Archive for February, 2006
Hickman Quits Over the Weekend
Corrections Chief Rod Hickman “shocked” the Governor and his Administration over the weekend by announcing that he was quitting his job. The Administration was informed on Saturday that Hickman would be stepping down as Secretary of the CDC(R) since he began his tenure in November 2003. Jeannie Woodford, who worked as chief of the prison system’s adult division was appointed “acting secretary,” according to a statement made to the press by Schwarzenegger on Sunday.Corrections officials and employees have “mixed feelings” about Hickman’s departure. In a statement published in the LA Times on Sunday Hickman stated: “I just don’t see the courage and will we will need to get it done across the board in the government of California,” and he placed blame on CCPOA saying that “the special interests we’re up against are just too powerful to get much done in the current environment.”
It is no secret how CCPOA officials have felt about Hickman and his methods since he took his position within the department. Chuck Alexander, VP of the CCPOA, expressed “approval” over Hickman’s decision to leave and told the media over the weekend that he thought it was a good start toward getting a management team that would better be able to solve the problems of the agency. Of why he thought Hickman had decided to leave he said, “Maybe the political pressure brought to bear by his numerous failings has finally caught up to him, and he realized he wasn’t the man for the job. I think the heat was turning up and that he was smart enough to realize it. This way, he goes out on his own terms and not somebody else’s.”
And indeed the heat was turning up as Hickman faced a re-confirmation hearing in the near future and had been recently upbraided by State Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero on February 2nd over what she called “the slow pace of prison reform.” Hickman and Woodford walked out of that hearing before the session had even been completed following a heated exchange with the senator.
The Governor’s Administration says that it expects a “seamless transition” from Hickman to Woodford, saying that Woodford “commands a great deal of respect and confidence” and is prepared to immediately become the new secretary.
Settin’ the Story Straight
The rumor mill was working overtime today… it’s time to set the story straight…
On February 22nd the local chapter and the administration had a joint labor meeting regarding issues that affect the officers on third watch. We brought up the issue of using the 2130 hour count to hold staff back on the yards and publicly announcing that the count cleared at 10 till 10 was brought up. In this issue it was the local chapter’s position that count shouldn’t be used to hold staff on the yard. The Chief Deputy Warden and the Custody Captain agreed with the local chapter that the count should not be used to hold staff on the yard. The Custody Captain stated that he would make a new memo out that central control could clear count on the Public Address system at 2145 instead of 2150 - but that it did not excuse staff to leave at 2145. The union did not agree OR request that said memo should be created regarding the 2145 clearing of the count - our request was that it be cleared “when it was cleared.”
Today, it came down through the grapevine that the local chapter basically “snitched” on yard supervisors and said that supervisors were not doing their job on the yard and allowing officers to leave “anytime they want.” This board member had been contacted directly today and asked by a Lieutenant why we “snitched on them,” and stated that Captain Ochoa told the supervisors that the union “told on you guys,” referring to lieutenants and sergeants.
This is completely false. This is nothing more than the administration wanting to place a reprisal upon the local chapter for bringing the issues to them, in the hopes that the membership would turn against their own union.
Remember the DOM states that counts will be cleared by Public Address system when they clear. This does not mean for the administration to use it to their advantage or to use the clear count for something that it was not intended for. All we ask is that administration follow the DOM, just as they expect the officers to follow it.
If you have any questions regarding this matter - or the local chapter’s position on this matter - please contact a board member directly, rather than buying into anything that’s been spread around the rumor mill.
CCPOA Reveals Inmates at Pelican Bay Gained Access to Staff Information Access
The California Correctional Peace Officers Association revealed to the press today that it has discovered that inmates at Pelican Bay State Prison had gained access to personal staff information such as Social Security numbers, birth dates, pension account information, etc. CCPOA also revealed that inmates at Pelican Bay were assigned to work in a position that gave them access to prison blueprints in a warehouse where the information was stored.
CCPOA President Mike Jimenez said, “This puts people working at the prison and their families at terrible physical and financial risk, exposing them to fraud and identity theft and letting inmates know where they live.”
In fact, one inmate who was discovered with confidential records had already questioned another inmate who was serving time for identity theft how he could use the information he’d obtained.
A spokesperson for the department stated that it was being investigated, but at the same time said, “preliminary reports indicate that none of the information got outside the institution.” It was uncertain how many inmates had come in contact with the personal information, and the spokesperson added that would be a part of the investigation.
Chuck Alexander stated that it was uncertain how many inmates were assigned to work in that area but added, that “if one of them has [the information] and carries it back to his living area, it could be accessible to several hundred inmates.”
According to CCPOA representatives, the inmates who gained access to the information directly were level-one inmates.