Prison Boss: DOC Employees Who Break Law Will Be Fired

September 7, 2014

Florida Department of Corrections employees who commit any crime would be fired from their job under a new policy announced by Corrections Secretary Mike Crews.

The revised disciplinary guideline is part of a series of reforms Crews is proposing in the wake of reports about a mentally ill inmate who died after being placed in a scalding-hot shower.

“While the Department has always taken disciplinary action against members whose conduct violated state statutes, this new policy will apply a uniform standard of dismissal for members who engage in any criminal act, including misdemeanors,” Crews wrote in a memo to employees.

Crews had already announced that, for mentally ill inmates, the department will expand crisis-intervention training for prison guards, create two re-entry centers and explore a pilot case-management system. Crews also said the agency would hand over 82 open investigations into prison deaths — all the result of non-natural causes — to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and put “releasable information” regarding inmate deaths, including cases that are still under investigation, online within the next 30 days.

Crews and the agency have been under fire since a series of stories this year by The Miami Herald revealed details about the 2012 death of inmate Darren Rainey.

by The News Service of Florida

Comments

13 Responses to “Prison Boss: DOC Employees Who Break Law Will Be Fired”

  1. mike brady on September 22nd, 2014 7:34 pm

    Correctional officers who sadistically carry out acts such as the type of evil ones that these men and women carried out should not only be fired they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. It’s interesting to me that all of the sick acts carried out by these criminals in uniforms were carried out over a period of time only against male prisoners without any one in authority really holding these criminal correctional officers legally accountable

  2. Robert on September 11th, 2014 7:28 pm

    Don’t catch any fish too big it is a misdemeanor crime

  3. Kirk Sargent on September 10th, 2014 11:00 am

    Correctional Officers should be held to high standards as Law Enforcement. However, they are not treated the same as Law Enforcement in Tallahassee. This is why there is a major shortage of Correctional Officers State wide. Law Enforcement Officers have been given much bigger pay raises over the last 10 years and more often. Saying that, Correctional Officers should still maintain the same level of professionalism and be held accountable for there actions. The question to Mr. Crews should be. Does this new rule only apply to Correctional Officers and not Law Enforcement? Mr. Crews is holding Correctional Officers to a higher Standards than Law Enforcement. Mr. Crews should be fighting for his staff and getting them fair compensation. There is a very high turn over rate and a reason for that. Mr. Crews needs to be fighting for his staff in Tallahassee for better wages to retain staff and attract more professional staff.

  4. disgruntled co on September 9th, 2014 6:32 pm

    Oh that’s just great, as ridiculously short staffed our institutions are, they can’t afford to fire anyone for spitting on the side walk

  5. side track on September 8th, 2014 10:32 pm

    what ever happen to innocent till proven guilty? I can now go and say that this C.O beat me down and he or she has loss there job? come on people

  6. Nell on September 8th, 2014 4:36 pm

    I wonder if this new rule will apply to EVERYONE including the admin.

  7. JSL on September 8th, 2014 9:22 am

    Higher standards with lower pay and benefits working around convicted felons with less staff and resourses. Any volunteers?

  8. m.g. a on September 7th, 2014 9:48 pm

    Why should there be higher standards for Co’s and LEO’s,or lower standards for inmates or criminals. We have laws and they apply to all.If you don’t like the law vote to have it changed but until then OBEY the LAW!!!!!!!!

  9. XD9RACER on September 7th, 2014 6:14 pm

    I can understand the need to hold them to higher standards although the ECSO lowered their standards for their CO’s. What needs to be watched close is their behavior within where too many inmates are abused and sometime killed at the hands of these overbearing CO’s. Most of the inmates deserve to be imprisoned and can become out of hand but do they deserve being abused or killed in this manner. Investigations in these cases are like hiring the foxes to investigate the missing or dead chickens from the hen houses–no matter what it will not turn out to the satisfaction of the victims or their families. When COPS and CO’S or other LEO’S are suspect of ABUSE or WRONGFUL DEATH there needs to be a FULL INVESTIGATION not something CURSORY and SWEPT UNDER A RUG then found JUSTIFIED when the EVIDENCE SHOWS OTHERWISE. The guilty ones need to be sent to PRISON so they can feel the pain in CAMPAIGN. When they are guilty lock them up and let them learn what pain is from other INMATES.

  10. Sender on September 7th, 2014 5:49 pm

    I agree with Esc LEO… but if the CO is to be held to a higher standard so should their salary…. be reflected as so….

  11. Esc LEO on September 7th, 2014 3:57 pm

    A traffic citation is not usually a misdemeanor, unless it is for something like reckless driving, DUI, or driving with a suspended license, amung a few others.

    On a side note, it’s great to say they should be held to a higher standard, but on the other hand, what other job do you know of where you would get fired for a misdemeanor? It’s hard enough to attract decent people to be correctional officers as it is. Do you know anybody with no criminal record and is a decent employee that wants to work in a prison for $30,000 a year and the constant threat of being fired if you get into trouble off duty? Not a lot of people jumping at that deal.

  12. paul on September 7th, 2014 1:08 pm

    “any criminal act, including misdemeanors”
    I’m guessing that includes traffic citations too..

  13. mick on September 7th, 2014 9:24 am

    As it should be…those that hold these positions of public trust should be held to a higher standard, at the same time LEO’s ,DOC personnel as well as Firefighters, and Emergency response personnel should be given the utmost respect for the hazards that they encounter on a daily basis to ensure that the public is protected. Thanks to all that serve and protect…