Crosby's Cleanup
DAMAGE CONTROL
Misconduct Allegations Are Not Exaggerated
First Crosby tries to deny deny deny. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We've
been hearing this since Michael Moore called Valdes' murder "an isolated
incident".
The Critical Incident Review Task Force's statement, "Staff misconduct is
not systemic." equates to Crosby's own declaration that each impropriety
is an "Isolated Incident", and includes shades of the department's general
claim that "All inmates are liars". What else would we expect of a review
that includes the Guard's Union?
Perhaps if most of the inspectors hadn't come up through the ranks getting
away with the same crap as the officers they are inspecting, we'd be able
to prove how much misconduct really exists. I mean, haven't we already
learned that many promotions are rewards for 'misconduct'? Even the
officers have told us that.
It's contradictory and hypocritical to me to claim that an inmate or any
other member of society caught at one crime or act of 'misconduct' has
probably perpetrated others we never know about and then claim the same is
not true in the department.
If Crosby et al denies the amount of misconduct, basing that assumption on
what was irrevocably and undeniably exposed, how can we ever expect him to
really clean up the department? All his efforts will be half-hearted and
we may as well forget a true change in the FDOC under James V. Crosby.
Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn what Crosby's report says - The FDOC
is full of "Officer Misconduct"! Much too much for the public's peace of
mind.
Just my educated opinion,
Kay Lee
DOC review: Misconduct not systemic
http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?
AID=/20060119/LOCAL/201190341&SearchID=73233176087919
By KAREN VOYLES
and JOE FOLLICK
Sun staff writers
January 19. 2006 6:01AM
A few high-profile missteps by state Department of Corrections
employees has created an unfair impression of an agency run amok,
according to the agency's own review.
DOC Secretary James Crosby created the Critical Incident Review Task
Force last year to search for any institutional problems that may
have led to a litany of problems still percolating in a federal and
state investigation.
The task force found that about 1 percent of the state's 26,000
prison employees are arrested each year, a percentage that the task
force described as "minimal." In their final report, task force
members wrote in bold print that it had concluded, "Staff misconduct
is not systemic."
The Critical Incident Review Task Force for the Department of
Corrections was made up of 12 department employees, including the
president of the 18,000-member correctional officers union.
Crosby directed the task force to focus on statistics, not anecdotal
information, to judge his perception that a few incidents had skewed
the agency's image. Crosby said he believed that staff behavior was
not substantially different in 2005 than in the recent past, but
that news media coverage had become more intense.
Crosby compared the 2005 news media scrutiny to "a movie like 'The
Perfect Storm.' A lot of things were coming out all at once. So it
was a very appropriate time to take a deep breath and objectively
look at these issues and see what was really happening."
Incidents involving prison employees include arrests and federal
convictions in connection with steroid activity among corrections
officers.
Crosby's close friend, Region I Director Allen Clark, resigned in
August as a swirling state and federal investigation into the
steroids business, alleged misuse of inmate labor and state property
and embezzlement continued.
Clark and two DOC employees were later charged with battery after an
alleged fight at a softball banquet in Tallahassee in April.
Other officers were also arrested in bar fights. And later in the
year, a correctional officer committed suicide after being
implicated but never charged in an alleged sexual assault.
That wasn't all.
Employees at other agencies spoke up about problems they had playing
sports against prison employee teams. Reports of nepotism rattled
the agency. And an employee was arrested after being accused of never showing
up for his job and only being hired to play on a
prison softball team.
"The circumstances caused there to be a media perfect storm in the
Gainesville area," Crosby said. "The point being, when you make the
front page in living color and you use your best artist on it, it
tends to make one say 'Am I missing something?' I wanted to see if
something unusual was going on, or was this a matter of timing."
Crosby's deputy secretary, Laura E. Bedard, chaired the task force,
which formulated 18 recommendations to reduce staff misconduct. Some
were already under consideration, such as seeking a state law to
allow for reasonable suspicion drug-testing of employees suspected
of using steroids.
