NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Correction Commissioner Derrick Schofield said Wednesday the department will look into changing the way it reports assaults and the way it schedules workers – both issues that critics say have led to increasing violence in state prisons.
Schofield’s remarks to the Senate Corrections Subcommittee were in response to recommendations in a recent audit by the American Correctional Association.
Currently Tennessee classifies an assault on staff where no one is injured as a nonviolent offense. The audit recommended not considering whether an officer is injured when classifying an assault but simply looking at the inmate’s actions.
Auditor Richard Stalder, speaking at an earlier meeting, put it this way, “If I swing a baseball bat at your head and just barely miss you, it should be sanctioned the same way whether I hit you or not.”
Schofield said the department will do a comprehensive review of disciplinary categories before deciding what changes to make. One complaint that throwing urine at an officer is not currently considered an assault should be addressed by early November, he said. Other changes could come in early 2016.
Schofield also said the department will survey prison workers about a 28-day work schedule that critics blame for a spiking turnover rate that has left some facilities short staffed. The department rolled out the new schedule over the past year as a way to keep down overtime and provide more staffing flexibility.
The audit recommends a 14-day schedule with 12-hour shifts. Previously correction officers worked regular 7-day, 40 hour weeks.
Schofield said he will allow individual prison wardens to review the surveys and decide what schedules work best for them. Changes should take place in early 2016.
Asked about prison issues before the hearing on Wednesday, Gov. Bill Haslam expressed his support for the commissioner.
“I totally trust him to take the recommendations given and anything else he thinks can make it run better, and we’ll make those adjustments.”
Tennessee State Employees Association Government Affairs Director Randy Stamps also spoke at the hearing. He said the group is pleased the department has agreed to look at assaults and scheduling but suggested the audit was too limited.
Auditors visited only five prisons, spending just two or three hours at each one. The visits were announced in advance to prison officials who accompanied the auditors as they walked through the prisons and spoke with staff.
Instead, Stamps said, there should be comprehensive audit by a body that is fully independent.
Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville, told reporters on Tuesday that he expects legislation to be filed next session if the Correction Department doesn’t pursue the recommended changes.
“You just can’t keep burying your head in the sand and saying there’s nothing wrong,” Ramsey said.