Fact Sheet on the OIG’s Monitoring of the Staff Misconduct Complaint Screening, Inquiry, Investigation, and Employee Disciplinary Processes

Amarik K. Singh OIG OFFICE of the Inspector General INSPECTOR GENERAL Neil Robertson Chief Deputy Inspector General Fact Sheet Independent April 25, 2024 Prison Oversight The Office of the Inspector General’s Monitoring in 2023 of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s Staff Misconduct Complaint Screening, Inquiry, Investigation, and Employee Disciplinary Process The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation The State of California has the second (the department or CDCR) houses 93,623 incarcerated people largest prison population in the United and supervises 35,138 parolees. The department employs States, second only to Texas. 57,176 employees, the most of any State of California department. Per Penal Code section 6126 (i), the CDCR’s Staff Misconduct Complaints Three OIG “shall provide contemporaneous Process Primary oversight of grievances that fall within the The Centralized Parts Screening Team The department’s process for incarcerated department’s process for reviewing and conducted satisfactory people, parolees, and others to use when 1 Screening investigating inmate allegations of staff screening decisions in 6,248 of the 6,953, they submit complaints or grievances of 2 Inquiry misconduct and other specialty grievances, or 90 percent, of alleged staff misconduct consists of three examining compliance with regulations, the decisions. primary parts. 3 Investigation department policy, and best practices.” The Centralized and Employee Screening Team Disciplinary made poor screening CDCR’s Screening of Staff Misconduct Process CDCR’s Staff Complaint Screening decisions in 701 of the Complaints Decisions: Overall Satisfactory Rating 6,953, or 10 percent, of the decisions. The department’s Centralized Screening In 2023, the OIG reviewed and monitored The Centralized Team receives and reviews staff misconduct complaints. 6,953 screening decisions about staff Screening Team Anyone—an incarcerated person, a parolee, family members, misconduct complaints. The Centralized performed in a superior manner when member of the public, advocacy groups, law firms, officers or Screening Team made 176,814 screening making four of the other departmental staff—can submit a complaint alleging decisions. Overall, the department performed 6,953 decisions. misconduct by a CDCR employee against an incarcerated person in a satisfactory manner when making or parolee. these decisions. The department After receiving a complaint, a screener from the department’s performed in a poor manner in 77 of the 113, Centralized Screening Team will review the complaint to CDCR’s Handling of Staff Complaint or 68 percent, of the determine whether it includes an allegation of staff misconduct. Local Inquiries: Overall Poor Rating inquiry cases. • If the complaint does not contains a staff misconduct In 2023, the OIG monitored 113 inquiry cases. The department performed in a allegation, the screener will return the complaint to The department conducted 7,903 inquiries. satisfactory manner the prison from which it came as a routine matter; the We evaluated the performance of both locally in 36 of the 113, or prison will then address the complaint. designated investigators who conducted the 32 percent, of the inquiry cases. inquiries and wardens who made decisions • If the complaint contains a staff misconduct allegation, regarding the inquiry cases. Overall, the The department did not perform in a the screener will decide whether the allegation is a department performed poorly in conducting superior manner in any serious staff misconduct allegation or a lesser allegation. staff misconduct inquiry cases. inquiry cases. The department maintains a list of the most serious allegations, which is called the Allegation Decision Index. CDCR’s Handling of Staff Misconduct The department Investigations and the Employee performed in a poor manner in 77 of the 121, • If a screener concludes that the allegation of staff Disciplinary Process: Overall or 64 percent, of the misconduct is a serious allegation as identified on Poor Rating investigation cases. the Allegation Decision Index, the screener will The department send the allegation to the Office of Internal Affairs In 2023, the OIG monitored 121 staff performed in a for an investigation. The Office of Internal Affairs misconduct investigations and the satisfactory manner has a group of investigators assigned to employee disciplinary i 3 n 6 4 p 4 e o rc f e th n e t, 1 o 2 f 1 th , e o r the Allegation Investigation Unit. This process for those cases. investigation cases. group is responsible for investigating The department completed The department these allegations. 7,124 investigations. did not perform in a The OIG evaluated the superior manner in any investigation cases. • If the allegation is a less serious allegation performance of Office of staff misconduct, the screener will send of Internal Affairs the allegation to the prison from which it investigators, department came for a prison staff member, such as a attorneys, and the wardens who made decisions lieutenant, to conduct an allegation inquiry, regarding the investigation cases. Overall, the which is not an investigation. These prison department performed poorly in conducting staff members who conduct inquiries staff misconduct investigations and the are called locally designated investigators. disciplinary process. 10111 Old Placerville Road, Suite 110, Sacramento, California 95827 5 Telephone: (916) 288-4233 5 www.oig.ca.gov