James Baiardi, a 20-year prison employee and president of the
Correctional Officer Chapter of the Police Benevolent Association,
said his group would have no problem supporting that recommendation.
The union is still considering some of the other recommendations,like
establishing intensive remedial training for employees who have
had three reported incidents of alleged misconduct within 12 months,
even if the allegations were unfounded.
"To be honest, I don't know how additional training could hurt
anyone," Baiardi said. "But the number three is kind of low because
we're dealing with inmates. . . . Lots of inmates are pathological
liars who will try to cause a problem with an officer."
Generally, Baiardi said the union looks favorably on plans to
improve employee behavior.
"We want to see our own people clean and we want to get out of the
newspapers with all this," Baiardi said.
Among the complaints levied against Crosby's leadership over the
past several months have been charges of cronyism. One of his
protégés, Clark, was once suspended for 60 days without pay, but
promoted shortly after returning to work.
The task force recommends a more objective method of promoting staff
that includes a review of high-profile incidents. Crosby said he'd
like to study the idea deeper before making any commitments.
"Maybe we are just looking at people we know instead of looking at
the hidden pearl somewhere - someone we don't know as much about,"
Crosby said. "We need to find the proper balance for objectivity and
subjectivity."
After reviewing the task force report, Crosby assigned each
recommendation to one or more people to be implemented or studied
further. Some, such as the request for a law allowing for reasonable
suspicion steroid testing, have already been made.
"We don't have a specific timetable for these recommendations,"
Crosby said. "But we do have staff assigned and working on them."
Karen Voyles can be reached at (352) 486-5058 or
voylesk@gvillesun.com.
Jan 19, 12:34 PM EST
State prisons department:
Misconduct allegations are exaggerated
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FL_PRISON_PROBLEMS_FLOL-?SITE=FLPET&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT#Anchor-49575
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Intense media coverage of employee
misconduct in the Florida Department of Corrections created a "perfect
storm" that created an unfair impression of the agency, Secretary James
Crosby said.
Crosby spoke Wednesday after the release of a report by the
Critical Incident Review Task Force, which looked into employee misconduct
to determine if current procedures were adequate. In 2005, incidents
involving prison employees included arrests and federal convictions in
connection with steroid sale and use and reports of embezzlement, sexual
assault and fraudulent hiring practices.
The five-page report's main conclusion was: "Staff misconduct is
not systemic."
The report noted that about 1 percent of the state's 26,000
prison employees, or about 274 employees are arrested each year.
"The task force would like to emphasize that even though this is
a relatively small percentage of employees getting arrested, even a small
number of incidents is unacceptable," the report states.
The task force was made up of 12 department employees, including
the James Bairdi, president of the 18,000-member correctional officers
union.
In an interview with The Gainesville Sun published Thursday,
Crosby compared the 2005 news media scrutiny to "a movie like 'The Perfect
Storm.' A lot of things were coming out all at once. So it was a very
appropriate time to take a deep breath and objectively look at these issues
and see what was really happening."
Crosby's office said he was unavailable for comment Thursday.
Crosby's friend and protege, Region I Director Allen Clark,
resigned in August as a swirling state and federal investigation into the
use of steroids, alleged misuse of inmate labor and state property and
embezzlement continues. Clark has not been charged in that investigation,
but he and two DOC employees were charged with battery after an alleged
fight at a softball banquet in Tallahassee in April.
A correctional officer committed suicide after being implicated
but never charged in an alleged sexual assault. Another employee was
arrested after being accused of never showing up for his job and only being
hired to play on a prison softball team.
Deputy Secretary Laura E. Bedard, was chairwoman of the task
force. It formulated 18 recommendations to reduce staff misconduct. Some
were already under consideration, such as seeking a state law to allow for
reasonable suspicion drug-testing of employees suspected of using steroids.
Crosby has assigned staff members to examine each recommendation
to determine how it will be implemented or whether it needs more study.
© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
DOC Chief Defends His Leadership
The Ledger, FL -
By STEVE BOUSQUET
Published Tuesday, October 18, 2005
James Crosby refers to federal and state
investigations as a "quagmire."
By STEVE BOUSQUET
St. Petersburg Times
TALLAHASSEE -- Ending weeks of silence, James Crosby is
defending his leadership of the state prison system as the agency is under
investigation by state and federal authorities.
Crosby called the investigation a quagmire that could drag on for months
and cast a lingering shadow over the nation's thirdlargest prison system.
"I don't know how you get out of that quagmire," Crosby said. "It is
problematic, but I don't know the solution to it."
Eight Department of Corrections officers have been charged with felonies,
and agents have seized vehicles and trailers belonging to employees in six
North Florida counties. Crosby's boss, Gov. Jeb Bush, has said Crosby is
doing a good job.
In an interview held at a Chili's restaurant near the state Capitol,
Crosby declined to discuss matters under investigation, although he said
he asked regional prison chief Allen Clark to resign in August because of
the investigation.
But Crosby would not give specifics on why he asked his friend to step
down.
"Allen's my friend. He told me he's not done anything," Crosby said. "Did
he resign for no reason? No."
Crosby displayed some of the political savvy that helped him make it to
the top of the prison bureaucracy. He dismissed criticism, much of it
recycled on Web sites, as the rantings of a small group. He cited a close
alliance with the correctional officers union, the Police Benevolent
Association, to blunt a perception spread by critics that he rules with an
iron hand.
"If we were ruling through fear and intimidation and that was our modus
operandi, do you really believe the PBA would be out there supporting me
like they do?" Crosby asked.
To Ron McAndrew, a retired warden and critic of Crosby's, the union's
steadfast support of Crosby is not proof that Crosby is a good
administrator but rather a gifted politician, someone who "always plays
like he's got a full hand."
"Crosby's made some deals with the PBA," McAndrew said. "Instead of
fighting the PBA and representing the state as he's hired to do, he's
wheeling and dealing behind the scenes with the PBA, or they wouldn't be
speaking so highly of him."
McAndrew said Clark's rise to prominence is one example of Crosby's
shortcomings as an administrator. McAndrew recalled Crosby once urged him
to hire Clark, but he refused.
"His biggest failure is spreading cronies in key positions," said McAndrew,
Crosby's predecessor as warden of Florida State Prison.
Crosby praised Clark, a friend and protege, as a go-getter, with plenty of
leadership potential. He said their friendship began years ago at
Lancaster Correctional Institution in Trenton when Crosby was a rookie
warden and Clark a young prison guard.
"I watched him grow up in the system," Crosby said.
Clark, 40, survived a series of internal investigations of allegations of
inmate abuse and misuse of equipment. A devoted softball player, he had a
team called the Blue Wave at New River Correctional Institution.
Crosby defended the prison culture's seeming obsession with competitive
softball, saying sports provide a sense of community and a way to relieve
the stress of long days "inside that fence," as he put it, in highsecurity
prisons surrounded by hardened criminals.
Crosby is a product of smalltown Florida, a former mayor and councilman in
Starke and a former Democrat who became a Republican. He conceded his
years in the prison bureaucracy did not prepare him for the politically
charged Tallahassee environment, with its no-holdsbarred struggles between
lobbyists for lucrative contracts.
"I thought it would be more about running institutions," Crosby said of
his $124,000-a-year job as secretary of corrections. "But it's turned into
being about procurement, politics and policies."
The procurement of goods and services has been especially troublesome for
Crosby. He has been unable to resist going to dinners and social events
with vendors and lobbyists, and the Legislature and state auditor general
have criticized the awarding of some big-money contracts.
In the midst of the controversies, Crosby convened a meeting Monday of
dozens of prison wardens, the first such gathering in more than a year.
The two-day conference at Wakulla Correctional Institution came five days
after Crosby's boss, the governor, urged him to show strong leadership and
advised: "Don't let the `blanks' let you down."
