FEEDING PRISONERS AT THE ISCC - SNATCHING FAILURE FROM THE GRASP OF SUCCESS

For years, since shortly after the beginning of the Covid -19 outbreak, prisoners at the ISCC have been fed their meals in their housing units, and while there have been issues with feeding prisoners in this fashion, those issues are minor when compared with feeding prisoners in the chow hall (see the post BREAKFAST IN BED - SHOULD GUARDS DELIVER PRISONER MEALS TO CELLS? on this site).

On March 27, 2023, in an effort to move towards resuming normal operations in the feeding schedule, ISCC administrators went from handing out the meals in Styrofoam trays in the unit foyers to having prisoners walk to the chow hall (more than a half mile round trip for some), pick up the exact same food-laden Styrofoam trays and carrying them back to the housing unit to be eaten there. Apparently, this is supposed to acclimate prisoners to going to the chow hall, where they will eventually then be forced to eat their meals. But there are problems already.

First, though the plan is to pass out trays to one unit, secure all the prisoners back in their housing area, then move to the next unit until the entire general population is fed, that plan is not going well. Entire units are being held up because some prisoners who receive diet or special meals are having to wait to receive their food, or because a few just decide to walk slow and jaw with their buddies from different tiers. Others are simply too infirm to walk at a relatively normal pace. Because these inmates too have to be secured in their unit before the next unit can proceed to the chow hall, the rest of the prison must wait on the few. This doesn't include scanner and other equipment breakdowns that have occurred in the past week, slowing things down even more.

On the other hand, just today (4/2/23), 2 entire units were forced into the hallway at once... twice. At breakfast, unit F walked by and througn more than 100 prisoners waiting in the hallway to enter unit E. At supper, F block was released while nearly the entire E block - more than 200 prisoners - were just leaving the chow hall. Only by closing a crash gate did the prisoners remain separated, with more than 80 F block prisoners forced to mull about for about 10 minutes while waiting for E block prisoners to be herded back onto their unit- a situation not preferred in a prison setting.

It was taking a single guard about 20 minutes to feed an entire unit in their foyer. All units could be fed literally at the same time, or as soon as their food carts arrived, meaning that the entire facility, including protective custody and close custody units, could be fed and cleared in less than 30 minutes. It is now taking anywhere between 8 to 12 guards to feed, and anywhere between an hour and a half and two hours to do so.

Staff point to the new process as a means to account for and curb the amount of food being pilfered by inmates. In this effort, food service staff scan the bar code on prisoners' ID cards as they take their assigned meals through a hole in the wall leading from the kitchen into the dining [sic] room to make sure everyone gets what they are supposed to have - and only what they are supposed to have. Why these scans cannot be done on the unit (all units have WiFi and connectivity with the same computers that are being used in the chow hall) is unclear.

Were staff to stop giving extra trays to "privileged" inmates on the tiers, stop inmate janitors from themselves taking and/or giving their buddies extra trays, and of course, stop staff themselves from eating the inmates' meals without going through the proper procedures, then there wouldn't be nearly as many food accountability issues in the prison.

There's no dispute that moving prisoners en masse from one area of the prison to another is bad practice as it relates to security. Further, having prisoners from one area of the prison in direct contact with prisoners from other areas is also a bad idea. Just the other day, an inmate from one unit being fed in the chow hall jumped through the window that had been cut in a wall to pass trays and began beating on an inmate food service worker. This would not have happened had prisoners been still being fed on the units.

Logic dictates that if there is a model that works to the benefit of security (which is the ultimate goal) - even if it isn't convenient - you don't toss out the model for something you clearly know is less effective and more dangerous.

I know this blog is read by a number prison administrators, not only in Idaho, but in at least five other states, and at least two countries other than the US (the U.K. and Australia to be precise), and I'd be very surprised if any corrections professional would think that having prisoners of different security risks/concerns congregated in a small area, when it isn't absolutely necessary, is not only a bad idea, but a dereliction of duty where the duty is to maintain the safety of staff, prisoners and the public.

If you are a prison administrator or corrections professional - wherever you are - and would like to chime in on this matter (even anonymously), drop me an email at daleshackelford1@gmail.com and let me know what you think. I'll be doing a follow-up post on this matter in the near future and I can use your input to bring you and others the best, most accurate thoughts and information available.