Amid lawsuits over inmate program closure, Broward sheriff fires back at state offici

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Amid lawsuits over inmate program closure,Broward sheriff fires back @ state official
Amid lawsuits over inmate program closure, Broward sheriff fires back at state official
by Dan Sweeney
May 03, 2016

Inmates are suing Department of Corrections Secretary Julie Jones, who blames the Broward Sheriff's Office, while Sheriff Scott Israel says he's "really disgusted."

That's the tangled web that arose Tuesday as Broward Bridge inmates sued to stop the Department of Corrections from shutting down the prisoner re-entry program in Pompano Beach.

Jones called the Sheriff's Office's decision in February to stop transferring prisoners for the Department of Corrections a danger to public safety.

"This action, or rather inaction, has resulted in a serious public safety issue which further motivates the Department to resolve the issues surrounding the current location of our probation offices," Jones said in a statement Monday.

Israel fired back Tuesday.

"I make every decision in the best interest of public safety," Israel said. "I'm really disgusted by her comment that we are not doing things in the interest of public safety."

Israel argues that, quite the opposite, it was deputies spending so much time on prisoner transfers that was the real public safety issue.

"I cannot continue year after year, month after month, day after day to strip the city of Lauderdale Lakes by having them transport for DOC. That's abundantly unfair and unsafe for that city," Israel said.

The lawsuits, from three inmates at the Broward Bridge program, maintain that the Department of Corrections cannot unilaterally shut down the facility.

The prisoners argue that the state budget requires any prison changes be approved by leaders of the Florida Legislature and the Governor's Office of Policy and Budget.

The prisoners — Douglas Rahn, John McDougle, and Michael Brammer — are seeking a temporary injunction by the end of the week, so that they can continue taking substance abuse classes at the facility and participating in a work-release program. Otherwise, the program will be shut down so the Department of Corrections can use the facility to temporarily house probation violators, and prisoners in the Broward Bridge program will be transferred to work camps or other transitional facilities.

Broward Bridge has a recidivism rate of just 10 percent for men who complete the program, five percent for women. Almost 90 percent of inmates who go into the prisoner re-entry program complete it.

There used to be seven temporary holding facilities in Broward County to house violators until Broward Sheriff's deputies came to take them to the main jail in Fort Lauderdale. But those were all consolidated in one facility in Lauderdale Lakes last year.

The city of Lauderdale Lakes contracts with the Broward Sheriff's Office for five deputies per shift. The deputies stopped doing prisoner transfers in February, so they could spend more time patrolling.

"It's almost three hours for each pick up that they do. They have to go to the office, secure the prisoner, do the paperwork, transfer the prisoner to the main jail in Fort Lauderdale, and then go through all of the procedures there," said Terrence Lynch, an attorney in the sheriff's General Counsel office. "Last year, there were about 500 transports. That's well over 1,000 hours of deputy time where they're not patrolling."

The Sheriff's Office offered to give transport vans to the corrections department or to provide a security detail for prisoner transport, Israel said, but the Department of Corrections turned him down.

Sheriff's deputies, not corrections officers, are trained to do transports, according to the Department of Corrections.

"They transport prisoners between facilities all the time. They are probably the most experienced agency in the state to do transport, and to say they can't provide training ... it suggests that it's something they're just not going to do," Lynch said.

As for the three prisoners who are suing to keep Broward Bridge open, if they win in court, they can keep getting training at the jobs they got through the program — with We Will Transport It, a locally owned and operated transport company.

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Because if P&P starts doing transports that would require better and safer vehicles. Not to mention time away from being in the office chasing R's and O's. We are turning down vehicles being offered by our local SO which is ridiculous. The goal will always be to keep P&P in the office while other agencies are just expected to help out. Unreal

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Another example of the FDC attempting to get free work out of another agency while providing them nothing. They treat their
staff the same way but can't understand why someone else doesn't put up with their crap. Simple. They don't have to. FDC
has been ducking the issue of transporting since before Sec W. McNeil...yeah exactly. Who?! He's not important. In fact,
none of them have taken the issue seriously. Reason. Money and liability. They don't want to spend the money and they
don't trust their staff enough to train them. Any CO at a prison gets training and is expected to transport inmates by van
if called on regardless of post. These are folks with GED and HS diplomas. They want to keep Bachelor degreed PO in their offices
and let someone do their work for them. The vehicles have been offered, the training isn't that involved, and the protocol
isn't that complicated. The FDC is a big stupid dinosaur with a new seal who is too big and dumb to get out of its' own way.
It's why FDC will never be an innovative organization. It hides from real challenges.

