By Joe Rogalsky,
Delaware State News
DOVER - Several weeks after the release of two reports analyzing a July 12 incident at Delaware Correctional Center, the Department of Correction has tightened security and is working on changes to how prison staffs determine where to house inmates.
Commissioner of Corrections Stanley W. Taylor said Thursday that many of the recommendations contained in the two evaluations will be implemented by the end of the year, with the rest in place by April 2006.
Some suggestions, such as equipment upgrades and salary increases, require the legislature to appropriate money.
On July 12, convicted rapist Scott A. Miller took a prison counselor hostage, holding her for nearly seven hours and raping her before a correctional officer shot him to death.
In February, a task force appointed by Gov. Ruth Ann Minner released findings that showed administrative, staffing and security deficiencies.
The National Institute of Corrections, a federal agency, issued a report released in March that also faulted lax security at DCC.
Miller, serving a 699-year sentence for multiple rapes, slipped away from DCC's mess area and entered an administrative office area where inmates are not allowed before seizing the counselor.
He was housed in the prison's medium-security unit. How a convicted violent sex offender could freely move about the facility raised many questions.
Mr. Taylor said the agency's inmate classification system, implemented four years ago, allowed Miller to be in the medium-security unit.
DOC is now developing a new system that will allow the prison staff to automatically keep an inmate at a higher security level even if they qualify for a lower level of security, Mr. Taylor said.
For example, prison staff could automatically keep rapists with long sentences in maximum security, where inmates have less freedom than in medium security.
DOC is also altering the method it uses to calculate how inmates are assigned to security levels to make it tougher for inmates to qualify for less security.
The system, which Mr. Taylor said would be implemented within two months, will be regularly evaluated by outside experts.
"There will be some tightening down and some automatic overrides that will deal with length of sentence and type of offense," Mr. Taylor told the Delaware State News.
At DCC, Mr. Taylor said, inmate movement through the facility is monitored much more closely than before July 12.
Officers monitoring the movements have better instruction and training, he said, and supervisors walk through DCC to make sure security measures are followed.
Supervisors, including Chief of Prisons Paul Howard and Mr. Taylor, will be holding surprise inspections to ensure the new procedures are being followed.
"We are doing some back-to-basics training," Mr. Taylor said.
Some changes cannot be implemented immediately because the department needs funding from the legislature.
Gov. Minner included $1.7 million in her operating budget proposal to fund recommendations from the report. The new budget starts July 1.
Correctional officers have already seen several pay increases in the past year, but more could be coming.
Mr. Taylor said he will be working with legislators to decide how to spend the $1.7 million, and additional pay raises could be on the way.
In addition to pay, he said DOC also is looking at ways to stagger shifts so newer officers are not always stuck with the least-desirable hours.
DOC has 332 open correctional officer positions as of Thursday, but 32 are officers who are on active military duty. When officers are activated to military duty, their positions must be kept open for them to fill when they return.
"We are still working hard to fill the vacancies," Mr. Taylor said.
"We are still working with the legislature, the budget director and the governor to try to raise the level of compensation and bring the level of retention up.
"We are making progress. The quality of the applicants is improving. Our recruiting classes are a little larger. It takes us two months to train each class, so it will take us a little while to close the gap. This is not going to be solved overnight."
Legislative view
Sen. James T. Vaughn, D-Clayton, chairman of the Senate Corrections Committee, said he has no plans to hold hearings about DOC's actions since the July 12 incident.
Earlier this year, before the reports were released, Sen. Vaughn said he would hold hearings if he were not satisfied with the reports.
"We have to give them a chance to do some things," said Sen. Vaughn, a former corrections commissioner.
Rep. John C. Atkins, R-Millsboro, and Sen. Vaughn said they are working on proposals to increase officers' pay.
One proposal the two are considering would move correctional officers up two pay grades in the state's salary structure.
Another would reward correctional officers for longevity and good performance.
Any changes in pay would likely be decided in mid-May when the legislative Joint Finance Committee crafts the state's fiscal 2006 operating budget, which takes effect July 1.
"The problem is they still have a shortage of correctional officers," said Rep. Atkins, chairman of the House Corrections Committee.
"That is due to a lack of fair compensation. I am working on that."
Union interest
Paul Smith, president of the Correctional Officers Association of Delaware, said his group will be talking about DOC changes during its general membership meeting next week.
COAD's executive board intended to discuss steps the agency has taken during its meeting Thursday night.
The officers' union wants to hear from members who work at different DOC facilities to gauge what's going on, Mr. Smith said.
"We know they are trying to do some things," he said.
"We want to talk about what is happening. We'll know more next week after our meeting."
Staff writer Joe Rogalsky can be reached at 741-8226 or jrogalsky@newszap.com.
Reprinted with permission from newszap.com www.newszap.com
