It may be an interesting question with all of the notoriety and attention CDCr staff has received regarding a “code of silence” within the department but I think it is one that should be looked into a lot deeper than it has been. I personally believe there is a ‘code of silence’ that should be investigated. The crime about it is that, as usual, the investigation is in the wrong areas.
Every mass media outlet follows the buzz words that are bait on the hooks thrown out by CDCr state administration and investigations of an individual line staffer that it must be a larger problem within the department that begins and ends with the officers. Well once again they are only partially correct:
- Is it a problem? Yes.
- Does it happen with line staff? Yes
- Is that where it ends? NO.
- Has it been looked into any further than the scapegoat served up by local administrators? NO!
- Are CDCr administrators on the state and local level more guilty and worthy of the blame? DEFINITLY!!!
There have been countless instances at several different institutions and departmental offices where improprieties have occurred only to have a lowest level staff member blamed and reprimanded. During training the importance of report writing has always been emphasized with the use of one certain phrase; “if it’s not written about, it didn’t happen”. That was supposed to be the battle cry to stress the importance to line staff on how important documentation can be. It can also be taken by administration how to curtail problems by lack of documentation.
Occurrences have happened at several institutions where incidents have happened that were minimized by management that ended up being swept under the rug. This ends up creating several different problems by undermining staffs’ authority, escalating inmate involvement, removing fear of reprisal of actions, and breaking the chain of escalating events which led up to a larger disturbance.
We have witnessed improprieties by administration and management that has had grave consequences only to have blame place on the wrong party because of a lower rank and an easier mark as a scapegoat. Even after being found not responsible the powers that be still find a way to punish the innocent and protect the guilty… all in the name of position.
Why would this happen? There are several reasons why management would take this stance. One of the more obvious comes down to self promotion. As part of the management team, your worth has to be proven by showing the drop or minimized amount of incidents in your area of responsibility. The easiest way to do this is to either minimize the type of reports, outcomes, and severities. This can be accomplished by either dropping the report types to the lowest possible or inform staff that reports are not necessary. The lack of documentation creates a falsehood of control in a given yard or program by the management team. This gives the administrators the same falsehood of ability and influence.
Another reason this happens is that administrators will not admit a bad choice of the management or supervisory team. With their position of authority over line staff and experience, they could not possibly be capable of making, or admitting, to such an egregious mistake in supervisory or management personnel placement. This can be found all the way up the chain to Sacramento. Just look at our recent history for examples. There are many examples with many inaccurate reasons and explanations to back their positions of support. Unfortunately for them, their argument does not hold substance.
There are certain things that are in common with these practices. First off, the only ones who suffer the most in reprimands and admonishment are line staff. Not often enough do you hear of management or administrators being walked off for improprieties that we all know exist.
Another common denominator is that there is no such thing as transparency in the department. Just like during a rain storm, the higher you go up the mountain the worse the weather and visibility. Those placed in higher positions of authority are also in greater positions to control the information that is sparingly leaked for public consumption.
Another thing to think about is very simple in theory. It comes down to who knows, or owes who. Think of it a stereo system. For the stereo to work you must use all the right ‘connections’. Only the main pieces of a stereo have proper connections for the speakers, CD player, receiver, DVD player, and amplifier to work. The higher you are in position and the longer you are in the department, the more connections you have.
As line staff, the longer you are in this department the more we learn how small this department actually is. As you promote it gets even smaller and smaller. Administration lives in a very tiny bubble of peers so they must watch each other’s backs to keep their own skeletons in the closet. Unfortunately, because of the lack of room, there is a deficiency of integrity and ethics.
Add all this up and yes, you end up with ‘a green wall’. A green walled code of silence by administration carried out by management. Line staff is looked at as the expendable pawns in their game of thrones. As line staff, we know that some information should not be shared because it jeopardize security or even worse, cost lives. Administration knows this and uses it to their advantage just to boost their own stature and secure the ‘connections’ needed to create a career safety net.
If that’s what it takes to get ahead in this department, I will remain content in my position as line staff. I may not make a big name for myself or create a better financially stable career, but I will keep my integrity and my ethics will remain in tack. A wise person said ‘those you step on to reach the top will witness your climb and your fall’. Here’s looking at you.
I’m Just Sayin…
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