By Drew Volturo,
Delaware State News
DOVER - One year after a prison counselor was taken hostage and raped at knifepoint at Delaware Correctional Center near Smyrna, the state Department of Correction continues to labor to address staffing and security issues highlighted in the wake of the July 2004 attack.
Cassandra Arnold's abduction touched off a maelstrom of activity focused at DOC - three separate investigations, dozens of recommendations to address shortcomings, a federal lawsuit, protests from correction officers and a gubernatorial campaign issue.
Nearly all parties involved agree that mending the fences will take considerable time and effort and will be an ongoing process.
In a Wednesday interview with the Delaware State News, DOC Commissioner Stanley W. Taylor said that while much of the criticism his agency has faced was "not unfair," many strides have been made to improve the situation and prevent future incidents.
"I have spent 29 years in the Department of Correction," Mr. Taylor said. "It has always been about making this system better. As long as (Gov. Ruth Ann Minner) wants me here, that's what I'll do."
'Still struggling'
Ms. Arnold was taken hostage and raped July 12, 2004, by Scott A. Miller, a serial rapist serving 699 years for multiple assaults against women.
The incident occurred after Miller somehow moved unnoticed into a nonsecure administrative hallway and hid in a bathroom after attending Ms. Arnold's stress management class with other prisoners.
As Ms. Arnold passed the bathroom, Miller brandished a homemade knife and grabbed her.
Holding the knife to her throat, he pulled her into an office, barricaded the door with furniture, and kept rescuers at bay for nearly seven hours before he was shot and killed by a correctional officer.
Before he was shot, Miller tied Ms. Arnold up with contraband plastic wrap, raped her and then tried to kill her with his knife.
Ms. Arnold's lawsuit was filed Oct. 12 in U.S. District Court after the state rejected a $3.9 million settlement offer. It names Gov. Minner, Mr. Taylor and 11 others as defendants.
Jeffrey K. Martin, one of Ms. Arnold's attorneys, said she declined to be interviewed by the State News.
"She is still struggling on a daily basis," Mr. Martin said Friday. "She has not been able to return to a working environment."
Finding solutions
In the months following the attack, DOC launched its own investigation into the situation.
Gov. Minner appointed a task force to examine the incident and the National Institute of Corrections also drafted a report.
The latter two investigations identified numerous shortcomings in DOC's structure and made dozens of recommendations for improving conditions.
Mr. Taylor said many of the suggestions are being implemented, thanks in part to a $1.7 million budgetary allocation for fiscal 2006.
Communication issues were cited as a major problem, which Mr. Taylor said was the result of using both 400 and 800 MHz radios.
"One of the issues in prison is that 800 MHz doesn't work well in concrete and steel. You can lose communication inside," Mr. Taylor said. "And the 400 and 800 MHz radios are not always compatible."
He said DOC has approached the state Department of Technology and Information, which is recommending DOC purchase a 700 MHz system, giving the agency a uniform radio system.
DOC also has hired a contractor to examine two DCC units and look for blind spots between its video camera system and correction officer stations.
Mr. Taylor said the department is looking into purchasing cameras that pan, tilt and zoom to help officers monitor the prison units.
Although he would not go into great detail, Mr. Taylor said DOC is examining new weapons and "sophisticated monitoring equipment" to aid correction officers.
He noted that all officers already have been issued capstun, a form of pepper spray, to carry on their belts.
Another major security issue raised during the past year was the classification of prisoners.
Miller had been classified to medium security, not maximum security.
Mr. Taylor said DOC recently implemented a new classification system designed to keep inmates "in higher levels of security longer."
"We added more weight to the point values of an inmate's disciplinary infractions and we're looking at them for a longer time," he said.
Previously, the department would perform reclassifications every 90 days. That period has been extended to 12 months, Mr. Taylor said.
Disciplinary infractions, he said, now remain part of any reclassification consideration for 18 months.
Also, an inmate's criminal history going back 10 years will factor into any reclassification, an increase from five years.
Mr. Taylor said that under the new guidelines, Miller would have been held classified to maximum security.
Employee relations
One of the most important problems - and most difficult to remedy - is the constant staffing shortage DOC faces, Mr. Taylor said.
Vacancies have hovered between 230-305 out of 1,555 positions since last year, although about 40 of them have been due to military duty.
To keep the prisons staffed, DOC has used overtime, including mandatory extra time.
