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, June 11, 2012

Safety Equipment for Correctional Officers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVKzjrsFAWw&feature=share


Correctional Officers Deserve Better Equipment for Safety



Every day correctional officers risk their lives walking the narrow grey corridors to and from their assigned posts having nothing but a radio to communicate with as their life line to safety and help. Every day, they walk among the prison population and handle whatever comes their way in a manner prescribed by law and training.


Today unlike the past, officers are being assaulted frequently as the prison population has turned more violent and more risky in an already volatile setting as it is. The focus on staff safety has been completely ignored as agencies focus on other things inside the prison systems that are listed to be more urgent or more important than staff safety equipment.

Today, it has been reported that one out of three assaults that take place inside a prison is against an officer or prison employee. An unarmed officer who walks among these convicted felons of crimes that makes you have nightmares and sweat in your sleep if you were to be among these violent killers and predators. Staff ratios vary from one to fifty to one to five hundred. It depends where you work and what the activity is at the time. Either way, it’s a dangerous situation to be put in without some sort of safety net.

As former and current correctional officers, we understand that prisons are potentially hazardous, dangerous and unpredictable. We knew that when we took the job. What we didn’t know was how the administration would turn a blind eye to our needs for safety equipment that works, that is practical and that is available.

Reading Bob Ortega’s four day piece on Arizona prisons, it is clear that prisons are deadly. We understand that better since Mr. Ortega took the time to research the conditions inside our prisons with such attention to detail. He didn’t write about the officer’s plight as they are just as important as the prisoner’s dilemma of being safe. In fact, as a former correctional officer, I would say keeping officers safe should be the second priority as public safety ranks number one.

Hostilities and violence go together. Unpredictable, it is important for officers to have the right staffing patterns, the right safety equipment and the right tools to work with. Everyday, we hear staff complain about not having adequate equipment that includes face shields, gloves, stab vests and stab vest inserts. This list even includes obsolete or non-working hand held scanners that can detect metal objects such as prison knives before they are used in the assault planned.

They drive vehicles that are dangerously close to being red-lined and without air conditioning in the Arizona heat. They have transport vehicles without radios or poor maintenance conditions (e.g. bad brakes, overheating, cracked windshields, broken lights, faulty electrical systems and weak batteries)  leaving them stranded on the side of the road exposing both the public and the officer to the risk of danger by those they are transporting to and from hospitals, court hearings and other prison facilities.

It has been pointed out by Mr. Ortega the prevalent use of drugs, the availability of prison made weapons and self made hooch (home-made brew) or alcohol that adds to the environment’s hostilities and unpredictability. Inmates demonstrate violent behavior even if they don’t act out testing the systems in place for an opportunity to retaliate and strike back at the system that put them there.

A correctional officer is at the mercy of the offender’s anger and is often the target for intentional or misdirected harsh and unreasonable anger or mistreatment that includes violent behaviors with sharp instruments, blunt trauma to the head and various methods of kicking and punching those caught off guard or walking into a pre—set trap.

It is an interesting fact that a police officer, assigned to patrol duty on the community streets and deal with criminals for only a few minutes or perhaps all the way up to booking them are equipped with multiple pieces of safety equipment that allows them to remain safe to a certain degree. Their tool boxes are full of equipment much needed and available instantly.

On the other hand, a correctional officer, assigned to supervise this same individual picked up off the street has to deal or manage with their behaviors with nothing but words and a radio for help. They do not even wear protective clothing or stab vests unless assigned to a max custody facility or a detention unit.

With today’s design and manufacturing capabilities to provide correctional staff with protective gear including lightweight trauma stab vests or ballistic vests, you would think there would be plenty on hand when the officers need them and at the same time, if they need to perform an emergency transport in the middle of the night, you would think they had a vehicle that was in proper working condition to take that officer and his prisoner safely to their destination.

At least I would hope so but that is not the case in many prison settings throughout the state! Today the corrections unions remain quiet and ask for nothing that makes prison work safe.  Ultimately they have the voice to say or demand what is needed yet they remain quiet not using the freedoms they are entitled to in order to protect others they represent.

Today, the voices of sanity as well as insanity remain quiet until a catastrophe occurs and then the finger pointing and blaming language will engulf the media with both sides accusing the other of negligence.

Perhaps a pro-active step is needed to avoid this catastrophe that can cost us human lives and tragedies as it has already been established the value of life inside prisons has been marginalized by society and cultural indifferences.





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