Crosby's spokesman, Robby Cunningham, said Crosby told wardens not to be
distracted by a recent series of news articles critical of the agency.
"He spoke to the wardens, and he let them know they're appreciated,"
Cunningham said.
Crosby declined to allow a St. Petersburg Times reporter to attend the
session, citing security reasons.
Crosby was more forthcoming in the 45-minute interview than he has been in
months, but there were subjects he would not discuss. A copy of Crosby's
appointments calendar, obtained by the Times from a public records
request, shows he met in his office on April 27 with Rick Lober, an
inspector for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Could Crosby tell what that meeting was about?
"No," he said.
Then he comes back by creating a "Incident Review Team",
even though he says employee acts of aggression are so rare. It would be
a waste of money if they really were. As it is, it's a waste of time
because it's Crosby's review team and he's part of the problem. KL
Critical Incident Review Task
Force
https://www.angelfire.com/oz/today/crosbystaskforce.html
Corrections chief reacts
to criticism
James Crosby says he will create an incident review team and punish offenders.
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/111805/met_20333047.shtml
Last modified Fri., November 18,
2005 - 11:57 AM
Originally created Friday, November 18, 2005
By PAUL PINKHAM and MATT GALNOR,
The Times-Union
Responding to repeated reports of misconduct by
prison employees, Florida Department of Corrections Secretary James Crosby
said Thursday any employee arrested for an "act of aggression" will be
immediately suspended.
Crosby is also creating an incident review team
made up of prison administrators to review staff misconduct, disciplinary and
personnel procedures and data on staff substance abuse. He expects their work
to be done by the end of the year.
And he said he has implemented a
random drug testing policy for all correctional officers. Testing will include
illegal narcotics and steroids, he said.
"We've had the conduct. We've had
the fights before ... but our tolerance level might have been set way too low
over the years," Crosby told reporters during a teleconference from department
headquarters in Tallahassee.
Investigations by the FBI and
Florida Department of Law Enforcement have led to arrests of correctional
officers on charges of steroid use and embezzlement, and an investigation is
continuing into theft of prison property by guards and administrators. Crosby
said the task force will help formulate a response to prison employees charged
in those types of incidents.
The new administrative policy
applies only to arrests for acts of aggression, whether on or off duty, he
said. Those employees will be on paid leave pending a departmental review of
the incident.
Crosby didn't mention his longtime
protege, former prison administrator Allen Clark, who was arrested with two
other corrections supervisors last week and charged with felony battery during
an April law enforcement banquet in Tallahassee. Clark resigned his
$94,000-a-year position in August, a few weeks before FDLE seized a vehicle
from him as part of the investigation into theft of state property.
State Rep. Audrey Gibson,
D-Jacksonville, said Crosby needs to be responsible for his employees and be
more plugged in to the front-line workers.
Crosby said the department has
been working for two years on the drug testing policy, which will apply to any
certified law enforcement officer in the department.
Hal Johnson, general counsel for
The Florida Police Benevolent Association, said the correctional officers
union agreed with the changes.
Crosby said most of the
department's 26,000 employees are good employees, but the department needs to
improve how it responds to negative incidents.
paul.pinkham jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4107
matt.galnor
acksonville.com, (904) 359-4550
CROSBY'S
CURE
I hate to say it, but I don't trust James Crosby as far as I can throw
him. He's been questionable to me ever since he was conveniently off duty
when Valdes was killed. The deterioration of the department since he took
over has added to my belief that he is either too crooked or too weak to lead
the FDOC. He had his chance and in my eyes he blew it. I wouldn't trust
any 'incident review team' that serves under him. Why can't we have an
independent review committee made up of people James Crosby has no control over?
