Previous: First Amend This!: An IDOC Newsletter, Apr. 2021
WELCOME to the May edition of First Amend This!
Brought to you by The Captive Perspective and made available at bookofirving82431.com. This publication provides an insider’s look at issues affecting the Idaho Department of Correction community.
If you wish to assist this effort, share the link, cut and paste, or print and send a copy to another.
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GET INVOLVED
IDOC will be holding monthly Townhall With Leadership meetings all through 2021. Submit your questions to brightideas@idoc.idaho.gov using the subject line “Q’s for leadership,” and be sure to attend the meetings to keep the conversation going.
Offender friends and families interested in networking concerns are encouraged to join the Idaho Inmate Family Support Group (IIFSG) on Facebook or contact them at idahoinmate@gmail.com.
Our legislature is interested in hearing from you. Did you know they answer their own calls and open their own letters? View their contact info here.
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EDITOR’S NOTE
It’s important to acknowledge that there’s progress in Corrections, that the current administration is exploring new ideas, and that the community is becoming much more involved with citizens able to return from their sentencing.
But we can’t let that distract us from where there are still deficiencies. The fact is, for too many residents living in our facilities, corrective opportunities are often nonexistent. The majority of our programs are only offered in a rush to the few we’re permitted to cram through the gate. The others, ineligible for parole, are lucky to find a seat in the classes prescribed for reform. And when their sentence expires we release them unsupervised, all our resources invested in their parole-eligible counterparts.
One has to believe there are better uses for our facilities, more ways to engage our residents and offer them reform. Our problematic inmates need more healthy opportunities, not more time in isolation to amplify all their defects.
We can’t keep treating these ideas as inimical concepts. Our residents need processed in ways that better utilize their time.
In addition to the assets on the street being added for reentry, we need more counselors, teachers, and mentors in our facilities. More efficient use of our existing structures, more classes and training for those with and without parole.
We must also consider how punishing those who engage in nonconstructive behaviors when they’ve been placed in facilities that offer nothing constructive only contributes to the need to continue building prisons.
I bring these issues to your attention not as an employee of the Department, but as one of many residents the Department’s hopes have passed.
For those of you who are new, we thank you for joining us, and we hope that if you haven’t yet viewed the video of Chris Shanahan and myself speaking at the U of Idaho Video Law Symposium, you’ll find some time in your week to try and fit it in.
We appreciate your audience.
Let’s First Amend This!
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GEO GROUP REVEALS RANSOMWARE ATTACK
The GEO Group, a private prison company that operates 123 facilities with a total of around 93,000 beds and 23,000 employees in the U.S., U.K. and South Africa, has acknowledged an August 2020 ransomware attack that exposed sensitive personal information of prisoners, employees and immigrant detainees.
At the time of the attack, approximately 500 IDOC residents were being housed in GEO’s Eagle Pass Correctional Facility on the Tex-Mex border.
Among the data that was stolen: names, birthdays, medical histories and Social Security numbers.
GEO is said to have waited to send notification to all individuals whose data was compromised until 76 days after suffering the breach. IDOC residents were reportedly not among them.
[Source: Matt Clarke, “Ransomware Attack on GEO Group Exposes Sensitive Information,” Prison Legal News (Apr. ’21)]
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DISTURBANCE AT ISCC
[The following story, regarding an April 10 incident, originally appeared April 12 on the IDOC website. As of April 26, no further updates have been given.]
The Idaho Department of Correction continues to investigate the disturbance Saturday at the Idaho State Correctional Center.
The incident began about 4:30 p.m. as security staff were responding to a report of an assault on H-block, Tier 1. Residents on the tier began destroying property and ignited a fire in a trash can.
The fire prompted staff to evacuate the tier. Two adjacent 96-bed tiers were also evacuated. The entire facility was placed on secure status to ensure the safety of everyone living and working at the facility. IDOC’s tactical team, the Correctional Emergency Response Team, was activated.
Per IDOC’s emergency response protocol, a request for assistance was made to area law enforcement, fire and emergency services. State and area law enforcement partners maintained a presence around the secure perimeter of the institution while IDOC staff cleared the affected housing unit. Order was restored by late evening.
Residents of the two unaffected tiers in H-block were returned to their living areas late Saturday night.
The men who were living on H-block, Tier-1 have been relocated to other facilities in the South Boise Correctional Complex pending the outcome of the investigation. Those residents will be given opportunities to contact their families soon. The Ada County Sheriff’s Office is also investigating the incident. The tier remains closed as a crime scene.
Four residents who were hurt during the incident were evaluated and treated at a Boise hospital and returned to IDOC custody. A fifth resident was evaluated at a hospital today for an injury he apparently suffered during the disturbance. No staff were hurt.
The IDOC refers to Saturday’s events as a “disturbance” to not prejudice the outcome of any investigation. The facts gathered through the investigation will determine what, if any, crimes took place.
