By Matthew DeFour
The Wisconsin State Journal
MADISON, Wis. — Gov. Scott Walker said Friday his administration is reviewing safety measures and policies at all state prisons as the Department of Justice investigates alleged abuse of inmates at a juvenile prison in Lincoln County.
Also on Friday, the Department of Corrections announced it plans to purchase body cameras for staff at the Lincoln Hills boys and Copper Lake girls schools as one of several steps in response to the allegations.
“We want to make sure with personnel and policy that we can ensure the safety of everyone, whether they’re under the supervision of the Department of Corrections, whether they’re staff or visitors,” Walker told reporters in Madison. “We want to make sure with that and any other facility that we can absolutely guarantee the safety of the people who are there no matter what position they might have.”
Walker’s comments came in the wake of public disclosure of a criminal John Doe investigation into abuse at the facilities in Irma that includes allegations ranging from sexual assault to child abuse to misconduct in public office.
Walker said he doesn’t have reason to believe those problems exist at other prisons, but “obviously that’s going to be part of the review.”
Interviews with staff and a Dec. 3 DOC memo released Monday have revealed a chaotic and violent atmosphere as recently as Thanksgiving weekend, when an inmate sustained serious injuries after being allegedly assaulted by a staff member. That occurred 11 months after DOJ opened an investigation into alleged abuse of inmates and a month after a related John Doe investigation was started in Lincoln County in October.
Walker said the initial DOJ investigation related to allegations that a small number of staff were abusing inmates, but his office didn’t learn from DOJ of potentially more widespread problems until the week after Thanksgiving. On Dec. 3, DOC Secretary Ed Wall said the investigation had found a “culture” among some staff “that may leave youth at risk for harm.”
Walker said inmates at the juvenile facility are safe after personnel and policy changes were made.
DOC spokeswoman Joy Staab issued a statement Friday sent to DOC staff and others with information about steps that have been taken to address problems at the facility.
“The care and safety of youth in Department of Corrections (DOC) custody is the highest priority of the Department,” the memo stated. “All persons identified as harming youth or placing youth at risk of harm have been put on administrative leave pending investigation and are not allowed on institution grounds. If any additional people are identified, they will be immediately removed from the institution and placed on leave pending investigation. The Department is taking aggressive action to investigate past misconduct, ensure immediate safety of youth, and strengthen school operations moving forward.”
The memo said the department has appointed a new administrator of the Division of Juvenile Corrections and a new superintendent of the Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake schools in Irma. The new administrator is John Paquin, who was previously Assistant Administrator of the Division of Adult Institutions, and the new superintendent is Wayne Olson, a 20-year DOC veteran who most recently was deputy warden at the Prairie Du Chien Correctional Institution.
Former division administrator Paul Westerhaus was superintendent of the Copper Lake and Lincoln Hills school from 1994 until 2014, when he became assistant administrator of the division.
He was promoted to division administrator in April.
On Nov. 20, DOC Secretary Ed Wall announced that Westerhaus would be retiring in January. This week Staab said Westerhaus and former superintendent John Ourada were relieved of their duties Dec. 3. She has not said whether they are still employed by the department.
The department also has completed a review of technology needs to ensure broader monitoring and recording, installation of additional video cameras in critical areas, and implementation of a comprehensive camera upgrade project.
The department is buying body cameras to be worn by security staff in certain units, “which will be mandatory in recording all interactions with youth during acts of youth aggression, crisis intervention and other circumstances,” the memo stated.
Other steps include:
Expediting investigative and disciplinary proceedings against staff identified as ever being involved in abuse, neglect or any other misconduct toward inmates.
Referring any allegations of abuse, misuse of authority or youth injury to the Secretary’s office.
Coordinating with the Department of Justice’s Office of Crime Victim Services and the DOC Office of Victim Services and Programs to assure that all youth and their families are afforded victim services as required or requested.
Assigning additional psychological staff to youth at the schools.
Assigning security supervisors from other DOC facilities on every shift to assist with institution oversight, respond to any incidents that occur, and address youth complaints. A supervisor was specifically assigned to monitor the safety of an individual youth who was injured.
Creating and implementing an aggressive training plan to bring all security staff to the highest standards, with an emphasis on professional communication skills, de-escalation, intermediate control methods, use of force, incident response protocols, evidence collection and documentation. The training is underway for the school supervisory staff, and will commence immediately thereafter for other staff.
Revising the youth complaint procedure to ensure that youth complaints are stored securely, retrieved only by the superintendent or designee and responded to promptly and appropriately.
Establishing a youth injury review panel that includes juvenile corrections administration, the Secretary’s Office and the Office of Legal Counsel. The panel will review every injury to youth, regardless of how the injury was sustained.
Reviewing all cases in which use of force was ever utilized against any youth in custody to determine any staff patterns or physical locations where extra security is required.
Reviewing and updating all policies and procedures for documenting serious incidents and ensuring that all necessary notifications occur.
Copyright 2015 The Wisconsin State Journal