Reforms focus on prison guard safety

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire outlined a series of reforms Monday aimed at protecting the safety of prison guards after a female corrections worker was strangled in a chapel with a microphone cord.

Corrections officers in the state should wear personal body alarms, carry pepper spray and make other safety improvements to avoid future attacks like the one that killed a guard at the Monroe prison in January, Gregoire said in a speech at the Washington State Reformatory at Monroe, where she announcing the findings of an investigation by the National Institute of Corrections.

Guard Jayme Biendl was working alone Jan. 29 when she was strangled to death during a struggle in the prison chapel.

The report said the lack of personal body alarms meant staff must rely on radio, telephone or shouting if they need assistance. Biendl had a radio, which was destroyed in the struggle. Also, the report said staff should be issued pepper spray to help deal with violent confrontations with inmates. They are currently unarmed.

“In the face of that loss, we resolved to find out what happened and to take whatever steps are necessary to prevent another such attack on our corrections officers,” Gregoire said. “Jayme’s legacy will be enhanced protection of her co-workers, who face inherent dangers while on the job.”

Proposed safety improvements include: adding staff who are responsible for the whereabouts of all employees; improving the radio system; testing a proximity card system to track staff locations; training supervisors on enhanced security awareness to combat complacency; and temporarily reducing overcrowding in prisons, including an end to double-bunking at the Washington State Reformatory.

The state faces big budget deficits, but the Department of Corrections will work with legislators to implement the recommendations, said Department of Corrections Secretary Eldon Vail, who joined Gregoire for the announcement.

Corrections officials took immediate actions after Biendl’s death to improve safety, he said.

Tracey Thompson, secretary of Teamsters Local 117, which represents corrections officers, said the report recommendations are a good start.

“But there is no mechanism that they will be implemented,” she said.

Thompson also worried the state’s $5 billion budget deficit will delay safety improvements.

Vail said some recommendations can be put in place now, while others need further research and legislative funding. The agency will arm some corrections officers with pepper spray, he said.