By Graham Lee Brewer
The Oklahoman
OKLAHOMA CITY — It’s time for change in the state Corrections Department, says new agency director Robert Patton, who plans to focus on reducing Oklahoma’s burgeoning prison population and improving monitoring of state and private facilities.
Patton started out his roughly three decades in corrections work as a guard, something that comes across when he talks about how prisons should run. He sounds pragmatic when speaking about internal procedure and has a hands-on approach to problem solving, and he expects the same out of his staff.
“You do not run a prison from sitting behind a desk,” Patton said. “And, if I have wardens, deputy wardens, captains who think they do that, their world is changing.”
Black and white terms
Patton, 50, grew up in 1960s Arizona in what he describes as an idyllic, working class small town where everybody knew everybody. One of five children, he said his father, who preached on the weekends and worked full time during the week, taught him the value of hard work, as well as compassion.
He gives the impression of an agency middleman, not an unapproachable administrator nor an officer in the muck, but a connector somewhere in between, who can speak both languages. Those who have worked with him in Arizona describe him as a fairly cut and dry, no-nonsense administrator and a practical problem solver.
“Often times Robert would see the world in black and white terms,” said Arizona Corrections Department Director Charles Ryan, who worked with Patton for several years. “As a part of mentoring him I suggested to him there are shades of gray. Frankly, I think he’s very receptive and I think that will serve him well.”
Patton said he makes it a point to engage staff directly and ask where improvements can be made, and he’s met with all of the state’s wardens. He said he challenged them to step up and help the department address understaffing issues.
“When was the last time, Warden, you’re running this facility with a high vacancy rate, when was the last time you worked a post,” Patton said. “I’m not talking about working a post from eight to five on a Monday. I’m talking about doing your job, and then going and working a post from five to midnight.”
Patton is going to need their help. Oklahoma has one of the highest incarceration rates per capita in the nation and is currently staffed at around 60 percent statewide. Officers haven’t received a raise in years, and lengthy, often double, shifts are taking their toll.
“So far we think his focus is where it should be,” said Sean Wallace, director of Oklahoma Corrections Professionals, a group that represents corrections workers. “The agency has kind of had this attitude that the Legislature and the governor are responsible for their problems. I think he’s coming in there and saying we can do something about some of the problems that are out there and take ownership of them and solve them.”
Reform on its way
Patton acknowledges moral is low, but he is confident that concentrating on what he can change, lowering the state’s swelling number of inmates, will create not just a better work environment but a safer one. He said he subscribes to the policy directives outlined in the Justice Reinvestment Initiative and said changing agency policy to match statutes is a good start.
Patton said he’s talked to district attorneys and judges about making sure inmates achieve the earliest release dates possible by ensuring eligible offenders are able to step down in security levels and increase the use of community-based sentences for nonviolent re-offenders rather than additional prison time.
“This really is what JRI was all about, effective management,” Patton said. “There’s a glut of inmates out there that they create one technical violation and they send them back to prison. We’re going to stop that cycle.”
He also noted department funds are low, and relying on private prisons is a must. Patton comes from a state familiar with using private facilities, where he worked with the two major corrections contractors operating in Oklahoma, GEO and Corrections Corporation of America.
Speaking about his use of such facilities, Patton said he holds them to the same standard as his own employees, but he also plans to increase oversight of both their contracts and their compliance with them.
“I absolutely have a relationship with them, and that relationship is we’re the customer, we’re your client, you will do what we want, and you will make us happy,” Patton said. “Just like if you were Wal-Mart, and I’m coming in to shop, you’re going to make me happy, and if you’re not making me happy then you’re going to hear about it.”
Patton has made it a point to engage employees directly in an attempt to understand where improvements can be made. He’s also met with all of Oklahoma’s wardens and said he’s challenged them to step up and help address the low staffing levels that have created lengthy officer shifts.
Patton said he is certain lowering the swelling number of inmates in Oklahoma will improve conditions for the officers and staff he relies on every day.