Bureau of State Investigations

The Bureau of State Investigations is responsible for conducting criminal, administrative and internal affairs investigations. The Bureau also coordinates the agency's Get Lean Hot-Line activity, inmate drug testing program, "Prison Tips" program, and serves as the final reviewing authority for all "Use-of-Force" incidents.

Investigations

When completed, criminal investigations are referred to the appropriate State Attorney's Office for prosecution. Administrative and internal affairs investigations are referred to management for appropriate follow-up action.

During the 2002-03 fiscal year, 19,753 incidents were reported to the Inspector General's Office. Those incidents were classified in the following categories:

Of these 19,753 incidents, 3,303 official investigations were assigned as indicated by the chart below.

Of the 3,303 investigations assigned, 377 were forwarded to State Attorney's Offices throughout Florida for possible criminal prosecution.

Investigation Highlights

As illustrated by the "Classification of Incidents" chart above, the majority of reported incidents involved:

• Complaints against staff, including improper conduct, alleged excessive use of force, and staff/offender relationships. (29%)
• Crimes vs. Persons, including battery on a law enforcement officer, battery on another inmate, sexual battery, and possession of a weapon. (21%)
• Inmate injuries or Deaths, which included suicide, suicide attempts, homicides, natural deaths, accidental deaths and injuries. (15%)
• Recovery and possession of contraband. (15%)

Get Lean Hot-Line

The Bureau coordinates department responses to suggestions and complaints received via the Comptroller's Get Lean Hot-Line. During the fiscal year 2002-2003, the Bureau received 48 "Hot-Line" complaints. Of those, 29 involved complaints against department staff, 14 were suggestions for cost savings, and 5 involved agency policy.

Inmate Drug Testing Unit

The Bureau's Inmate Drug Testing Unit administers the inmate random drug-testing program in which a statistically valid sample of the inmate population is selected and tested for illegal substances each month through a computerized random selection system. In addition to random drug tests, the program also includes "for cause" testing of any inmate based on reasonable suspicion of involvement with drugs or alcohol. The role of testing, as an integral part of effective abuse treatment programs has been recognized as highly effective in identifying those who have substance abuse problems, getting them into treatment and monitoring them during the treatment process.

Prison Tips

The Bureau oversees the "Prison Tips" program. The goal of the program is to garner valuable criminal intelligence on unsolved and ongoing criminal activity, both inside and outside the department, from inmates, probationers, and other persons who may have knowledge of this type of activity. The "Prison Tips" program offers an anonymous method to provide this information.

The system utilizes a special number where "TIPS" can be dialed from all inmate phones located inside all department facilities, as well as, 1-866-599-1778, which can be called from phones outside the facilities. All calls are on a secured line that will go directly into a system monitored by the Office of the Inspector General. Criminal intelligence that is gathered will be disseminated to the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction over the crime.

Individuals calling have the option of establishing a voice mailbox, which can be accessed by a randomly generated pass code, to receive information back from the Inspector General's Office on the status of the information they provided. This will also provide a mechanism to stay in contact with the individual should they be eligible for a monetary reward offered by law enforcement.

Posters and brochures have been distributed to all department facilities and probation offices explaining how this system works.

Use of Force

The Use of Force Unit was established in August of 1999 and is staffed by an Inspector Supervisor and a Senior Inspector. The mission of the unit is to review all incidents of physical force at state correctional facilities and ensure compliance with established rules, procedures and statutes.

To accomplish this, the unit conducts an independent review and evaluation of all force incidents upon receipt of the required reports, associated documents and videotapes from each correctional facility or office. Use-of-force reports or videotapes that reveal possible procedural violations, inmate abuse, excessive/improper/unauthorized force, or battery by correctional employees are referred to the Bureau of State Investigations and an internal investigation is conducted. During this reporting period, 317 use-of-force incidents have been referred for further investigation.

The Use of Force Database has been enhanced to provide automatic notification to management of pertinent information regarding employee involvement in use-of-force incidents. Improvement to the database also allows the designation of major or minor use-of-force incidents based on standardized criteria, and the ability to provide ad hoc reports as necessary. Use-of-force incidents are classified as major incidents whenever chemical agent CS or the ERD is used, and/or whenever outside medical treatment is required for employees or inmates as a result of the incident of force.

The following chart categorizes all incidents reported to the Use of Force Unit from July 1, 2002 through June 30, 2003: