Special Review of How Salinas Valley State Prison Handles Allegations by Prisoners of Staff Misconduct

by the Office of Inspector General (OIG)

In January 2018, the secretary of California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and attorneys from the Prison Law Office requested that the OIG assess the prison’s process of handling inmate allegations of staff misconduct, “staff complaints.” The department allows local prison supervisors to conduct “staff complaint inquiries,” which are a preliminary collection of evidence pertaining to an allegation. Our review included a retrospective paper review of 61 staff complaint inquiries the prison completed between December 1, 2017, and February 28, 2018, and an onsite monitoring review of 127 staff complaint inquiries the prison initiated between March 1, 2018, and May 31, 2018. This totaled 188 staff complaint inquiries, which included 268 allegations. Our review also included our assessment of nine additional complaints submitted to the department by the Prison Law Office.

FULL REPORT (137pgs): Special Review of Salinas Valley State Prison’s Processing of Inmate Allegations of Staff Misconduct
https://prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.files.wordpress.com/2019/03/2019_special_review_-_salinas_valley_state_prison_staff_complaint_process.pdf

FACT SHEET (6pgs): Special Review of Salinas Valley State Prison’s Processing of Inmate Allegations of Staff Misconduct
https://prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.files.wordpress.com/2019/03/2019_special_review_-_salinas_valley_state_prison_staff_complaint_process_-_fact_sheet.pdf

Special Review found Salinas Valley’s Reviews of Allegations of Staff Misconduct involved: Poor interviewing techniques • Poor evidence collection • Poor report writing • Lack of training • Lack of independence: Display of bias, Inappropriate reviewers, Breached confidentiality

Salinas Valley rarely found misconduct from its staff complaint inquiries, and in the few cases where it determined that staff violated policy, it did not always provide corrective action—until we asked about it. The hiring authority determined that subject staff did not violate policy in 183 of the 188 complaint inquiries we reviewed (97%).

A reviewer’s rank of service had little effect on the quality of the staff complaint inquiry; we found the work across all ranks to be lacking in quality. Sergeants performed the poorest at 70% inadequate. Lieutenants, the most common reviewers, produced inadequate inquiries 52% of the time.

Below are excerpts from the OIG’s Full Report included in the OIG’s Fact Sheet:

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Electronic copies of reports published by the Office of the Inspector General are available free in portable document format (PDF) on our website at www.oig.ca.gov .

Office of the Inspector General, 10111 Old Placerville Road, Suite 110, Sacramento, CA 95827

HANDOUTS, FLIERS & POSTING MATERIALS for Statewide Coordinated Actions To End Solitary Confinement

If you need copies sent to you of any of these materials for use in your actions, please contact phssreachingout@gmail.com or call (510) 426-5322.

• Together to End Solitary Brochure – 1 page, both sides, fold

• Universal HANDBILL-Statewide Coordinated Actions  1 page, both sides (here is a version for double-sided printers) print “Fit to Page”, fold
  

In California, we have changed the date to the 24th of every month.  We no longer do this action on the 23rd of every month.

_______________________________________________ The above links allow you to download and print the materials made specifically for anyone participating in Statewide Coordinated Actions To End Solitary Confinement (24th of each month). Below are several download links for recommended materials to hand out during such actions.  Good educational materials. Coming soon: a handout of Frequently Asked Questions and the Answers, and all handouts in Spanish & English.

• Small Handout: Donate for People to Get Vital Publications Inside Prison 1 page, one side, 4-on-a-page; great to use as inserts in Handbills!

• Statement to the Streets and All Youth Lock-ups, Agreement to End Hostilities 1 page, both sides

• Acuerdo Para Poner Fin a Enemistades, Agreement to End Hostilities 1 page, both sides

• Fact Sheet-CA Solitary Confinement 1 page, both sides,
  

• Human Rights Pen Pal Flyer  1 page, both sides
  

• 2 Similar Handouts to Stop “Security Welfare Checks in Pelican Bay SHU:
  Emergency Action Alert- Stop Sleep Deprivation 1 page, both sides, 2-on-a-page
  Handout_StopSleepDeprivation 1 page, both sides, 2-on-a-page

• Proposals For Action 2013-Pelican Bay SHU Short Corridor Collective 1 page, one side, 2 on each page

• Alcatraz To Pelican Bay 1 page, one side

• CHANTS-End Solitary Confinement 1 page, both sides

• Why the US Won’t Let the UN in Its Prisons-3-16-15 1 page, both sides

• Universal GENERAL Flier-Statewide Coordinated Actions 1 page, one side, no space for details  In California, we have changed the date to the 24th of every month.  We no longer do this action on the 23rd of every month.

Use this Pelican* for your facebook event Cover Photo.  Choose the art or photo for your event Profile Picture.

*We honor Peter Collins who was a long-term activist incarcerated in Canada. He drew the Pelican for the CA Prisoner Hunger Strikes. Peter died from cancer Aug.13, 2015 in prison, having been refused compassionate release. He was an astute social critic of the structures of violence in the world around us (colonialism, racism, sexism, ableism, imperialism, transphobia, misogyny etc). Peter was a writer, artist, cartoonist, activist, scholar & organizer with a great sense of humor and humanity. He was a staunch animal rights advocate. A vegan, Peter believed in principles of ‘do no harm’ to others.