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COMMISSARY PRICES INCREASING AGAIN
On March 31, Keefe notified residents of a 1.8% price increase, in accordance with the Consumer Price Index, scheduled to start at the beginning of May.
While Keefe professes to “understand the strain that this puts on [their] customers” and “[take] every step to identify new items from producers to decrease [their] cost and maintain [their] pricing,” we actually have a list of the Arizona prices our out-of-state population is contractually paying. And though we can’t yet say for sure who, we suspect someone’s abusing their ability to markup.
Prices: Idaho (with 1.8% increase) / Arizona (prices include a 20% markup)
AMP’D 15″ TV $264.91/ 220.97
Remote for TV $12.72/ 3.14
Rawlings shoes $56.33/ 33.55
Boxer Briefs $8.59/ 4.28
Keefe Coffee $4.08/ 3.26
Flavored creamer $1.70/ 1.03
Sliced Pepperoni $4.88/ 2.44
Cheese sticks $2.36/ 1.66
Starlite Mints $1.27/ .56
Ramen $.41/ .29
To be fair, when it comes to confronting oppressive desert heat or whipping up a dish of black beans and squeeze cheese, folks in Arizona are paying a little more.
8″ Massey Fan $21.19/ 28.31
Sqz cheese $.32/ .49
Black beans $.80/ 1.49
[Keefe’s Arizona prices as listed on IDOC Invitation To Negotiate 19000793. Idaho’s Keefe prices as listed by Keefe and Access Securepak.]
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FOLLOWING UP ON THE VERA INSTITUTE
For those who don’t remember, back in January we began asking to what extent the Vera Institute of Justice was involved with the Department. With neither taking the time to issue a response, we took it upon ourselves to submit a public records request. Earlier this month that request came back.
According the IDOC/Vera Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), recently extended until March of next year, the Vera Institute is looking to introduce their Restoring Promise model to select young adults incarcerated in our facilities.
The project includes repurposing units and identifying strategies that can be tailored as needed, possibly scaled. Assuming both parties move forward with the arrangement, the Vera Institute will work in partnership with MILPA to offer the Department multifaceted support. Which includes but isn’t limited to: analytics, training, messaging and communications.
Within the MOU, the Restoring Promise initiative requests the Department adhere to two core principles by: 1) suspending or replacing their disciplinary process with Restoring Promise’s methods of conflict resolution, and 2) recognizing the importance of family and refrain from restricting family involvement with program participants using disciplinary sanctions or relationship criteria.
Along with residents targeted by age (18-25), the initiative will also involve an older group of mentors.
As this proposal was made prior to pre-COVID adjustments, it’s unclear what, if anything, has changed of their goals.
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COVID NEWS
Over 31,600 tests have been administered to IDOC residents in three states. More than 4,350 have identified positive and a total of six deaths have been reported as COVID-related.
The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention has published a report suggesting several facility outbreaks may have been seeded by our residents working in food processing plants.
Though all Idaho residents have been eligible since early April, and though Idaho has had a three-week vaccine surplus for most of the month, as of April 26, only 1520 residents have been fully vaccinated. Another 82 received their first shot, with 23 of those housed in Arizona. When compared to Idaho’s fully vaccinated population of almost 32%, Idaho’s prison vaccinations were sitting close to half that.
Priority has been placed on residents that interact with the community.
Those diagnosed with Hepatitis C are apparently not of any priority.
Fact sheets were distributed for each make of vaccine prior to Janssen’s issues with blood clots. Revised versions have not been distributed.
www.modernatx.com/covid19vaccine-eua
www.janssencovid19vaccine.com
www.cvdvaccine.com
Warden Barlow has issued a memo stating: “The mail room in the South Boise Complex has been negatively impacted by COVID 19. We anticipate that all incoming and outgoing mail services will be delayed until May 10, 2021.”
Extrapolation: While Department employees had the opportunity to vaccinate long before residents, those in the mailroom decided not to opt-in–so there goes our mail while they quarantine paid.
ACLU Idaho and the law firm Shearman & Sterling are in it for the long-haul. They will remain in close contact with IDOC while monitoring all issues related COVID. Those with concerns are invited to forward their COVID experiences to:
ACLU Idaho
PO Box 1987
Boise, ID 83701
View IDOC’s COVID numbers here.
[Sources: IDOC. KBOI Channel 2 News. Audrey Dutton, “Idaho inmates worked at food plants. They got COVID. So did their bunkmates,” Idaho Capital Sun.]
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PUBLIC RECORDS REQUESTS
Our request for the Board of Correction Meeting Minutes from Feb. ’20 to Feb. ’21 was “lost in the mailroom.” It was then refiled with the timeframe expanded from Aug. ’19 to present. Though filled in a timely fashion, it arrived without the minutes for Sep. – Dec. of 2019. 2021’s meeting minutes were also not included. The reason given: they have yet to be posted.
