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| Managing High Profile Inmates in Corrections |
| By Corrections Connection Staff |
| Published: 01/13/2002 |
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From the largest prison to the smallest jail, the ability to adequately handle the arrival of high profile inmates and the management issues that follow are essential. When the notoriety of the person or the crime is of interest to people both inside and out of corrections' walls, it is important that staff act as professionally and appropriately as they would with any other inmate. 'For the most part, staff are trained to treat all inmates with respect and follow the [California Department of Corrections] codes of ethics,' says Terry Thornton, Information Officer II for the CDC. 'They are supposed to have this behavior towards all inmates.' The CDC is no stranger to dealing with high profile inmates. In special cases during the classification process, if the inmate meets one or more administrative or irregular placement conditions - or administrative determinants - departmental officials may house the inmate in a facility with a classification level that differs from their classification score. If an offender comes into the system with a case that has caused great public interest and high notoriety of the individual, they are designated with an administrative determinant of 'PUB.' The CDC has a list of 27 administrative determinants used for inmates. For example, the code 'ARS' would indicate an inmate with a present or prior conviction of arson, thus avoiding the placement of that individual in a facility constructed primarily of wood. The code 'GAN' would indicate that the inmate is documented as having gang membership and may require special attention or placement consideration within a facility. As of November 2001, the CDC had 192 inmates designated with the 'PUB' administrative determinant. Inmates are further designated as Public Interest Cases (PIC) when 'the crime, circumstances of the offense, or subsequent conduct results in unusual public concern as evidenced by extensive media coverage beyond the local community,' according to Thornton. 'Being designated a PIC only means that the CDC Communications Office and others are notified if the inmate is involved in any incidents or other activities likely to draw public attention,' she adds. 'The designation has no impact on program, credits or privileges of the inmate.' Thornton says that while most receive designations at the time of their arrival and initial classification, there are inmates who gain notoriety while already in a CDC facility. For example, she notes the case of Paul 'Cornfed' Schneider, one of the inmates suspected of running an attack dog ring from behind prison walls. Early last year, a San Francisco woman was killed by a dog belonging to one of her neighbors. Upon further investigation, the dog was found to be kept by a pair of attorneys who had adopted Schneider, thus drawing attention to the inmate already being held in Pelican Bay State Prison's secure housing unit due to his affiliation with the Aryan Brotherhood. Housing Issues The fact that inmates are designated as PIC or PUB, is not necessarily a factor in where they are housed, says Thornton. As an example, she points to the case of actor Robert Downey Jr., who is currently on parole. 'Because of drug abuse problems, he was housed at a substance abuse treatment facility where an inmate with his problems would go and he shared a dorm in a therapeutic community with about 12 other individuals,' she says. 'Substance abuse treatment was needed, so he was not isolated from the general population there.' On the other hand, inmates like Charles Manson, Sirhan Sirhan and mass murderer Juan Corona have been placed in the isolation of a secure housing unit at the California State Prison in Corcoran. This is the case because their high notoriety has brought threats on their lives by others. 'Other inmates could see it as a 'feather in their cap' to attack or assault [someone like this], so they are at a higher risk,' says Thornton. In some cases, high profile inmates are not isolated from others, but instead placed in 'sensitive needs facilities' where they are housed with others whose notoriety could make them a target for predatory inmates. Offenders that fall into this category include child molesters, those who have dropped out of gangs, peace officers and others who gain attention due to the notoriety of their offense. Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, California, is home to a number of high profile inmates both in two sensitive needs facilities and among the general population. Having such a population at this facility brings with it unique management issues that can affect other inmates and staff. Rich Subia, a spokesperson for Mule Creek says that one of the problems that the facility deals with is the possibility of extortion of high profile inmates. As an example, Subia refers to an inmate housed in Facility 'A,' one of the sensitive needs units - Lyle Menendez. The well-to-do Menendez, along with his brother Erik, was convicted of the first-degree murder of their parents and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Inmates like Menendez with substantial financial resources and little knowledge of the criminal lifestyle, says Subia, have been the target of other inmates trying to get them to bring in drugs, send money to friends on the outside or pay a 'fee' for staying at the prison alongside them. While the facility acts immediately if there is the suspicion of extortion, Subia says these inmates will likely draw attention like this throughout their sentence. 