From Deseret News archives:

Corrections scolded over 'good old boys'

Scathing legislative audit accuses the Utah department of favoritism

Published: Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2006 11:57 p.m. MST
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
Despite being instructed by a governor's transition report two years ago to improve conditions at the Utah Department of Corrections, the department that oversees Utah's penal system continues to be ruled by "good old boys" who encourage institutionalized favoritism and apparent gender discrimination, a scathing legislative audit has concluded.

According to the 71-page legislative audit report made public Wednesday, the department suffers from an "underlying culture of unfairness and favoritism."

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s spokesman, Mike Mower, said the audit has prompted the governor's own inquiry into the issues, out of concern for public safety; and the governor anticipates that review will be complete in a few weeks.

Corrections Executive Director Scott Carver defended himself and his administration during a hearing Wednesday at the state Capitol.

"Staff are our No. 1 priority," Carver said. But he acknowledged that several areas need improvement, including the fact that 6 percent of Corrections officers are behind in their certification training as law enforcement officers. Carver blamed a new system that let officers keep track of their training hours themselves, without oversight by administration.

Story continues below
The report lists numerous examples in which administrative officials, including internal-affairs officers, were shielded from internal investigations and disciplinary action. But the auditors said one employee was punished for coming forward with an allegation that a senior Corrections officer breached security.

Questions were also raised about the department's 192 "commute vehicles," which the auditors said were given to "select administrators and supervisors" to use at a cost of $1.1 million in taxpayer funds.

The report said UDOC did away with a system to track the use of the vehicles and could not account the purposes for which the vehicles were used. There were employees who used these vehicles who "do not have a clear need for such," the report said.

One of the main focuses of the audit centered around a sense of what some Corrections employees called a "good old boys" system. A 2003 UDOC employee survey showed that 76 percent of employees believed favoritism existed and 81 percent felt frustrated. The audit found that from 1998 to 2005, the Corrections Department has led all state departments in the number of employee grievances filed.

The problem was expressed by an officer with the Career Service Review Board, who suggested that "such a culture at a minimum needs to be 'reined in' if not ideally totally quashed for the benefit of the taxpaying public."

Comments

You can be the first to comment on this story.

Image

Scott Carver, executive director of the Utah Department of Corrections, responds to the audit's findings at the Capitol Wednesday.

previousnext

Latest comments

Cougars beat Utes, 26-23

"The Running [into each other] Yewts." Thanks for taking yourself out of this...

Cougars beat Utes, 26-23

Ute fans will be alone and miserable tonight... just like they should be.

Cougars beat Utes, 26-23

Does the collective ignorance of the Utah Fan Base have no bounds??? BYU...

Cougars beat Utes, 26-23

Wit played the freshman QB. Any good qb would have thrown four tds to wide...

Cougars beat Utes, 26-23

Deseret Dawg--Utah also would have won it if they could cover George. Or...

MiP Thank you for your level headed comments. I am a BYU fan. You know...

Both played well enough to lose.....both were inconsistent........BYU's...

Cougars beat Utes, 26-23

TIme will tell | 7:20 p.m. Nov. 28, 2009 HAHAHAHAHAHAHA Four months of...

Cougars beat Utes, 26-23

When you blitz, if the tight end breaks through the first wave, nobody left...

Cougars beat Utes, 26-23

Are you serious? College football OT is SO much better than NFL.

Advertisements