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| Safety at Patton disputed |
| By sbsun.com |
| Published: 11/11/2009 |
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Public safety is threatened due to staffing cuts at Patton State Hospital that are leaving criminally insane patients under the supervision of unarmed staff, San Bernardino County Supervisor Neil Derry said Tuesday. Directly under attack: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Secretary Matthew L. Cate, who Derry says authorized the staffing changes that took effect Oct. 26. The changes resulted in a shift of several job duties from sworn correctional officers to Department of Mental Health employees, including visitor processing. "Patton's a little different than most mental health facilities," Derry said. "These are violent, insane people who snap on a regular basis. The idea of having a mental health specialist in the visitor center guarding innocent civilians is ridiculous on its face." In a letter to Derry dated Nov. 9, Cate said the duties performed by mental health employees are consistent with the duties of mental health employees at other state facilities. Derry argues that the new staffing assignments leave Patton's perimeter unguarded and vulnerable, as guards have been pulled away from posts, leaving large swaths of hospital grounds unprotected. The mental hospital neighbors the Highland Senior Center and three public schools - Serrano Middle and Belvedere and Oehl Elementary, he said. Read More. |
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The entire mental health/DoC scene is nothing but a smoke screen to cover up the facts that: 1. Mental Health as an industry creates more mental health problems, it is a self-serving business not there to rehabilitate nor cure any one of anything; 2. Department of Corrections is not correcting anything and the recidivism rate of people released from the system is an abomination. Both systems are run by the mental health industry and both are for making money for the industry so that makes it a self-sustaining action and does nothing for the public this article wants us to believe is in trouble. "Public safety" is a farcical term when used in this context without giving all of the data. 1. The drugs that are administered to these prisoners caused them to be on a short fuse. 2. Patton and all of the State Hospitals are enclosed so as to keep the prisoners grom escaping. 3. This article is just for one purpose, "Give us more money". Wake up public and let's handle this situation with sanity, money won't handle it. If it would it would be handled. Untold billions have gone down the drain and we are worse off than ever. Jeff Griffin Executive Director Citizens Commission on Human Rights