geocities, which adds a script line to the page code that disables resizing scripts and adds advertising, the following steps must be taken if you wish to keep this page on your desktop while you utilize your browser for other tasks.
Right click on the link then, from the fly-out menu, select "Open link in new window". When the new page opens, resize it to fit your needs. If the "SPONSORED LINKS" that appear on the right of the page get in the way, you may close them before resizing:
The Blogmaster
I have added a clock, calendar, count down/up clock (flash) and calculator (javascript) page which is accessible in the left margin of this blog under the heading "Helpful Stuff for You".
Since this web page is hosted on the free version of Geocities, which adds a script line to the page code that disables resizing scripts and adds advertising, the following steps must be taken if you wish to keep this page on your desktop while you utilize your browser for other tasks.
Right click on the link then, from the fly-out menu, select "Open link in new window". When the new page opens, resize it to fit your needs. If the "SPONSORED LINKS" that appear on the right of the page get in the way, you may close them before resizing:
The Blogmaster
Friday, April 13, 2007
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Manuel A. Gonzalez Jr. Memorial Highway
A Senate panel approved a resolution by state Sen. Gloria Negrete McLeod, D-Chino, to dedicate part of Highway 71 in San Bernardino County as the Correctional Officer Manuel A. Gonzalez Jr. Memorial Highway...(More . . .)
Friday, April 6, 2007
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Daily Bulletin, 4/4/07 - Chino mayor, corrections secretary visit crowded CIM
'I expected what I saw'
Chino mayor, corrections secretary visit crowded CIM
By Shelli DeRobertis, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 04/03/2007 11:44:42 PM PDT
Chino mayor, corrections secretary visit crowded CIM
By Shelli DeRobertis, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 04/03/2007 11:44:42 PM PDT
CHINO - A top state official saw for himself the cramped and hot conditions of the California Institution for Men in a special tour past prison beds Tuesday. (More . . .)
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Another Brick In The Wall
Click the Play button above for a song about CalDORC
This agreement between the Warden and Mike Ramos concerns CCPOA. Pursuant to a grievance that was filed alleging violation of §7.04 (C), the Warden is NOW attempting to conform to this section by the appropriate language that refers ALL assaults on BU6 employees to the District Attorney for prosecution. It will be interesting to see if the District Attorney, Mike Ramos, makes himself or his representative available to sign this new agreement.
The operative question here is, “Why would a warden sign such a thing?” Pay particular attention to Page 2 under the heading “Assaults on Staff” and the exempted referrals to be found there.
The operative question here is, “Why would a warden sign such a thing?” Pay particular attention to Page 2 under the heading “Assaults on Staff” and the exempted referrals to be found there.
CLICK THE BRICK
Daily Bulletin - 4/3 - Chief: Fire crews at greater risk on CIM calls
Chief: Fire crews at greater risk on CIM calls
Article Launched: 04/03/2007 01:00:00 AM PDT
CHINO - Being a firefighter is hazardous enough, but members of the Chino Valley department take greater risks when they get called to the California Institution for Men, the fire chief says. (More . . .)
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