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P&P cannot transport offenders. You are social workers. You are just like DCF. Now get back to your typing.

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Another example of the FDC attempting to get free work out of another agency while providing them nothing. They treat their
staff the same way but can't understand why someone else doesn't put up with their crap. Simple. They don't have to. FDC
has been ducking the issue of transporting since before Sec W. McNeil...yeah exactly. Who?! He's not important. In fact,
none of them have taken the issue seriously. Reason. Money and liability. They don't want to spend the money and they
don't trust their staff enough to train them. Any CO at a prison gets training and is expected to transport inmates by van
if called on regardless of post. These are folks with GED and HS diplomas. They want to keep Bachelor degreed PO in their offices
and let someone do their work for them. The vehicles have been offered, the training isn't that involved, and the protocol
isn't that complicated. The FDC is a big stupid dinosaur with a new seal who is too big and dumb to get out of its' own way.
It's why FDC will never be an innovative organization. It hides from real challenges.

Your statement is accurate. Its a question of wanting and JJ and the girls don't want to. They think spending money on a new seal and some stupid, worthless re-entry office is more important. This agency has too many desk jockeys, politicians and fat, worthless fossils who are just padding their retirement.

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What makes Broward County so special? What other county in the state do have this problem? What other sheriff's offices are refusing to respond to pick up violators?

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What makes Broward County so special? What other county in the state do have this problem? What other sheriff's offices are refusing to respond to pick up violators?

Maybe they realized they were getting sodomized by DOC first?

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For years State Probation Officers have complained about Fl DC policy of not allowing Officers to arrest Probationers (Offenders) for a Violation of Probation on the spot. Fl DC generally force the Officer to go the 'Warrant' route. This means the Offender shows up at the Office weeks or months later having an "Active VOP Warrant". Fl DC calls the Sheriffs Dept. and requests that they serve the warrant and pick up the Offender. ie: You are stalling the Offender until the SO gets there and serves the Warrant.

A simple Google search reveals who is responsible for serving the warrant........"FS 901.04 Direction and execution of warrant.—Warrants shall be directed to all sheriffs of the state. A warrant shall be executed only by the sheriff of the county in which the arrest is made unless the arrest is made in fresh pursuit, in which event it may be executed by any sheriff who is advised of the existence of the warrant. An arrest may be made on any day and at any time of the day or night......."

Probation Officers have generally believed the Offender when they Violate are thumbing their nose at the Judge.....The Felony Court Judge. It is they who issued the Probation Orders. If the SO doesn't want to bring the Offender back before the Judge the the SO is thumbing their nose not at Fl DC but the Judge. Broward Chief Judge should get some Balls.......and explain what it means not following a Court Order or Florida Statues to the SO.

We enforce the Courts Order. Now when it comes to Fla Parole Officer that is a horse of a different color. We are 'Double Dipped' with every 'Early Release Program' and all the shit we do is at the sole discretion of the Florida Commission on Offender Review and Fla DC.

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Not sure what you are smoking. But whatever it is, it is some good shit.

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P&P cannot transport offenders. You are social workers. You are just like DCF. Now get back to your typing.

Correction: NOT cannot. WILL NOT. We can, but our bosses don't want to. If high school educated COs can do it every day,
why can't we? Simple. No training. No vehicles. No equipment. How do think 100000 inmates move around the state? UBER?
COs transport them. Work squad COs drive them to landscape and pick up garbage.

We are different because Tallahassee isn't up to the challenge. They kick the can down the road and let someone else
incur the costs and manpower issues while CPO sit behind their desks.