OFFICERS MESSAGE 11-09

Training

There seems to be a lot of finger pointing and blame being put on where and why we have some of the problems that we are facing within the ranks here at DVI as well as throughout the state. I have read the current messages in this month’s bulletin and I must say I was disheartened with what I read. Now maybe I’m just a bit sensitive, but it seems as though we are looked at as a bunch of drunks that don’t deserve to have the positions we are in because we’ve either been in them too long and need to step down for the less experienced to learn, or we are too complacent with the inmates because we have been in the positions too long and only due to Post and Bid is our lazy asses still in those positions. For the record, I want to state that I am not lazy…

So instead of pointing a finger and blame one or the other for the problems that we face I will state my opinion on where the solution and the problem both lay. To sum it up in one word; training. Training is the foundation of the solution and the lack there of is the problem. The lack of training is the cause of complacency, unprofessionalism, unsafe environments, manipulation, personal growth, incompetence, doubt and uncertainty in ones ability.

I will admit that some of the Off Post Training (OPT) has gotten better in the last few years. Training at the academy has even become more realistic with greater emphasis based in real situations and how to approach matters instead lectures in a classroom. With that said, there is still a long way to go. Especially if you look at DVI and the number of ‘missions’ that we attempt to accomplish day in and day out. Our work load has been stretched so thin that we cannot complete the day to day business of securing our wings (i.e. bar & window checks, cell searches, secured doors). So if we can’t complete or even begin the basic necessary tasks to ensure the institution is secured, how can we squeeze in time to train while on post, where we need it most?

I was surprised while at a level IV prison, pleasantly surprised to see an order come from the program Sergeant to shut down yard and program for staff training. Where the greater shock laid was when inmates asked why and was informed for training some grumbled, most didn’t, but returned to their buildings and locked up. How is it that the level IV inmates have a better time understanding the importance of on-post training better than the administration at a level II reception center? I don’t get it. What I also don’t understand is why this topic is not pushed by the union reps as important as it is.

How many additional jobs would it create?
How much more competent would we become about rules and regulations?
How much more alert would staff be on any given day at any given time and work as a team?
How much would morale increase?
Would staff know how to respond better, faster and be more effective during a Code 2 or 3?
If information is power, shouldn’t we have all the knowledge needed to maintain control over the inmates in our given area?

It is so easy to blame the line staff for not following through or messing up on certain things that they should know how to do, say for instance, like processing evidence. But every institution is different. Let’s face it, how they teach it in the academy is not exactly how it’s done at the institution. Some staff may not even know where to go or how to get there or what to do when you get there depending on the type of evidence you need to process. Is this the fault of the officer? NO! The supervisors should make sure that all staff knows how to process evidence following the institutional Procedures to ensure it is done correctly. Administration needs to make sure supervisors give this vital training in the appropriate manner, not just signing your name on an OJT sign-up sheet (that just acknowledges that you were talked to or read something regarding job-site training, not that you’ve been competently trained), even if staff must be walked through a ‘mock evidence’ processing.

The difference between CDCR and other state corrections is our training. Our training gives us our peace officer status, one of a handful in the country. Our training is why we earn the salary that we make. Many states design their training and procedures after us, not because our inmates are worse than theirs, but because we have an initial higher standard to uphold and in most cases we surpass our own standards, but with more line-training we can do better.

A wise man once said that we should train the way we fight so we can fight the way we train. In my opinion, once a year full training is not good enough. It’s not good enough in the areas of but not limited to baton, gangs, evacuation, response, use of force and especially weapons. I do not think alone on this subject. I have spoken with many who agree with me if not exceeds my words by training on their own to be more prepared on the job.

For once I just want the blame to go where it needs to be. Don’t blame me for not being sure how to respond correctly to a Code 2 with a 40mm in hand, not knowing the type of round I’m carrying and not donning a gas mask or riot helmet. Don’t blame me because I don’t know how to pull the pin out of a MK46, or replace it. Don’t blame me if I don’t know how to do a 'gun run' to Z-Dorm. You cannot blame me for something that I have not been trained on in almost a year. If we deal with level IV inmates every day, as we do, then why aren’t we training like a level IV institution?

My DVI ‘Brothers In Green’(B.I.G). My message to you: I am proud of the work you have done. I am proud of the work you are doing. There is still room for improvement and I invite you to join me and embrace the willingness to learn more. To the supervisors, I hope that you heed the call to prepare your staff. Train and train often. If a question comes up, utilize it as a training module to get everyone on the same page and react as a team when it’s time to respond. They may be responding to save our own. To administration, you have stretched us out as far as we can go and now you want to lash at us for not maintaining a level of training that you should be required to give us. Ask yourselves how many incidences could have been avoided or neutralized better if my line staff was trained properly? Once you’ve answered that, give us the training needed to remain at our peek while on the line… It may be you we save. I’m Just Sayin…