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A Ticking Time Bomb (Editorial)by Patti Sewall, Editor of PEACEKeeper Members, if your ears weren't already burning, they should be by the time you read this. All subjects that point to you and your profession have been the recent focus of about a bazillion news stories and editorials in darn near every major newspaper from one end of the state to the other.If overcrowding in California prisons was at one time simply a problem, it has morphed into a ticking time bomb. And there aren't many things more frightening than a ticking time bomb. The situation has officially reached "dangerous" levels, according to the experts quoted in the news reports. Dangerous, you say? I'll bet they didn't have to tell CCPOA members that, now did they? Let's see a show of hands...how many of you suspected it had long ago reached dangerous levels? And how often, and in how many ways, did this organization and its members try to tell the Department of Corrections and the state Legislature about the dangers of dismissing prison overcrowding as just some convoluted plot by CCPOA to increase membership? Tsk, tsk. In fact, the situation has so alarmed the administration that in October Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger took an unprecedented step in declaring a state of emergency in almost all of the state's correctional institutions, where we are housing 172,000 inmates in facilities designed for about half that number. The Los Angeles Times, in one of many recent reports on the subject, wrote that more than 15,000 inmates are housed in areas that are not designed for sleeping quarters, such as hallways and gyms, and about 1,500 sleep in triple-decker bunks. In addition, The Times reported more than 300 uprisings occurred at state prisons during the 12-month period prior to the governor's decree in October, as well as "hundreds of assaults." Assaults? That's nothing new. What's new is that the newspaper is mentioning the assaults at all. Why haven't we been reading about those as they happen? That would have shown that the situation became dangerous long, long ago. Another news article stated "In 2004, an independent review panel appointed by Schwarzenegger and led by former Gov. George Deukmejian concluded that crowding was at the root of the system's myriad problems," and reported the commission wrote "The key to reforming the system lies in reducing the numbers." A fairly easy answer but obviously a tough plan to put into action. There seem to be many differing viewpoints on how to reach safer ground-for the inmates, the staff, and the public. It seems everybody, from Corrections officials and government officials, to lawmakers, judges, professors, and even reporters and their editors have weighed in-publicly-on the problems that exist in the state's prisons today. In the immortal words of Elvis Presley, "a little less conversation, a little more action," is what's needed. How many departmental memos have to be pushed around before they take a real stand in the name of staff safety? How many committees have to be formed, how many committee reports have to be written, read and reviewed before the people who are able to do something actually do something? Let's leave the rash decisions and the "I am the great and powerful Oz" performances out of it and tackle it one problem at a time. Bring a little common sense and street smarts to the equation and you just might make some progress. And if you're looking for facts on how bad it really is in our institutions, our cover story this issue will give you some insight. Granted, it shows just a tip of the iceberg but it's a good place to begin. And we must begin somewhere, soon. Because if you listen carefully you can hear the faint sound of a ticking time bomb...  Print This PageBack to Volume 24, Issue 1 Back to PEACEKeeper Main Page |