DOC overtime has nearly doubled since fiscal 2003, reaching 335,000 hours in fiscal 2005, costing $9.8 million.
The practice hit a wall last year when some correction officers began refusing overtime and demanded higher salaries.
"We've got to get our compensation up to a level that we can recruit and retain as many of our people as possible," Mr. Taylor said.
Correction officers have received several bumps in pay since the July 2004 attack, getting a 5 percent raise Jan. 1 to bring their pay more in line with surrounding states.
Officers also received a 3-percent raise of the midpoint of each pay grade, a $600 increase in annual hazardous duty pay and an increase of 2 percent or $1,100 - whichever is greater - when the fiscal 2006 budget took effect July 1.
And that might not be all for correction officers.
Faith Rentz, a fiscal and policy analyst for the state Office of Management and Budget, said if staffing problems persist, correction officers could get anywhere between 1-5 percent raises Jan. 1, 2006.
Mr. Taylor said it would take about "18-24 months" for DOC to work its way out of its staffing hole.
In addition to financial compensation, Mr. Taylor said DOC is attempting to bridge the gap between rank-and-file correction officers and managers, a problem many officers have cited.
Reviews of each prison's policies and procedures have included all levels of prison staff, from line staff up to deputy wardens, he said.
The department also has held labor management meetings and is encouraging managers to "get out and about and talk more, interact more," with correction officers.
"This is an ongoing process. It's a way of doing more than a project you get done," Mr. Taylor said. "Morale is an elusive goal. You continue to work to make it better."
Wilbur Justice, interim president of the Correctional Officers Association of Delaware, said there has been a noticeable improvement in relations between officers and managers, but noted that there still is work to be done.
"This hasn't resolved all the issues. It's helped to a point," Mr. Justice said Thursday.
"But it took the incident last year for the administration to realize that if they pay enough, that if we don't have to work mandatory overtime, that we wouldn't have these problems."
Mr. Justice said correction officers want the retirement period to be dropped from 30 to 25 years and the elimination of mandatory overtime.
"Families want to know that they're husband or wife is coming home for dinner," he said.
Suit pending
Herbert G. Feuerhake, one of Ms. Arnold's attorneys, said Friday that it's disturbing that some of the security failures - propped-open doors and outdated post orders - that contributed to the attack "had nothing to do with a lack of money."
Mr. Feuerhake and Mr. Martin said a June 24 ruling in U.S. District Court that the DOC could not be sued as an entity was a victory for their case because it maintained the suit against the 13 individuals, including Gov. Minner and Mr. Taylor.
The state thought the case would be dismissed there, Mr. Feuerhake said, and now there is leverage to push for a settlement or move forward to a jury trial.
"We're hoping to talk about resolving the matter. We hope they do the right thing by Cassie," he said, adding that the suit is difficult for Ms. Arnold to endure.
Mr. Feuerhake said he and Mr. Martin have reduced their settlement offer from its original $3.9 million "in an effort to get it settled," but he would not say by how much.
"We feel it's time for them to get serious and settle this case," he said.
Although he said he could not comment on the suit or much of the incident, Mr. Taylor said he seriously regrets the attack.
"We worked as hard as we could that day to reach a successful conclusion," Mr. Taylor said. "On one hand, I'm happy the hostage was alive. On the other I regret very much what happened to her."
Security upgrades
Since the July 12, 2004, attack on prison counselor Cassandra Arnold, the state Department of Correction has received dozens of recommended improvements to its prisons. DOC Commissioner Stanley W. Taylor said the agency is implementing several, including:
* Switching from a mixture of 400 and 800 MHz radios to a uniform radio system, possibly a 700 MHz system that the state Department of Technology and Information is recommending;
* Purchasing new video cameras that would pan, tilt and zoom to eliminate blind spots in two units at Delaware Correctional Center near Smyrna, where the attack occurred;
* Examining new weapons and sophisticated monitoring equipment to aid correction officers;
* Issuing capstun, a form of pepper spray, for all correction officers to carry on their belts;
* Implementing a new classification system designed to keep inmates "in higher levels of security longer" by extending the period for reclassifications from 90 days to 12 months;
* Looking at offering distance learning, take-home methods and pre- and post-shift options for refresher training for correction officers;
* Revising all policies and procedures at prisons statewide, with correction officers and management reviewing the documents together.
Staff writer Drew Volturo can be reached at 741-8296 or dvolturo@newszap.com.
Reprinted with permission from newszap.com www.newszap.com
