By Beth Defalco, The Associated Press
BUCKEYE, Ariz. (AP) -- Correctional officers testifying before an investigative panel Thursday came with a list complaints: inadequate training, too much employee turnover, too little pay and no respect.
And many officers say they are simply not equipped to handle situations like the 15-day hostage standoff at the prison here.
“It’s hard to get someone to train the new guy when they don’t know their own job,” said Correctional Officer Mike Irvin. “Our training is substandard, we need more” than tear gas.
The meeting at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Lewis was the first of four that the governor’s newly appointed panel planned to hold with correctional officers following the standoff in which two inmates held two correctional officers hostage in a guard tower.
Several officers expressed mixed feelings about negotiations and questioned why more action wasn’t taken to end the situation quickly. While they were pleased no one was killed, they said they knew the job risks and willingly signed an declaration acknowledging the department does not negotiate with hostage-takers.
“The fact they could do whatever they wanted to her and no one was coming in to do something is sickening,” said Irvin, referring to the female guard whom authorities say was sexually assaulted during the stand off.
Officer L. Tracy, a five-year veteran who refused to give her first name, said she hadn’t received any self-defense training since an initial course at the academy. While officers regularly receive medical training to treat inmates, there is no scheduled self-defense training after that.
She also noted that the guards are supposed to get 40 hours of training at every post but rarely do.
“I know I’ve never had that much training on any post,” Tracy said.
Another correctional officer, Sgt. Brian Dudley, said many of the officers are out of shape and not tested on their physical ability after they enter the training academy.
If the officers hope to get the respect they deserve, they’ll have to get training like police officers receive, Dudley said.
“If we are law enforcement and are to deal with the same people police officers confront, our training standards need to be the same.”
After hearing employees speak, Corrections Director Dora Schriro said the department would have to work to make improvements.
“We have to work on a number of fronts, and work on them simultaneously,” she said, specifically listing training and supervision as problem areas.
Irwin said he’s sickened by the lack of respect correctional officers are shown.
“We’re the stepchildren of law enforcement, underpaid baby sitters,” he said.
Tracy agreed.
“We’re looked at as a joke by the rest of Arizona,” she said. “Our job is to keep this place as quiet as we can so the rest of Arizona can forget ... about what society we have here.”