Inmate Food Slots....

Lt.

If this is happening and inmates are using make shift items to latch food slots with out staff securing them is posing an inherent security risk. I would think each and every slot that was discovered unlocked or locking mechanism tampered with, each identified inmate should have received an incident report at a minimum and inmates occupying those cells should have been placed in administrative detention. Unit Officers working said units should have received on the spot training from a supervisor on how to conduct rounds in a unit and proper security procedures. A Lieutenant should have walked every unit and checked each food slot to ensure there were no further vulnerabilities or security concerns. While on M/W are you conducting Conference Calls with your staff and teaching basic Correctional Principles. How about going over standard 3B skill sets that your staff are evaluated on. Are you conducting required mock exercises on your shift. Simply, I rely on all of my Lieutenant's to be subject matter experts of our discipline. It is imperative in a correctional environment junior staff are trained, that's our charge as LEADERS... Just making a suggestion.

Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

Hi,

The purpose of this email is to address the issue of the food slots located on the inmate cell doors in MULTIPLE housing units being left unsecured. Specifically, for the past two weeks there has been an issue whereby when staff is conducting the institution count or when I am making rounds that the inmate food slots have been discovered unsecured. This presents a grave security and safety risk for staff operating the housing units and for the institution in general, especially when staff is totally unaware that the food slots are even unlocked, as has been the case, because this is not a common everyday practice. Upon locking the food slots, inmate have become irate, tied strings around the locking device to prevent staff from securing the slots, as well as, stuffing the locks full of paper. This has resulted in the Security Officer being called into the institution to make emergency repairs during off duty hours. At an institution where drugs, cellular telephones and shanks are found in abundance and where we've housed inmates fully capable of climbing through the food slots, this should not be an additional security/safety concern, especially during Morning Watch when staffing levels are at the bare minimum at best. If an inmate has a medical issue or complaint concerning the temperature in his cell, please seek other alternatives that does not put staff and the institution at risks. Since I was informed that numerous housing unit officers have been informed that it is okay to leave the inmate food slots open, I'm requesting that an All Staff email be sent out as soon as possible informing them that this is an unsafe practice and should be ceased immediately. Thanks in advance