Misconduct report from Salinas Valley State Prison results in a new statewide internal affairs unit.

After discovering systemic mishandling of inmate complaints against staff at a maximum-security prison in Soledad last year, state prison officials decided to create a new unit within the prison system’s internal affairs office.

The failures at Salinas Valley State Prison were discussed at length in the annual report of the Office of Inspector General of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation that was released this month. The Inspector General report revealed that a unit was established to investigate inmate allegations from across the prison system and draft standards and procedures for the proper handling of complaints of abuse.

Known as the Allegation Inquiry Management Section, the new unit is made up of 36 lieutenants and six captains. The prison system spent $9.8 million to open the unit.

The report says that the creation of the statewide unit was a response to a 2019 review of the Salinas Valley prison. CDCR spokesperson Terry Thornton adds that the report helped inform overhaul efforts that were already underway.

In a six-month period between December 2017 and May 2018, 9 percent of all misconduct complaints in California were lodged by inmates at SVSP, who make up only 2.7 percent of the total incarcerated population in the state.

In one example, an inmate claimed that the guards put him in an isolation cell for refusing to become an informant. In another, it was alleged that a guard disciplined black inmates more harshly.

In 55 percent of the cases analyzed by the Office of Inspector General, the handling of inmates’ complaints was found to be “inadequate.” In 92 cases, there was at least one “significant deficiency.” The shortcomings included failing to ask questions, breaching confidentiality, disregarding evidence and expressing biases.

Often, after inmates complained, prison officials summoned them over the public address system, revealing that they had complained. Interviews with inmates were often done within earshot of the accused guard.

In one example, guards discarded an inmate’s dental prosthetics during a search. The inmate complained after first asking a sergeant for help but being told, “tough shit.” The correctional officer who handled the complaint didn’t bother interviewing the sergeant or identifying other staff involved in the search.

Prison authorities found nearly all inmate complaints to be meritless, absolving officers of any policy violations in 183 out of 188 cases that were analyzed.

One likely reason: None of the officers reviewing complaints received any “meaningful” training in investigation techniques, according to the report.

“The problems we encountered require substantial changes at Salinas Valley,” the report states. The lack of independent review of complaints and the low quality of inquiries called for “a complete overhaul of the staff complaint inquiry process,” the authors wrote.

They made a number of recommendations for reform, including giving officers who review misconduct allegations independence from the command structure, providing comprehensive training and requiring audio recording of witnesses.