Kay Lee
FL - Corrections Department tightens arrest rules
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051118/NEWS/511180372/1006/SPORTS
By Joe Follick CAPITAL BUREAU
Friday, November 18, 2005 5:41 AM
TALLAHASSEE -- Beleaguered by months of publicity
on the behavior of Department of Corrections employees, DOC Secretary James
Crosby announced on Thursday the first in what's expected to be a series of
changes to the department's rules of conduct.
Crosby spoke with the department's four regional directors Thursday morning to
implement a new policy that will automatically place an employee arrested for an
"act of aggression" on leave until the department investigates the arrest.
Previously, an off-duty arrest carried no mandatory action from the department.
Crosby said an "incident review team" formed last month will likely suggest
other revisions in areas such as drug and alcohol abuse, promotions and
personnel matters, and other staff misconduct.
He expects their report by the end of the year.
"Our tolerance level may have been way too low over the years," Crosby said in a
conference call with newspaper reporters Thursday. "Being continuously on the
front page like this makes you reevaluate."
In recent months, department employees have been arrested for fights at a
popular Starke bar, another employee apparently killed himself at Union
Correctional Institution after being publicly named in connection with a sexual
assault investigation, and three current and former officers were arrested last
week by Tallahassee police on battery charges related to an April Fool's Day
fight at a softball banquet.
Among the three men arrested was Allen Clark, a close friend of Crosby's who,
with no explanation, resigned his $94,000 position as Region I director in late
August.
Clark is at the center of a sprawling state and federal investigation into
myriad issues.
The other two men, Richard Frye and James Bowen, were originally placed on paid
leave during a DOC investigation.
But this week, that changed to unpaid leave and they lost their state-provided
housing at the Apalachee Correctional Institution in Sneads.
Crosby said he asked the regional directors to stress "the importance of our
officers taking pride in their jobs."
"By and large, I think we have a great agency and if you look at most of the
26,000 employees you'll find them to be hard-working and dedicated," he said.
"There's always room for improvement."
Crosby said the decision to tighten the rules for misconduct was his own and he
was not asked to do so by the governor's office.
Crosby said the department has already changed policies to allow for random drug
testing with or without cause. Federal agents arrested five men involved in a
steroids ring earlier this year involving current and former DOC employees.
"Random drug testing is not the norm in law enforcement, but we felt it's
necessary for us to take this action because of the environment we live in,"
Crosby said.
Crosby said steroids weren't prevalent when he came up through the ranks, and he
said misbehavior by DOC employees may not be any greater than before.
"I don't know that the numbers are any higher," he said. "I think attention is
greater now. It makes one think."
He also said that the department is not culpable for the actions of its
employees outside of work.
"The only good
concept that 'ole baldy' tried to practice, as I see it, was putting security
people in as wardens. That made sense. Only trouble is that the ones that I saw
moved into those positions also had the dishonest characteristics of his
northern crowd.
"Softball and sports was a priority and raiding the employees club seemed to
support the habit. Staff housing was awarded to new hire ball players. Some
institutions have more housing than is needed for the listed “essential staff”
and that is good, but I would not want to count on new hires if there was
trouble on the compound.
"Another thing that came with the new administrations is a dramatic increase in
uses of force. Maybe that is good but I don’t know.
"If Bush and Crosby had stood up and began to clean up, I would say give them a
chance. They did not. I don’t think it is possible or necessary to try to purge
all the bad apples at once. Replace the dirty top leaders with someone with guts
and integrity, someone willing to clean house and things could be changed from
the top down. Those willing to change and go with the good flow would have that
chance, if not they will come out in the wash.
"Another thing that really disturbs me is the response of the legislature. We
should have the numbers to get their attention but you have to use real names to
write or petition them. This is a real dilemma for us. This needs research and
ideas. Think people. We are at the point where we need to do more than express
ourselves. We are going to need action.
"A hungry investigative reporter could be helpful in this fight. I have a lead on
such a one and promise to follow through on that." ~An Officer
CROSBY'S DRUG STUDY
I have to
question the FDOC's ability to carry out any rehabilitative program as every
FDOC person I've ever spoken with, when confronted with the question of
rehabilitation, responded, "That's not my job."
