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| Arizona Department of Corrections under fire |
| By KOLD-TV |
| Published: 03/08/2004 |
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The Governor's Blue Ribbon Panel came up with almost 70 recommendations to improve the Arizona Department of Corrections after Ricky Wassenaar and Steven Coy were able to overtake two corrections officers and hold them hostage for 15 days. The panel reports, the officers at the Lewis Complex were not equipped or trained to respond effectively as a team to an armed inmate. The Director of the Arizona Department of Corrections, Dora Schriro responded to the report, "We need to revisit our curricula for pre-service training, as well as our strategies for on-the-job training." Another problem the panel found, the officers are underpaid. A problem, Schriro says, is being addressed. "We've developed a pretty good compensation package that really spoke and addresses many of the problems." The panels recommendation, the Department of Corrections should undertake a comprehensive analysis of its pay scale, including a comparison with the pay scales of federal, county and municipal correctional entities in Arizona and of surrounding states. The panel also finds Wassenaar and Coy were too familiar with officer routines, and kitchen duty was not appropriate for the two violent offenders. Schriro says, "Changing the method of delivery, it enables us to stay on our toes and keeps them off balance." The panel recommends, rotate inmates' work assignments and schedules so that they have less opportunity to familiarize themselves with officers' routines and work habits. The Arizona Department of Corrections has already started making changes at the Lewis Complex in Buckeye, it's named a new warden. |
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