danielle
07-05-2003, 05:44 PM
Staff at girls prison is under fire for using force
From Wire reports
Posted July 5, 2003
WEST PALM BEACH -- Staff members at the Florida Institute for Girls are using force and restraints too quickly and too often, according to a new review of the state's only maximum-security facility for girls.
State officials will give staffers at the facility 60 days to overhaul their plans for dealing with violent inmates, and simply providing new training will not be enough to appease Darryl Olson, the regional director of the state's Department of Juvenile Justice.
"In this case, we are going to need to see fundamental changes," Olson said.
Staffers are trained to first talk to out-of-control inmates, after which they are permitted to use physical force if necessary.
But Olson said prison staff normally resort to approved methods of physical force without first trying to talk to the girls who are lashing out or involved indisputes, but there are rare instances where workers hurt an inmate.
Serai Moreland, one of the guards at the facility, acknowledged to state officials that she "snapped" after a girl she was supervising threw feces at her, covering her face and clothes.
A guard who witnessed the incident told the investigator that Moreland punched the girl in the face as they struggled. He said he pulled Moreland off the inmate.
"I just reacted," Moreland said. "I was out of it."
Past Department of Juvenile Justice reviews have drawn attention to shortcomings at the institute.
More than two dozen times between April 2000 and February 2003, workers have been accused of using their authority to cross the sexual line, Florida Department of Juvenile Justice records show. Some wrote love letters to girls. Others arranged to rendezvous after a girl's release. A few had sexual contact with girls while they were still at the prison.
As of February, more than 15 workers have been disciplined in connection with thoseincidents, according to state documents. Two were arrested on criminal charges.
From Wire reports
Posted July 5, 2003
WEST PALM BEACH -- Staff members at the Florida Institute for Girls are using force and restraints too quickly and too often, according to a new review of the state's only maximum-security facility for girls.
State officials will give staffers at the facility 60 days to overhaul their plans for dealing with violent inmates, and simply providing new training will not be enough to appease Darryl Olson, the regional director of the state's Department of Juvenile Justice.
"In this case, we are going to need to see fundamental changes," Olson said.
Staffers are trained to first talk to out-of-control inmates, after which they are permitted to use physical force if necessary.
But Olson said prison staff normally resort to approved methods of physical force without first trying to talk to the girls who are lashing out or involved indisputes, but there are rare instances where workers hurt an inmate.
Serai Moreland, one of the guards at the facility, acknowledged to state officials that she "snapped" after a girl she was supervising threw feces at her, covering her face and clothes.
A guard who witnessed the incident told the investigator that Moreland punched the girl in the face as they struggled. He said he pulled Moreland off the inmate.
"I just reacted," Moreland said. "I was out of it."
Past Department of Juvenile Justice reviews have drawn attention to shortcomings at the institute.
More than two dozen times between April 2000 and February 2003, workers have been accused of using their authority to cross the sexual line, Florida Department of Juvenile Justice records show. Some wrote love letters to girls. Others arranged to rendezvous after a girl's release. A few had sexual contact with girls while they were still at the prison.
As of February, more than 15 workers have been disciplined in connection with thoseincidents, according to state documents. Two were arrested on criminal charges.