Not
Enough Cards Received by Deadline
Letter
to MCO'S From F.O.P. President Sommers
CORRECTIONS
The Fraternal Order of Police, the largest organization of sworn law enforcement
officers with more than 310,000 members, recognizes the corrections professional
as an integral part of our criminal justice system which provides public safety
through the investigation, apprehension, adjudication and incarceration of
criminals. Corrections officers, like our police counterparts who serve and
protect our communities with dedication and distinction 24 hour a day, often
demonstrate acts of bravery and courage through their commitment to excellence
in public safety.
Since the early 1980s, public employees of our nation's jails and prison system
have been challenged by for-profit corporate prison executives who convince some
local, state and federal policy-makers that they can operate facilities more
efficiently and less expensively. Some policy-makers and public officials have
chosen to experiment with the ill-conceived notion of privatization, a
previously dishonored and corrupt concept abandoned generations ago. Most adopt
the free enterprise concept of competition which drives down the cost of public
facility operations. Similar to personnel practice(s) employed at our nation's
airports prior to the traumatic events of 9/11, corporate for-profit prison
executives use less personnel and skimp on training, pay and benefits, creating
workforce instability and inexperience in our jails and prison system.
Some jurisdictions have experienced budget shortfalls. Among other things,
numerous prisoner escapes, uprisings, murder, scandal, expensive litigation and
other acts of malfeasance place an increased burden on the American taxpaying
public and community policing policy. Our mission is to aggressively force the
policy-makers to view our public jail/prison employees as a part of the whole,
rather than an afterthought in the interest of developing a stronger and more
effective Homeland Security Policy.