'We have the ability to stop extortion if told about it or if we find out about it and act quickly to diffuse the problem,' he says. 'These inmates will always have problems. They may bring on their own publicity and we might be able to disperse them throughout the state. But when parole comes up and media finds out, they are back in the news again and other inmates find out about the notoriety of their case [through that media exposure].' According to Thornton, some inmates do follow who is coming into the system through television and newspapers. While notoriety can come not only from the nature of a crime but also in noticing the face of the offender, some with celebrity-status are quickly recognized. 'Take Suge Knight, co-founder of Death Row Records,' she says. 'A lot of inmates had heard of him. He was in general population, not isolated from others and inmates knew who he was.' Enforcing 'No Special Treatment' Housed at Mule Creek during part of his sentence, Knight is a prime example of another management issue staff need to be aware of, says Subia. With notoriety can come manipulation of both staff and inmates in a facility. Subia recalls a staff member at another prison becoming too familiar with Knight and losing his job as a result. To counter the influence of some more noted inmates, the facility relies on two key methods. 'To avoid manipulation, we use education and training,' says Subia. 'We continue to instill in [staff] to remain professional and follow the Director's mission, and that there will be outcomes if they violate the rules. The best training is examples. We've had staff who got over familiar with an inmate and got fired. If they cross the line, there may be legal charges that follow and staff see that.' Subia adds that they may have to pull an officer aside and say that others have noticed that it appears there is more than a professional relationship with a certain offender. This can manifest itself in several ways, he says, such as spending more time with one inmate than others and giving them cleaner clothes or better equipment. 'Sometime, they come to you and say 'I need to be moved where I can have no contact' [with that inmate],' says Subia. 'Once they cross the line, they will lose their job and be terminated - most, however, resign.' According to Subia, over the last 4 1/2 years, Mule Creek has separated 18 staff members for over familiarity with inmates. Over the last five years, he estimates that two staff members have had action taken against them for over familiarity as well. Like staff, other inmates can also be manipulated by high profile inmates. Examples of this can include a worker in the kitchen smuggling back food and snacks or giving larger portions to a high profile inmate. 'We also have to watch that and need to let [other inmates] know that notoriety means no benefits while incarcerated,' says Subia, who warns that inmates will face the same fate as staff members for the same over familiarity. For inmates, if they work in the kitchen or in any job, he says, they have rules and regulations that accompany that role. If they violate that, they will also lose their job. 'We'll take away that job assignment which they receive credit or pay for,' says Subia. 'As an organization, we need to make it well known that because we have high profile inmates doesn't mean that they'll receive preferential treatment. We need others to see that and understand it.' Dealing With the Media The CDC's media policies (www.cdc.state.ca.us/news/2002/mediapol.htm) allow members of the press to contact any inmate housed in a state facility to set up an interview or meeting. Thornton recalls a reporter for Vanity Fair who contacted Robert Downey Jr. during his incarceration, gave his contact information, filled out a visiting questionnaire, became one of the actor's visitors and wrote his article after five visits. 'There are ways the media can do this within the law,' she says. 'They can't, however, have me arrange an interview with an inmate - we are not agents for convicted felons.' What surprises Thornton is the number of media personnel that assume that these high profile inmates want to talk to them and the shock they express to her when their letter or phone call is not reciprocated. By policy, the department leaves it up to the inmate as to whether they want to get in touch with members of the press or not. The media is still fascinated with high profile inmates, however. One of the most telling statistics, according to Thornton, is that her office received more calls from the media when Downey Jr. was released early from prison that they did in February of last year when there was a riot at Pelican Bay State Prison. Jails Take the First Hit High profile and celebrity inmates are not only a problems for long-term correctional facilities. In fact, county and city jails are the first places to house inmates while they await and undergo trial proceedings. But with fewer resources than their state and federal counterparts, these agencies are often overwhelmed by the attention a high profile inmate brings. 'In high profile cases, jails will receive the individual first and will be very close to the local media and will receive a barrage or tidal wave of interest,' said Arthur Wallenstein, Director of Corrections for the Montgomery County, Md, Detention Center. Wallenstein was the Director of the King County, Wash., facility that held Mary Kay Letourneau, the schoolteacher who was convicted of child-rape for a relationship with her student. The interest primarily comes from media outlets but also from the public. Wallenstein said jails officials and staff should be prepared. 