Commission Hears Testimony on Prison Gangs, Oversight

LOS ANGELES – Prison gangs and the most appropriate way to address them, internal and external oversight, and correctional facility transparency dominated most of the discussion Wednesday at a Commission on Safety and Abuse in U.S. Prisons hearing.

The 21-member commission, formed to investigate U.S. prisons after the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal in Iraq, heard testimony from three witnesses with expertise in prison gangs. All three witnesses advocated a proactive approach to prison gangs with an emphasis in restorative justice and rehabilitation.   Imposing stiff penalties on gang offenders does little to eliminate the problem, according to Anthony Delgado, security threat group investigation coordinator at the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections.

“We’ve got to change that system,” Delgado said. “When people are treated with human dignity they themselves start to change.”

He said putting gang members in hardened facilities – such as California’s Pelican Bay State Prison, where high-level gang members are housed – often contributes to the problem.

“Putting them in Pelican Bay adds to their resume,” Delgado said.

James Byrne, a criminal justice professor at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, advocated creating more transparent facilities that allow evaluators to assess what actions are being taken behind bars.  “The only people they are going to let in are the people that give positive, non-critical evaluations,” Byrne said.

He said researched management-based solutions are starting to emerge, but inmate-based responses and
staff-based responses are lacking. Once better relationships are forged between prisoners and
correctional officers, positive change will occur at facilities, Byrne said.  “It really is talking about how to change staff interaction with inmates,” he said.

Daniel “Nane” Alejandrez, a former prisoner and executive director of Barrios Unidos advocated support
for inmates behind bars and in the communities where they are from. He said youths lack positive role
models from older generations.  “We have abandoned our children,” Alejendrez said.

The commission also heard from several witnesses who testified on prison oversight and transparency of correctional facilities.  Gwendolyn Chunn, president of the American Correctional Association, highlighted the difficulties of creating positive change at correctional facilities that have a high administrative turnover rate, while highlighting the changing face of those involved in the industry.

“I like to think of myself as the poster child on new corrections,” said Chunn, who is an African American women who started her career in juvenile corrections.  California Inspector General Matthew Cate discussed his role in monitoring the state’s correctional facilities, while Silvia Casale, an investigator of European correctional facilities, discussed transparency issues overseas. 

The commission hearing will continue through Thursday at Loyola Marymount University. A full list of hearing witness and some transcripts of testimony are available at www.prisoncommission.org.