A request to uncover whether the Department has received or allotted any funds over the last four years for Ad-Seg reform was denied in its entirety for “No Records Found.”
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NEW RESTRICTIONS ON INCOMING BOOKS
Starting June 1, 2021, all books and magazines must come from either one of the approved vendors listed below or directly from the publisher.
After May 31, all incoming books from outside these vendors, and books not containing a receipt or invoice, will be returned to sender in accordance with SOP 402.02.01.001 Mail Handling In Correctional Facilities, Section 18.
Edward R. Hamilton
Thrift Books
Discover Books
More than Words
Prison Book Program
Books to Prisoners
Note: All books being sent through a religious ministry must have the ministry listed as the publisher of the book.
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FAT! BOOK DRIVE
In lieu of the new restrictions on books, institutions of higher education are no longer allowed to ship us outdated course materials from their campus book stores to help with our mission of improving our prison library.
For all others interested in contributing and able to abide by policy:
Patrick Irving 82431
IMSI
PO Box 51
Boise, ID 83707
This month’s contributions came from friends and family:
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- We Are The Ones We Have Been Waiting For: The Promise of Civic Renewal in America by Peter Levine
- Social & Cultural Anthropology: A Very Short Introduction by John Monaghan & Peter Just
- Anthropology for Dummies by Cameron M. Smith, Ph. D.
- Algorithm by Fiction International (vol. 53)
- Silo by Hugh Howey
- Shift by Hugh Howey
- Dust by Hugh Howey
- Silo Stories by Hugh Howey
- The Complete Works of Andrew Vachss (32 books)
- The Girl in My Wallet by Teresa Nickell
- Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
Regrettably, the book Civic Activism Unleashed: New Hope or False Dawn for Democracy? (Carnegie Endowment for Intl Peace) by Richard Young was confiscated as contraband as it came through the mailroom. If we find ourselves unable to release it from captivity, we’ll forward it to our friends in the Idaho Inmate Family Support Group, who will surely give it the loving home it deserves.
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RENICK ON THE RADIO
With over 100 episodes available for streaming, Mark Renick hosts Victory Over Sin on KBXL 94.1FM, Saturdays at 12:30 pm.
This month we tuned in to meet Chris Mecham with the Recovery Advocacy Project. He offered his history with substance abuse and discussed how his project is looking for 10-15 grassroots organizers to help make recovery information more accessible in Idaho. To learn more, visit www.recoveryvoices.org
From Twin Falls, Director John Brannen of Recovery In Motion (RIM) discussed the work his organization is doing, and their relationship with the Idaho Association of Recovery Centers. According to RIM’s website, “RIM exists to remove the barriers to recovery by providing free peer-based recovery support services to individuals and families in our communities who live with substance abuse and/or metal health challenges.”
Lisa and Taylor Gonzales also stopped by for some enlightening conversation. They shared experiences with prison, recovery and faith, and provided an example of how lives can turn around with a little exposure to healthier elements (in their case, JESUS!). It deserves a mention how Taylor described the setting of Ad-Seg in prison: “It’s the exact opposite of love”–if love were human needs met by the connective nature of humanity. Taylor can be found on YouTube with a search for Brother Taylor.
In addition to his radio show, Mark Renick works with a reentry effort under an advocacy arm of St. Vincent de Paul. He and his team are in the process of expanding reentry services throughout southern Idaho. Learn more about their efforts @ https://svdpid.org/advocacy-systemicchangeofid/ and imsihopecommunityphaseii.com.
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IRS PHONE NUMBERS NOW AVAILABLE
For those still experiencing filing issues or waiting on checks, the following IRS phone numbers can now be called from all facilities.
800-830-5084 Verifying Identity -IRS
877-777-4778 Taxpayer Advocate Service
800-829-3676 Low Income Taxpayer Clinics
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INMATE SERVICES AT WORK
[Variations of the missive that follows have been launched, handwritten, over 200 times.]
Dear Idaho Editors, Legislature, Mayors and Judges,
I recently presented at the U of Idaho Video Law Symposium. The audience appeared shocked to learn that IDOC’s most problematic inmates are being released back into their communities without programming or supervision. This after compounding their defects with extended periods of isolation. One must simply watch as I unravel before a small nationwide audience to understand the effects our correctional deficiencies place one one’s being–effects that, left unaddressed, pose significant danger to your local community. The video* is available; I’m the second speaker. Sharing among your network is appreciated.
Thank you,
Patrick Irving 82431
*From the symposium mentioned in our Editor’s Notes. For those who have time, it’s definitely worth a view.
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SUGGESTION BOX
With so many university lectures made available for free, I suggest designating one room and one channel in each of our facilities for intellectual pursuits beyond the realm of GED. A variety of educational lectures from a variety institutions could inspire a variety of new interests and new means for critical thinking–all for the cost of absolutely nothing.
It’s really kind of weird that you don’t do this already.
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Notch another month, we’ll see you in June!