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| Disciplining of officers questioned |
| By Los Angeles Times |
| Published: 03/29/2004 |
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When California's corrections agencies try to discipline officers and other employees, they usually are outgunned, state personnel board officials testified last Monday at a legislative hearing. In more than 60% of the cases that corrections employees appeal to the board, the penalties are reduced or thrown out. The failure rate of cases from the Department of Corrections and its juvenile equivalent, the California Youth Authority, stands out, personnel board President William Elkins said, because the five-member panel generally sustains 90% of all state government disciplinary actions that come before it. Personnel officials said officers and other corrections employees have been provided with lawyers who often were better prepared and qualified than the state's representatives. Sometimes the agencies pit employee relations officers against attorneys hired by employee unions. "Oftentimes, the department has not made that compelling a case" for discipline, said board Vice President Ronald Alvarado. The officials testified at a Senate hearing into state employee discipline and the personnel board, which passes judgment on appeals of disciplinary actions imposed by state departments. In recent weeks, the discipline of corrections employees has taken center stage in legislative hearings amid investigations into the conduct of prison officers, reports of an officer "code of silence" and court cases alleging mistreatment of prisoners. As part of a remedial plan for strengthening investigations and discipline, prison officials said, they wanted to add more attorneys to their staffs and involve them at the outset of investigations. Those steps, they said, would allow them to bring stronger cases to the personnel board. Jeanne Woodford, the state's new corrections director, said the department wanted to improve the training of employee relations officers and provide ethics training for all department employees. "We want to get our house in order," she said. |
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