Don’t defang our prisons watchdog

The March 9 Dispatch article “Prison watchdog may be scrapped” is very troubling. As a former prison administrator and warden at three different institutions, I cringed whenever a letter from the Correctional Institution Inspection Committee came to my attention. The letters usually brought inmate complaints and concerns to our attention.

The complaints were often trivial, but once in a while a real issue would stare us in the face. We were then prompted to examine the issue in depth and take whatever action was needed to correct it. It often prompted us to do our jobs better, caused our prisons to be more secure and safe, and improved the conditions of confinement.

We had administrative rules and policies to follow and implement. Sometimes the panel, as irritating as it could be, caused us to take a second look at the way we did things, and, if necessary, make changes. Inmates need to be able to bring legitimate problems to us and have them corrected. Administrators and corrections workers occasionally needed to be reminded of their duties. The Legislature, which oversees the inspection committee, also needs to be reminded that it can’t shirk its duties by passing them off to the Inspector General.

Assigning the oversight of the panel to the Inspector General is a real failure on the part of legislators. They were elected to do the job on behalf of the residents of Ohio, which includes our prisoners. You asked for the job. You were elected to do it. Don’t shirk your duty by passing it off to the Inspector General.

George D. Alexander Delaware