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Prison Reform: Investigation Standards

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Investigation Standards

1. Initiation & Jurisdiction

  • Initial jurisdiction should be federal, ensuring standardization nationwide.
  • Federal oversight guarantees consistency in investigations and enforcement.

2. Key Areas of Oversight

  • In-Custody Deaths
    • Causes: suicide, officer self-defense, inmate violence.
    • Prevention: population control can significantly reduce suicides and inmate-on-inmate violence.
    • Employee safety: also improved through proper population management.
  • Serious Use of Force
    • Sometimes necessary, often triggered by inmate behavior—but not always.
    • Requires close auditing and transparent reporting.
  • Public Corruption
    • Root cause for federal control and guidelines.
    • Remove subjective judgment from individuals vulnerable to influence (public opinion, threats, monetary gain).
    • Solutions:
      • Categorize crimes to the smallest detail.
      • Mandatory sentencing based on federal standards.
      • Eliminate “charge stacking.”
      • Judges should apply guidelines, not personal discretion.
      • Current lack of standards leads to extreme inconsistencies:
        • Example: A 21-year-old received 40 years at age 14 for school stabbing (victim recovered in 3 days).
        • Another offender with a violent history received 15 years for repeated stabbing causing permanent injury.
  • Civil Rights Complaints
    • Ongoing but must be investigated seriously and unemotionally by a disinterested party.

3. Uniform SOPs

  • Evidence handling.
  • Witness protocols.
  • Incident reporting aligned with:
    • DOJ Civil Rights Enforcement
    • PREA (Prison Rape Elimination Act) standards

4. Auditing & Analysis

  • Quarterly analysis of:
    • Stops
    • Searches
    • Arrests
    • Charging decisions
  • Intermittent, unannounced inspections for accountability.

5. Federal Investigation of All Convictions

  • Every arrest leading to conviction and incarceration must be reviewed by federal investigators outside the local jurisdiction.
  • Review includes:
    • Reason for stop/arrest.
    • All evidence.
    • All witness testimony for bias.