ISCC ADMINISTRATORS EXEMPT THEMSELVES FROM DEPARTMENTAL OPERATING PROCEDURES TO AVOID HAVING TO RESPOND TO INMATE CONCERNS
On 10/6/22, someone [as yet unidentified] in IDOC administration sent prisoners an email stating they knew there was a problem with [inmate-paid] television services [in the South Boise Complex facilities], and that alternatives to the [previous] satellite television vendor were being explored (see I HATE TO SAY "I TOLD YOU SO", BUT... I TOLD YOU SO on this site for the full text of the email).
Contemporaneously, a memorandum authored and distributed by ISCC Administrative Support Manager (ASM) Rhonda Owens again recognized there was a problem with the satellite TV system in the facility, and directed that prisoners do not send concern forms regarding TV. Unfortunately, the problems with the television system at the ISCC is not limited to satellite problems, yet ASM Owens, while identifying herself as the ultimate authority for decision making on the matter of the ISCC television cable system repair, programming content and any other issue regarding the CCTV system has divested herself of responsibility for ANY problem associated with the system - even problems that have existed and gone intentionally unrepaired for years on her watch, and at her direction.
When inmate Bubba (not his real name) filed a grievance because ASM Owens refused to respond to a concern form [as required by departmental policy or SOP] regarding (non-satellite) TV signal probems, Owens justified her refusal even to respond by pointing to her memorandum [and the memo from the unidentified source] telling prisoners not to send concern forms about TV problems. Her attempt to justify the shirking of her duties was supported by ISCC Deputy Warden McKay as second level responder to the grievance.
In data recently published on the internal [CCTV] television channel (itself virtually useless for the purpose for which it exists) ASM Owens was asked on 11/28/22 if the problems with over-the-air channels (not the satellite channels) could be fixed, she responded "Maintenance is aware of the ongoing issues with picture quality and signal strength of the OTA channels. We have replaced multiple receivers as well as moving to new frequencies when available."
As an electronics technician, the issues, problems and the solution are clear, and there is no way that any half competent maintenance personnel - with the thousands of dollars already spent on the system over the past year or so - could not have had these problems worked out within just a couple weeks (see ISCC TELEVISION SYSTEM STILL SCREWED UP AFTER THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS SPENT TO REPAIR IT - WHERE DID THE MONEY GO? on this site).
First, there is absolutely no reason to run OTA channels through any (satellite) receiver rather than simply using a rooftop antenna, amplifying that (digital) signal, distributing that signal to various amplifiers throughout the facility, then attenuating the signal as necessary at each drop or terminator. (REMEMBER, signal amplifiers are designed to PUSH the signal, so the amps need to be as close to the antenna as possible.)
Indeed, in an experiment conducted in September, 2022, one TV was plugged into the ISCC cable system while another, in the same cell, used a cable connected to a pencil taped to a wall to receive the digital signal from the air. Both TVs were tuned to the same station, and the one plugged into the CCTV system dropped the signal 72 times in one hour. The one receiving the signal from the air did not drop signal even once in the same time period.
As of 6/12/2009, the Federal Communications Commission has required all television broadcast stations to transmit their signals in digital format. Satellite signals, both to and from the receiver, are digital. As it stands now, more than 13 years later, ISCC administrators (including Owens) have decided to convert the quality digital television signals (satellite and OTA) to weaker and less desirable analog signals. Owens has stated in the past that the analog system will remain because some inmates still have (older) televisions that are not capable of processing digital signals.
Allowing administrators to simply write a memorandum to exempt themselves from the need to follow departmental policy is just another example of the ISCC operating as its own fiefdom, why the place is falling apart at the seams, and shows why allowing politically motivated and biased bureaucrats who know nothing about the operational environment of a technical matter to make the decisions regarding that matter is nothing less than utter stupidity and a total disregard for logic... and a waste of taxpayer money and resources.