Click here to download the catalog as a PDF file. To view this site you need Adobe Flash Player and your browser must allow javaScripts. Go here to get the latest Flash Player. CORRECTIONS BEhIND thE FENCE. BRIAN DAWE Officer DOwn n June I watched as 22-year old Federal Correctional Officer, Jose Rivera, was laid to rest in California. Officer Rivera had been on the job a mere 10 months. Officers from across the nation gathered to mourn the tragic loss of yet another CO. His murder, at the hands of an inmate wielding a home made shank, ended this young man’s life far too early. Sadly, it was a very preventable death. This is the second time in a few short years I traveled to I California to honor a fallen brother. On January 10, 2005 California State Correctional Officer Manny Gonzalez met the same avoidable fate at that state’s Chino facility. Annually, over 40,000 assaults on staff occur in our nations prisons and jails and we bury nearly a dozen officers as a result. Many correction departments do not provide the necessary equipment to survive behind the walls. Neither Gonzalez nor Rivera were wearing stab proof vests. fficer Gonzalez’ vest was sitting in the department’s warehouse. California DOC failed to issue it. In the case of Officer Rivera, the Federal Bureau of Prisons doesn’t issue protective vests to staff. Incredibly, they refuse to allow officers to wear one even if they purchase it themselves! Who thought that was a good idea? Stab proof vests won’t stop every attack, nor do they guarantee survival from a vicious assault by an inmate with a weapon. But, survival is greatly enhanced when we are so equipped. 18 o Bad Decisions people pRoBlemS v iolence in our prisons, jails and juvenile facilities is a daily occurrence. With fewer staff available to respond and the resultant increase in response times to these assaults, injuries are far more serious. According to the American Federation of Government Employees, the union representing Federal Correctional Officers, staffing in the federal system is down by 15 percent while their prisons are 25 percent over design capacity. That’s a situation destined for tragedy. In some state systems such as Oklahoma, staffing is down by nearly 30 percent. They are so short staffed on some shifts there’s no one available for the emergency response teams. How many more deaths will it take before these issues are addressed? United States Representative Dennis Cardoza (D-CA) has sponsored HR 6462 the “Jose Rivera Correctional Officer Protection Act.” It’s imperative we Continued on page 67 Brian Dawe is the Executive Director for The American Correctional Officer (www.americanco.org) and the American Correctional Officers Intelligence Network (www.COIntel.net). He can be reached at ACOIN1@aol.com or by calling him at 307-883-9707. WWW.AMERICANCOPMAGAZINE.COM • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2009