By Joe Rogalsky,
Delaware State News
DOVER - Two of the state's law enforcement agencies - the Department of Correction and the Delaware State Police - have made frequent headlines recently, many of them negative.
The Department of Correction has seen a spate of security lapses, most notably the July 12 incident at the Delaware Correctional Center near Smyrna, where an inmate took a counselor hostage and raped her before he was shot to death.
The agency has trouble attracting correctional officers and the state has undertaken efforts to raise pay and step up recruitment.
Lawsuits have plagued the state police for several years. The state has lost or settled several cases alleging employment and racial discrimination within its largest law enforcement agency.
Legislators and candidates for General Assembly seats have their eyes on both situations and will have to deal with them in the session that starts in January.
The prisons
A group of officials in Gov. Ruth Ann Minner's administration has been studying ways to implement recommendations from a task force on correctional issues and will report to the legislature's budget committee by Nov. 15.
Gov. Minner in August authorized a 5 percent raise for officers effective Jan. 1 and a recruitment-incentive program that started in September. Implementing the other task force recommendations, aimed at solving the staffing shortages, will be high on the General Assembly's agenda next year.
"A priority for next year's budget must be to enhance the compensation package for correctional officers," said Rep. Donna D. Stone, R-Dover, who is seeking re-election in the 32nd House of Representatives District.
"Delaware must be able to recruit new officers and retain the experienced ones if we are going to solve the hiring, staffing, turnover and morale problems that currently exist."
John McNeal, the Democratic candidate in the 32nd House District, said paying correctional officers would help reduce the shortages and benefit security.
"I think that prison guards have a difficult job with having to maintain the safety and security of the community, their fellow workers, the prisoners and themselves," Mr. McNeal said.
"I think that if we are asking them to do a tough job, we should pay them accordingly with accountability, so that we can recruit more, because there is more needed. We need to do everything possible to make sure that we never have another brutal and incomprehensible situation that happened at the Smyrna correction facility."
Democrat Nick Mirro, a Lewes attorney running in the 37th House District, said to solve the prisons issues state officials needs to talk to the officers who work in facilities every day.
"Having the benefit of being friends with a few of the guards, I know they have an extremely thankless job in which we, as legislators, need to do all we can to keep their morale high," Mr. Mirro said.
"More importantly, prison guards' concerns need to be balanced with as much resources as we implement to ensure ideal work conditions and prisoner control."
Rep. Joseph W. Booth, R-Georgetown, the 37th District incumbent, said with the economy improving and state revenue rising, money should be available in the budget to help the correctional officers. Delaware's pay system for correctional officers falls below surrounding states, which leads officers trained in Delaware to transfer elsewhere.
"Pay incentives for the Delaware Department of Correction are outdated, and I have repeatedly asked why we spend more than $1 million per year to attract applicants who do not stay in the Delaware prison system," Rep. Booth said.
"A true commitment to fully staff corrections may help in the area of scheduling and the elimination of freezing staff for overtime purposes. We must implement recommendations from the union and the state, especially where there are surpluses in the state budget, when we can avoid creating dangerous workplace environments for our staff and employees."
The police
Since 2002, troopers or state police civilian employees have filed at least six lawsuits against the agency. The suits allege misconduct such as racial discrimination, denial of a promotion based on a trooper's political affiliation and illegal retaliation against troopers for speaking out about poor conditions at a firing range.
The suits have not gone unnoticed inside Legislative Hall, where several retired troopers hold General Assembly seats.
"Having been in the state police, if somebody made me mad, I took it as constructive criticism and went on and did my job," said Rep. J. Benjamin Ewing III, R-Bridgeville, who retired from state police as a lieutenant colonel.
"The people that are suing are saying they do not want to go through what everyone else is going through. I don't agree with that. I am very disappointed that troopers feel it is necessary to file a lawsuit."
Rep. Ewing is running for re-election in the 35th House District against Libertarian John Elliott, who did not respond to a question about the state police on a Delaware State News candidate questionnaire.
Rep. Bruce C. Ennis, D-Smyrna, running unopposed in the 28th District, said the lawsuits show the state needs to bolster relations with employees.
"While the series of lawsuits filed against the Delaware State Police are troubling and of great concern to me and becoming costly to the state, our civil judicial system allows redress by those who feel their labor rights have been violated," said Rep. Ennis, a retired trooper.
"Although the suits are not limited to those against the state police, each agency must make more efforts to focus more on improving labor relations."
Rep. Peter C. Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, said the suits have led to improvements in the state police's work environment. Some of the suits, he said, stemmed from political motivations and were settled only to save the state from having to pay for a trial.
"Most state police officers are highly motivated, goal-oriented individuals who do a fine job. As with any large agency, there is a small group that is motivated by other reasons than public service," said Rep. Schwartzkopf, who retired in 2003 after 25 years in the state police.
"They feel that they have been wronged in some way, and they have availed themselves of the court process. Unfortunately, for various reasons, there have been verdicts against the state police, and other cases have been settled because it was less costly than to take them to trial."
Republican Mary Spicer, who is running against Rep. Schwartzkopf in the 14th House District, said the state police should have procedures in place to resolve the disputes before lawsuits have to be filed.
"I believe that if appropriate administration and policies for the members of the state police already existed, the situations could be resolved internally," she said.
"That does not appear to be the case; consequently, I support the actions of the members of the state police.
Everett Wodiska, the 14th District's Libertarian candidate, said he is "concerned that there has been a leadership problem within that department."
The state police lawsuits have been an issue in the race for the 17th Senate District seat, which represents Dover, Camden and Wyoming.
Democratic candidate Brian J. Bushweller served as secretary of public safety, which oversees the state police, during Gov. Thomas R. Carper's administration in the late 1990s.
"If an analysis of the final decisions in the lawsuits suggests a pattern, then that pattern should be investigated and appropriate adjustments should be made to ensure the rights of the employees are protected and the mission of the agency is advanced," Mr. Bushweller said.
The incumbent in the 17th District, Senate Minority Leader Sen. John C. Still III, R-Dover, wants the legislature to form a bipartisan committee to study the issues raised in the lawsuits and recommend changes.
"I believe we have serious, ongoing morale and human resources challenges in the state police. If matters are not independently, fairly and adequately addressed, we risk further lawsuits and morale declines, which could again adversely affect one of our best agencies," Sen. Still said.
Karen Hartley-Nagle, who is running as an Independent Party candidate in the 17th District, said the suits show state government has many problems that need fixing.
"The series of lawsuits filed against the Delaware State Police are only the tip of the iceberg and validate the need for more accountability to the people by our state officials," she said.
What do you think?
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Staff writer Joe Rogalsky can be reached at 741-8226 or jrogalsky@newszap.com.
Reprinted with the permission from newszap.com www.newszap.com
