Special Report: CDCR Implementation of the Non-Revocable Parole Program

Findings in Brief

The Office of the Inspector General finds that:

• The Automated CSRA Instrument Inaccurately Assesses a Number of Offenders
• The Automated CSRA Instrument Uses Incomplete Conviction Data
• The Automated CSRA Instrument Inconsistently Applies Juvenile Data when Calculating Risk Assessment Scores
• CDCR’s Initial Policy Regarding Juveniles Convicted of Serious or Violent Felonies was Incorrect

Accountability Audit Review of CDCR (2010-2011)

This comprehensive accountability audit presents the results of the Office of the Inspector General’s annual follow-up of previous audit and special review recommendations issued to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and the California Prison Health Care Services (CPHCS). In this accountability audit, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) assesses CDCR’s and CPHCS’ progress in implementing past recommendations from nine audits and special reviews affecting CDCR. We found that CDCR implemented 61 (or 82 percent) of the 74 recommendations we made that were still applicable and that were counted in our assessment. In addition, we separately made three recommendations to CPHCS in one of the nine reports and found that CPHCS implemented two (or 67 percent) of those recommendations...

OIG Releases Special Report: August 2009 Riot at CIM

Findings in Brief

The Office of the Inspector General finds that:

• The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation failed to house a suitable inmate population at CIM’s Reception Center West

• Despite the liabilities of the facility’s design, CIM staff responded effectively to the August 2009 riot at Reception Center West

Accountability Audit Review of 2000-2003 Audits for CYA

From the Executive Summary of the OIG's report:
In the past four years, the Office of the Inspector General has performed nine audits identifying deficiencies in the institutions and programs of the California Youth Authority and has issued 241 recommendations to address the problems. The Youth Authority agreed with nearly all the recommendations at the time the audits were issued and promised to fix the deficiencies. The Accountability Audit presented here determined that 57 percent of the previous recommendations have been fully or substantially implemented, but additional progress is needed. Many of the deficiencies that have not been corrected are central to the Youth Authority's core mission of rehabilitating the young men and women entrusted to its care. For example, my office found that some wards are still confined to cells 23 hours per day with little access to the education and counseling services that are so critical to rehabilitation efforts.

October-December 2005 Quarterly Audit

The Office of the Inspector General investigates and audits the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to uncover criminal conduct, administrative wrongdoing, poor management practices, waste, fraud, and other abuses. This quarterly report summarizes the audit and investigation activities of the Office of the Inspector General for the period October 1, 2005 through December 31, 2005. The report satisfies the provisions of California Penal Code sections 6129(c)(2) and 6131(c), which require the Inspector General to publish a quarterly summary of investigations completed during the reporting period, including the conduct investigated and any discipline recommended and imposed. To provide a more complete overview of the Inspector General's activities and findings, this report also summarizes audits, special reviews, and warden candidate evaluations conducted by the office during the fourth quarter.

Review: Salinas Valley State Prison, Quadrennial

The purpose of this audit was to satisfy our statutory requirement to audit each warden one year after appointment and to audit each correctional institution at least once every four years. The report revealed that Warden Michael Evans has a reputation for integrity and professionalism, and he has gained many supporters among the employees at SVSP. Managers and staff members alike describe Evans as an effective administrator who provides strong leadership...

Special Review: California Prison Health Care Receivership 2007-2008

Special Review of California Prison Health Care Receivership Corporation Use of State Funds for Fiscal Year 2007-2008 as conducted by David R. Shaw, Inspector General of the California Office of the Inspector General (OIG): Our review found that the receivership spent $51.2 million during the year for its operating costs and long-term capital assets purchased on behalf of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). This amount represents four percent of the $1.4 billion spent in fiscal year 2007-2008 to provide medical care to CDCR's adult inmate population. The largest expense category was capital assets, for which the receivership spent $28.7 million. In addition, the receivership spent $13.5 million on professional fees, $7.3 million on employee compensation and benefits, and $1.7 million on other expenses and travel...

Quadrennial Audit of CSP-Solano

The report presents four findings and 19 recommendations. Specifically, we identified wasteful warehousing and procurement practices that may have cost millions of dollars statewide. Some of these purchases were made by Health Care Services Division employees under the direction of the former receiver. Consequently, we have also sent a copy of the report to the receiver and his response is included as part of this report. In addition to the warehousing and procurement issues, we found that the insitituion was not effectively using its limited resources to rehabilitate inmates, the department's firearms training policies were deficient, and the institution was not adequately protecting inmate central files. Your response to these findings and recommendations is included in the report...

Special Review: CDCR’s Office of Internal Affairs Information Security

Enclosed is the final report of a special review conducted by the Office of the Inspector General into the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's information security over internal affairs investigations. Specifically, we assessed whether the department's Office of Internal Affairs (OIA) takes appropriate security measures to protect personal, confidential, and sensitive data from unauthorized access or use and whether OIA maintains proper accountability of its laptop computers. The review found that OIA violated numerous state rules by not adequately protecting the personal, sensitive, and confidential data stored on its agents' laptop computers. In addition, OIA agents and managers are violating state requirements by sending emails with confidential material to unsecured email addresses...

Special Review: Inmate Cell Phone Use Endangers Prison Security and Public Safety

During our review, the Office of the Inspector General found that the possession of cell phones in prison facilities by inmates has increased significantly during the past three years and poses a threat to the safety and security of California's prison staff, inmates, and the general public. We also found that the growing number of cell phones in prison facilities is a direct indicator that the methods used by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to interdict their introduction or possession have mostly proven ineffective. The report contains the results of our review including four conclusions and ten recommendations...