'Media involvement will be daily and will not cease. Jails need to be prepared for staff members to be engaged by the media when coming to work, when departing from work or even to be followed into the community as press seek stories,' he said. Eric Seleznow, Public Information Director for the Montgomery County Detention Center, experienced the media frenzy first hand when only six months into his position, boxer Mike Tyson was arrested and incarcerated at the jail. 'We've never seen anything like this before. Our interactions with the press [before this] were trying to get them to cover some of the programs we were doing. This media market is pretty intense. This was literally 200 phone calls a day. It would cripple this office. Pager batteries were burning out from people wanting information,' he said. Seleznow said the problem got worse when Tyson was involved in a disciplinary incident in the jail when he threw a television and assaulted officers. At that point, he said, the jail's normally private disciplinary process became 'very public.' 'I learned a lot about putting information out there ahead of time. We found ourselves holding press conferences. It was the only way to alleviate the phone calls and the pressure,' Seleznow said. Decisions about how to handle these issues related to high profile inmates should be broached long before a celebrity inmate is incarcerated. Policies Made Ahead of Time According to Wallenstein, jails need clear policies on a variety of things from press interviews to housing considerations for high profile inmates. 'Some jurisdictions do permit press interviews with attorney approval, while others do not for it creates a circus within the jail. It needs to be remembered that any prisoner has public access, through their attorney or through those who visit or by telephone,' Wallenstein said. Staff should also be briefed regularly, daily in some cases, after the incarceration of a high profile inmate. Briefings on developments in an inmate's case or changes in supervision will help prepare staff for what they can expect from the press or from the inmate. Staff may require reminders that all contact with such a prisoner be professional at all times and may need warnings that they may be approached by the press. According to Seleznow, staff at the Montgomery County facility were very professional despite the initial curiosity factor, 'We have a saying that everyone looks the same in a green jumpsuit. Our staff was super,' he said. Seleznow said the administration did have to take certain precautions because of the persistence of the press. 'We had to lock up his records because there were press people willing to pay money to [staff] to get a mug shot,' he said. 'There is no alternative for practice and preparation. This area should be engaged in every jail, from the largest to the smallest and from urban environments to the most rural,' Wallenstein said. Other issues that should be addressed ahead of time include whether the high profile inmate will need special housing. Some jails have separate units where a high profile inmate might be housed, but classification principles should be adhered to. '[A jail] might segregate a prisoner whose safety would be in jeopardy whether it be a high profile prisoner or any other prisoner and where there was potential fear for their safety,' said Wallenstein. 'That's a generally accepted practice in quality classification decision making.' Another area that needs to be considered is high-tech communication and its impact on a jail during the incarceration of a high profile person. High Tech Headaches During the incarceration of Mary Kay Letourneau, staff at the King County Jail had a host of issues to consider including appropriate staffing, press inquiries and housing. According to Wallenstein, no one expected the security issues that would arise from email communication and the Internet. 'Computer technology opens complete new dimensions of engagement for jails regarding high profile prisoners. Groups in the community will establish support elements which may include web sites, email campaigns and other creations which literally can become global with a keystroke,' he said. In King County, staff had to contend with a web site in England that issued daily reports developed from email communications that were initiated from phone calls from the jail. Wallenstein, who was Director of the jail at the time, said names of individual correctional officers who supervised the prisoner were included in the global communications within hours of some activity having occurred involving Letourneau. 'Imagine the poor correctional officer seeing his name on a web page after having a confrontation with an inmate just hours earlier. This is the product of a high profile prisoner situation coupled with the ease of global communications through the Internet and email. Staff need preparation for [this],' he said. 'Jails must prepare ahead of time to support their staff who might find themselves being mentioned on a daily basis to the world.' Resources Rich Subia, Public Information Officer, Mule Creek State Prison, (209) 274-4911 Terry Thornton, Information Officer II, California Department of Corrections, (916) 445-4950 Arthur Wallenstein, Director, Montgomery County Department of Corrections, (240) 777-9975 |
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