Corrections
Secretary James V. Crosby, Jr., after the latest FDOC scandal involving prison
workers and drugs, has decided to do a drug study on inmates. He is quoted as saying,
"The Department – and
taxpayers – want to stem the flow of addicted offenders re-entering society
..." and yes, as long as drug warriors insist that incarceration is
the best method of lowering supply and demand (despite great evidence to the
contrary), prisons should be doing their part to treat addicts.
However, I
question the ability of the FDOC to decide just who's an addict and needs to
be in the program. The drug classes they have now are required for many who
are not addicted (for instance, marijuana is non-addictive and dedicated
dealers don't usually use the drugs they sell), yet some real addicts simply
cannot get into the program. KL
CATCH 22
"Now, I'm not very bright, but I do know that the whole reason there was a
budget for drug testing in prison was to keep inmates from coming out of
prison addicted to drugs. To me that means helping the ones with the problem,
not just punishing them. I know Billy was trying to get sent to a drug
treatment in prison, but they said he had to stay a year clean. Well, he
couldn't stay a year clean because he's a drug addict. If he could stay clean
a year, I don't think he would need their help." ~Fellow Inmate
I expect to see a
lot of time and money wasted in this effort, but that's just my opinion based
on the history of frugal spending and successful programs offered by
department.
Once you realize that you
can treat 6 addicts for less than it costs to incarcerate one of them, you
might want to encourage legislators to change the laws to incarcerate fewer
'drug addicts' and spend the saved money to build more treatment centers.
Kay Lee
Corrections Initiates Historic Prison Drug Treatment Research
Intense Study First of its Kind in Prison System
http://www.dc.state.fl.us/secretary/press/2006/drugtreatment.html
Tallahassee –
The Florida Department of Corrections today announced an innovative joint
research partnership with the Florida State University (FSU), which will
include a rigorous assessment of drug rehabilitation efforts in the
Florida prison system.
"Every prison system in America
has some form of drug treatment," said Corrections Secretary James V.
Crosby, Jr. "The Department – and taxpayers – want to stem the flow of
addicted offenders re-entering society, and this study will confirm
whether today’s methods work best with today’s offenders."
Secretary Crosby requested the
study, after Department researchers determined a more extensive effort was
needed to determine the effectiveness of current treatment methods in
Florida’s prison system.
"This study will provide
research that will set the standard for future studies in this area," said
Dr. Thomas Blomberg, Dean of the FSU College of Criminology and Criminal
Justice. "We believe the study is the first of its kind. It will require a
great deal of determination and commitment."
Current literature indicates
that drug treatment is effective, but heretofore no studies have been as
rigorous as the proposed study will be.
FSU's Office of Research, Human
Subject Committee, examined all aspects of the study to ensure it meets
the highest ethical and academic standards. The University's Center for
Criminology and Public Policy Research will conduct the independent
research.
"Approximately three out of
every four inmates have histories of substance abuse. We also know that of
the nearly 600,000 inmates released every year in this country, about
one-in-four will return to prison within three years. This study will
better define the relationship between inmate substance abuse and
recidivism, thereby potentially reducing this problematic trend," Blomberg
added.
As Florida inmates enter the
prison system, they will be given an opportunity to participate in the
study. Inmates who choose to participate will be randomly assigned to a
treatment or control group. The treatment group will receive services
based on their level of substance abuse need.
Data will be collected over a
three year period and analyzed to determine whether inmates who
participated in treatment were less likely to recidivate than those who
did not. The results of the unprecedented study could impact the method
and manner in which treatment is funded and implemented.
The Department's substance
abuse screening process indicates about 55,000 inmates on any given day
require substance abuse treatment. Currently the prison system has 2,300
substance abuse treatment slots. In FY 2004-05, 6300 inmates received
substance abuse treatment, which ranges from four months to one year.
The study is scheduled to begin
January 2006, and the first preliminary results will be available in 2009.
