Ohio Director Takes charge of Gangs inside prisons

Wasted Honor -

Carl R. ToersBijns is the author of the Wasted Honor Trilogy [Wasted Honor I,II and Gorilla Justice] and his newest book From the Womb to the Tomb, the Tony Lester Story, which is a reflection of his life and his experiences as a correctional officer and a correctional administrator retiring with the rank of deputy warden in the New Mexico and Arizona correctional systems.

Carl also wrote a book on his combat experience in the Kindle book titled - Combat Medic - Men with destiny - A red cross of Valor -

Carl is considered by many a rogue expert in the field of prison security systems since leaving the profession. Carl has been involved in the design of many pilot programs related to mental health treatment, security threat groups, suicide prevention, and maximum custody operational plans including double bunking max inmates and enhancing security for staff. He invites you to read his books so you can understand and grasp the cultural and political implications and influences of these prisons. He deals with the emotions, the stress and anxiety as well as the realities faced working inside a prison. He deals with the occupational risks while elaborating on the psychological impact of both prison worker and prisoner.

His most recent book, Gorilla Justice, is an un-edited raw fictional version of realistic prison experiences and events through the eyes of an anecdotal translation of the inmate’s plight and suffering while enduring the harsh and toxic prison environment including solitary confinement.

Carl has been interviewed by numerous news stations and newspapers in Phoenix regarding the escape from the Kingman prison and other high profile media cases related to wrongful deaths and suicides inside prisons. His insights have been solicited by the ACLU, Amnesty International, and various other legal firms representing solitary confinement cases in California and Arizona. He is currently working on the STG Step Down program at Pelican Bay and has offered his own experience insights with the Center of Constitutional Rights lawyers and interns to establish a core program at the SHU units. He has personally corresponded and written with SHU prisoners to assess the living conditions and how it impacts their long term placement inside these type of units that are similar to those in Arizona Florence Eyman special management unit where Carl was a unit deputy warden for almost two years before his promotion to Deputy Warden of Operations in Safford and Eyman.

He is a strong advocate for the mentally ill and is a board member of David's Hope Inc. a non-profit advocacy group in Phoenix and also serves as a senior advisor for Law Enforcement Officers Advocates Council in Chino, California As a subject matter expert and corrections consultant, Carl has provided interviews and spoken on national and international radio talk shows e.g. BBC CBC Lou Show & TV shows as well as the Associated Press.

I use sarcasm, satire, parodies and other means to make you think!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday, September 26, 2011

Ohio Director Takes charge of Gangs inside prisons

Arizona could learn from Ohio prison strategies
In a bold and refreshing attitude, Gary Mohr, the current Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction director, has made his feelings clear about gang violence towards his staff and other prisoners. Showing a zero tolerance stand against those who dare oppose his words, he has promised isolations and removal from their open living style dormitories into the most restrictive close custody cellblocks designed for containment and control of disruptive groups or individuals. This move came as he expressed his concerns for the growing gang related violence inside his prisons. Quoting this director in a newspaper he said “"I have directed . . . every institution to begin enforcing higher penalties against inmates who are combative with staff and refuse an order to stop fighting [or] assaulting," read Mohr's Aug. 12 memo to inmates. “I cannot and will not tolerate this behavior."

On the other hand, Arizona director Charles L. Ryan has said nothing about his most recent report that shows an extreme increase of projected staff assaults for this upcoming year. Linking the two attitudes together one can see different styles and different priorities as Ohio is selling private prisons and Arizona is bidding out 5,000 more beds to the private prisons. Ohio, in efforts to reduce their prison population are using evidence based alternative sentencing while Arizona settles for a status quo and prepares for prison growth in an already busting at the seams system. In fact, the very first strategic goal for Arizona is, you guessed it, Managing Inmate Population Growth.

Nowhere in his five year plan does he address the high rate of assaults on correctional staff that has grown exponentially for the past six years. Looking closely at goal 1 which reads: To maintain effective custody and control over inmates in an environment that is safe, secure and humane it is backed up with Objective 1 which states: To safeguard the public, staff and inmates through the efficient, safe and secure operations of prisons. Showing a chart of fights between inmates and other inmates the rate is shown to be 381 in FY 05 growing at a rapid ate and expected to reach 1,675 assaults by FY 2012. This changed the rate of number of inmates involved in a fight from 1 out of 75 inmates to the projected 1 out of 23 inmates according to their graphs provided.

Certainly a significant increase in violence with no apparent end of the road for such conduct as the maximum custody units are already at capacity and being double bunked. Showing the chart of assaults on staff the rate is shown to be 149 in FY 05 climbing to a record high 410 in FY 2012. In the inmate on staff assaults the figures are even more frightening. For FY 2005 the number reported was 1 out of 36 staff were assaulted climbing to a record high of 1 out of 16 staff being assaulted today and tomorrow’s projection.