ISCC TELEVISION SYSTEM STILL SCREWED UP AFTER THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS SPENT TO REPAIR IT - WHERE DID THE MONEY GO?

For more than a decade, the television system at the ISCC has been described as a hole into which money, equipment and time seem simply to disappear. With the system outdated and getting worse by the day, someone needs to question where all the money spent on it is going.

In an article published on this site in late September of 2021 (THE BABYSITTER IS DEAD - AND ISCC ADMINISTRATORS ARE THE KILLERS) I noted that administrators were telling prisoners that the system was being worked on and upgraded. Since that time, a few of the problem channels have indeed stopped dropping out, though the majority have either not gotten any better, or have actually gotten worse.

In a Concern Form addressed to the new Warden at the ISCC (Randy Valley III), I asked when the channels that were still dropping out would be fixed. The reply to the Concern Form, received more than a week later from a secretary, told me that technicians were waiting on parts to fix the problems. Once parts were installed (per the maintenance department workers and visual cues over the TV system), the exact same problems persist, and some channels that were working fine are now screwed up. A subsequent Concern Form to the Warden on the issue remains unanswered after more than a month.

In response to a Public Records request, ISCC administrators turned over copies of work orders, invoices and receipts related to the repair and replacement of parts for the television system at the ISCC between July of 2021 and July, 2022. The facts contained within the documents are both enlightening and disturbing.

First, if the paperwork disclosed is complete and accurate, there never was a significant delay between the ordering and receiving of part(s) despite claims to the contrary. Second, the parts ordered, totalling thousands of dollars, were primarily used in supporting the outdated analog CCTV signal distribution and amplification system. (For the argument as to why the TV system at the ISCC should be converted to digital, see SHOULD IDOC REMOVE CRT TVs FROM AUTHORIZED INMATE PROPERTY LISTS? on this site).

Finally, some items purchased make no sense (why were 650 "F connectors" - commonly known as cable ends - purchased) or should not have been ordered/paid for from the fund used to order parts (like a set of tools, which are a capital expense). Several purchases are suspect, with the double ordering of items worth thousands of dollars on the very same day. This is a common means of committing fraud and theft.

According to the documents, more than 70 manhours (contractors and maintenance staff) were spent over the course of the year working on or checking the system. Several of the hours were documented as checking the (entire) system to ensure it was operating correctly. Flipping through the channels fast enough only to see they are all on the air is not verification that things are working correctly. For example, Channel 33 (H and I) - among others - drops out (no signal) an average of 20 minutes an hour, and it's not the station, the problem is the system at the ISCC (the station is not dropping out when viewed over the air). Despite being informed of the problems, and in some instances work orders being submitted, nothing is done to actually resolve the issues that could be fixed in a matter of a couple hours. (As an electronics tech, it's clear the problem is simply that the local [roof] antenna needs a signal amplifier situated as close to the antenna as possible.)

While the public really doesn't care that prisoners are having cable TV problems, the fact is that this issue is indicative of what is going on with the entire prison system in Idaho. It's broken, they know it's broken - they know HOW to fix it, but they just don't want to take the time to do it right, rather, they hang on to the old ways - even knowing they don't work - throw tax dollars at it, kick the can down the road and hope the problem will go away if they ignore it long enough.

Hey you, let's start fixing things, and start with Channel 33 - then you can fix everything else.