Semi-Annual Report on CDCR July-December 2008

In this semi-annual report, you will see that the bureau’s monitoring responsibilities have continued to expand. In this reporting period, the bureau reports more cases than in any previous semi-annual report. The bureau also implemented a new pilot program to provide in-depth review of in-custody deaths. I look forward to presenting the results of the pilot program in future public reports. As this report demonstrates, the oversight model continues to have a significant effect on the department’s operations. During the July through December 2008 reporting period, the department continued to improve its overall compliance with its own policies and procedures...

Accountability Audit Review of CDCR 2000-2007

Enclosed is the Office of the Inspector General's 2009 Accountability Audit of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. This two-chapter audit analyzes 114 open recommendations from ten prior reports and special reviews. Chapter 1 presents the results from our first follow-up audit of 94 recommendations made in three special reviews and one audit completed in 2007. Chapter 2 presents the results from our follow-up review of 20 recommendations made in six audits and special reviews issued from 2000 through 2006. Overall, we found that the department is making progress and has fully or substantially implemented roughly 60 percent of our recommendations. Work remains for forty-two of our recommendations, including the completion of changes that will ensure safe treatment and programming for juvenile offenders...

January-March 2009 Quarterly Audit

This quarterly report summarizes the OIG's audit and investigation activities for the period of January 1, 2009, through March 31, 2009. The report satisfies the provisions of California Penal Code sections 6129(c)(2) and 6131(c), which require the Inspector General to publish a quarterly summary of investigations completed during the reporting period, including the conduct investigated and any discipline recommended and imposed. To provide a more complete overview of our inspectors' activities and findings, this report also summarizes audit activities, warden and superintendent candidate evaluations, and facility and medical inspections completed during the first quarter of 2009. All the activities reported were carried out under California Penal Code section 6125 et seq., which assigns our office responsibility for independent oversight of CDCR.

Review: California Institute for Men, Quradrennial & Warden Audit

The purpose of the audit was to satisfy our statutory requirement to audit each warden one year after appointment and to audit each correctional institution at least once every four years. The report revealed that Warden Michael Poulos has a reputation for integrity and professionalism, and he gained many supporters among the employees at CIM. Interviews and surveys reveal that most staff members feel Poulos is an effective leader who is usually accessible to the staff and responsive to institution problems...

Review: California State Prison-Sacramento, Medical Inspection Results

Consistent with our agreement with the Receiver's Office, the purpose of our inspection was to evaluate and monitor the progress of medical care delivery to inmates at the institution. The report finds that, based on our weighted scoring system encompassing 20 components, California State Prison, Sacramento received 65.2 percent of the total weighted points possible. The report contains a detailed breakdown of the institution's score in each of the 20 relevant categories, including the results of all 145 questions...

October-December 2008 Quarterly Audit

This quarterly report summarizes the OIG's audit and investigation activities for the period of October 1, 2008, through December 31, 2008. The report satisfies the provisions of California Penal Code sections 6129(c)(2) and 6131(c), which require the Inspector General to publish a quarterly summary of investigations completed during the reporting period, including the conduct investigated and any discipline recommended and imposed. To provide a more complete overview of our inspectors' activities and findings, this report also summarizes audit activities, warden and superintendent candidate evaluations, and facility and medical inspections completed during the fourth quarter of 2008. All the activities reported were carried out under California Penal Code section 6125 et seq., which assigns our office responsibility for independent oversight of CDCR.

The Use of Deadly Force Against Parolee Delvin Wright by the California Department of Corrections

Last year, a parole agent for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (the department) chased and fired one gunshot at a dangerous parolee, Delvin Wright, during an arrest operation. The shot missed, no one was hurt, and the parolee was arrested. However, the operational tactics used by the parole agent before and during the shooting unnecessarily endangered the agent and several uniformed police officers, who were potentially in the line of fire, as shown in the attached graphic. Within 24 hours, the department cleared the parole agent of any wrongdoing based solely on the agent's account of the shooting, while ignoring numerous and conflicting outside police reports calling into question the agent's operational tactics...

July-September 2008 Quarterly Audit

This quarterly report summarizes the OIG's audit and investigation activities for the period July 1, 2008, through September 30, 2008. The report satisfies the provisions of California Penal Code sections 6129(c)(2) and 6131(c), which require the Inspector General to publish a quarterly summary of investigations completed during the reporting period, including the conduct investigated and any discipline recommended and imposed. To provide a more complete overview of our inspectors' activities and findings, this report also summarizes audit activities, warden and superintendent candidate evaluations, and facility and medical inspections completed during the third quarter of 2008. All the activities reported were carried out under California Penal Code section 6125 et seq., which assigns our office responsibility for independent oversight of the CDCR.

Accountability Audit: Review of 2000-06 CDCR Audits

This comprehensive accountability audit presents the results of the Office of the Inspector General's annual follow-up review of previous recommendations issued to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). In this accountability audit, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) assesses the department's progress in implementing past recommendations from 37 audits and special reviews affecting the CDCR's Adult Operations and Programs, Division of Juvenile Justice, and Board of Parole Hearings. Overall, we found that the CDCR has improved its record for implementing our recommendations, but our audit also revealed that some critical recommendations remain unaddressed.

April-June 2008 Quarterly Audit

This quarterly report summarizes the OIG's audit and investigation activities for the period April 1, 2008, through June 30, 2008. The report satisfies the provisions of California Penal Code sections 6129(c)(2) and 6131(c), which require the Inspector General to publish a quarterly summary of investigations completed during the reporting period, including the conduct investigated and any discipline recommended and imposed. To provide a more complete overview of our inspectors' activities and findings, this report also summarizes audit activities, warden and superintendent candidate evaluations, and facility and medical inspections completed during the second quarter of 2008. All the activities reported were carried out under California Penal Code section 6125 et seq., which assigns our office responsibility for independent oversight of the CDCR.