Note: Cross posted from (blogger angelzfury) Anonymoms (we are everywhere).
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http://cjonline.com/news/state/2009-10-14/governor_calls_for_prison_audit
They dont bother to mention that most all these women are of a ABUSED origin- self defense from battering dad and or trying to protect their children.
YOU ARE HERE:
Governor calls for prison audit
OCTOBER 2009 FILE PHOTOGRAPH/THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL
Inmates and staff members estimate that as many as one-third of the employees at the Topeka Correctional Facility, a prison for women in East Topeka, were involved in trafficking banned substances.
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View Gov. Mark Parkinson’s letter to Tom Beauclair, deputy director of the National Institute of Corrections, concerning an audit of the Kansas Correctional system’s policies and training procedures
U.S. Department of Justice agency asked to assist in review of policies, training procedures
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Created October 14, 2009 at 2:55pm
Updated October 15, 2009 at 9:07am
Gov. Mark Parkinson reached out to federal corrections experts Wednesday for help identifying an independent, nationally recognized prison management expert to examine state policy and training in the wake of complaints about staff sexual misconduct at Topeka Correctional Facility.
Officials with the National Institute of Corrections, an agency within the U.S. Department of Justice, were asked to assist in advancing a broad investigation of the Kansas Department of Corrections designed to promote the safety and security of the department's 3,000 employees and 8,600 inmates scattered among eight prison facilities. The all-female facility for women in East Topeka will come under special scrutiny.
"We must ensure that the policies we have in place are working, and that when people do not follow these policies, they are appropriately dealt with," Parkinson said. "An outside, objective evaluation by a nationally recognized expert will provide us the best results and most reliable information with which to move forward."
The governor's approach to the scandal unfolded 10 days after The Topeka Capital-Journal began publication of a series of stories detailing allegations that some TCF employees were trafficking in contraband and participating in sexual activities with some of the 550 female inmates incarcerated at the facility. In October 2007, an inmate became pregnant during intercourse with Anastacio "Ted" Gallardo, a TCF vocational plumbing instructor. Inmate Tracy Keith, who remains behind bars on a drug conviction, was taken by state prison staff to a Johnson County clinic for an abortion. DNA testing by the state offered a 99.99 percent assurance that Gallardo was the father of Keith's fetus.
Interviews with inmates and staff members, a review of court records and examination of hundreds of documents indicated Gallardo was involved with other women at the prison. In addition, former TCF inmates have implicated other prison employees in sexual improprieties.
"No one in our corrections system -- whether it's an employee or inmate -- should ever be exploited or abused," Parkinson said.
Parkinson had previously condemned exploitation of any inmate in the state's prison system and called upon DOC Secretary Roger Werholtz to launch a review to make certain all was being done to limit sexual contact between prisoners and corrections staff members. The governor also said his staff was exploring the potential of amending state law to raise the severity level for "unlawful sexual relations," for which Gallardo entered a guilty plea and was placed on probation in Shawnee County.
Werholtz and Parkinson have expressed confidence in a majority of DOC employees, and both said the agency had a zero-tolerance policy for sexual impropriety.
"The department deals with issues of staff misconduct each time those issues arise," Werholtz said in a statement. "Having sex with inmates and trafficking in contraband are illegal. Those laws are enforced."
TCF inmates and correctional officers at the prison estimated that as many as one-third of employees at TCF were involved in trafficking banned substances into the prison. State prison officials said a more accurate estimate was that 2 percent of state corrections department staff were involved in black market enterprises and other illegal activities on prison property.
The National Institute of Corrections' mission is to provide training, technical assistance, information services and policy development aid to federal, state and local corrections agencies.
Parkinson wants the review to be completed before the start of the 2010 legislative session in January.
Specifically, the governor sought input from Tom Beauclair, deputy director of the National Institute of Corrections, to locate a management expert "to review the policies and training procedures related to staff sexual misconduct and cross-gender supervision in the Kansas correctional system."
Parkinson will seek insight about the general effectiveness of corrections department policies and procedures, the state's training of employees on issues of sexual misconduct, prison facility reactions to allegations of staff wrongdoing, the education of inmates about avenues for reporting incidents, the adequacy of security equipment and the level of staff supervision.
Note: Cross posted from (blogger angelzfury) Anonymoms (we are everywhere).Permalink
