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Missouri DOC Command Center Impresses Corrections Professionals
Any Corrections agency with intensive levels of community supervision must have a 24-7 operation to respond to critical violations. That was the message four Missouri Department of Corrections' professionals delivered earlier this month at the Innovative Technologies for Community Corrections Conference in Denver. Probation and Parole (P&P) Analyst Brian George, Command Center Unit Supervisor Dave Haslag and P&P Assistant II's Matt Duckett and Trevor Harrison delivered the presentation to about 350 corrections professionals. Representatives from the United States, China, Thailand, Taiwan and Canada attended the June 11 presentation. "I believe that most people would say that Electronic Monitoring programs, such as Radio Frequency, Global Positioning Satellite tracking, Alcohol Monitoring, and Voice Verification would top the list of technological advancements," George told the Horizon. "I would agree that these forms of supervision are great technological advancements, but without a 24/7 monitoring/command center these technologies are limited by the traditional work day of the supervising officers." "The conference provided the information necessary to develop a 24-7 monitoring center, through the use of position descriptions for staffing, sample work schedules for a rotating schedule to insure proper coverage, policy and procedure development, standard operating procedures development, work tracking spreadsheets and alert investigation protocol," George told the Horizon. "There was a lot of interest at the conference in our Command Center. They see us at the forefront." (continued) Reentry Conference Draws 300 DOC Employees "This isn't about Democrats or Republicans or the flavor of the month. This is about public safety." Former Missouri Department of Corrections (DOC) Director Gary Kempker delivered that message to about 300 upper level DOC managers and administrators at a Reentry conference in downtown St. Louis hosted by the Department. The conference ran from June 4-6 and was titled "Missouri Reentry Process: Celebrating Success and Planning for the Future." Kempker works for the Center for Effective Public Policy, which conducted the training. Missouri Supreme Court Judge Michael Wolff delivered the keynote address at the conference. Wolff told the audience that Missouri's prison population has dropped by 700 since 2005, when the Sentencing Assessment Report (SAR) system began. Wolff credited the cooperative efforts of the Department of Corrections and the Missouri Sentencing Advisory Commission, as well as the Missouri Reentry Process. Wolff said he prefers community-based sanctions for non-violent offenders. He notes about half of the prisoners in the Missouri DOC have been convicted of violent offenses, while the other half were convicted of non-violent offenses. Wolff supports evaluating sentencing outcomes. (continued) |
Chillicothe Correctional Center is 85 Percent Complete Assisted by good weather, construction crews building the new Chillicothe Correctional Center (CCC) have completed about 85 percent of the facility. Crews recently finished the perimeter fence and more than half of the parking lot is paved. The Missouri Department of Corrections looks to take "substantial completion" prior to September 1. "It's going very well," CCC Warden Jennifer Miller told the Horizon. "Right now, our focus is shifting to hiring. We have started that process." Governor Matt Blunt made funding for the new prison a budget priority for 2008. The Legislature supported Governor Blunt's recommendation for an approximately $14 million increase in the fiscal year 2009 budget for the Department. The funding will allow the Department to hire about 175 additional corrections officers at CCC. More than 25 additional corrections officers have been hired thus far. The Department has been holding career fairs across northwest Missouri. (continued) River Towns Receive Sandbagging Assistance from Missouri Prisoners The Missouri Department of Corrections (DOC) responded promptly to Acting Governor Peter Kinder’s request this past weekend for volunteers to help sandbag in Mississippi River towns threatened by flooding. The Department has 186 prisoners sandbagging in northeast Missouri, as of June 17, 2008. "The institutions came through very quickly," Department Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Michelle Kasak told the Horizon. "The Wardens and everyone at DAI (the Division of Adult Institutions) were eager to help. It's run smoothly." (continued) |
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