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By DAVID WEISS dweiss@leader.net
Thursday, March 13, 2003 Page: 1A
For months, Sheriff Barry Stankus has predicted staffing cuts in his
department would result in delays in transporting prisoners to court.
This year that has happened at least twice and resulted in a contempt
charge against Stankus.
But according to prison transport records, his office has been asked to
transport about 39 percent fewer prisoners during January and February this
year, compared to the same time last year.
In the first two months of 2002, Stankus’ deputies transported 590 inmates.
This year in that same time period, they transported 360.
The number of deputies transporting prisoners also has been reduced by a
similar percentage during that time – from 18 to 10, or about 44 percent.
So if there are fewer prisoners to transport, why did the delays occur?
Stankus says there are multiple reasons including:
The elimination of 17 per diem deputies.
The need to continue numerous other duties including serving protection-
from-abuse orders, education classes at local schools and staffing a Hazleton
annex.
Too little notice from court on when prisoner transports are needed.
Court hearings scheduled at times that conflict with other pressing
duties.
Those are some of the issues Stankus could raise today at a hearing before
Judge Joseph Augello to determine if Stankus and his chief deputy were in
contempt of court for failing to bring five prisoners to court on time Feb.
14. The hearing also will determine if Stankus’ office intentionally shirked
its duties.
For the hearing, Augello has ordered Stankus to produce a roster showing
what every deputy was doing when the five inmates were not brought to court.
Stankus said staff cuts have forced him to trim deputies from almost every
branch of his office, with prisoner transports taking the biggest hit.
He opted to dramatically cut the number of deputies transporting prisoners
because further cuts in other areas would jeopardize services. He also said
the burden placed on deputies in transporting inmates could be reduced with
more cooperation from the courts.
Stankus said he has asked the court to provide him with a priorities list
for his office to help him clarify his duties, although President Judge
Michael Conahan said he was unaware of Stankus’ request.
Chief Deputy George Kamage said there are simple steps the court could take
to help resolve the issue, including having judges schedule more afternoon
hearings.
“We’re just trying to work with everyone,” Kamage said. “But nobody
wants to work with us.”
But others say changes already have been made to relieve some of the burden
on Stankus’ department – including implementing a video-conferencing system.
Conahan said he recently used the system to conduct hearings for 43 inmates
in one day, avoiding the need to transport the prisoners. As use of the video
system increases, the number of transports should decrease, the judge said.
Conahan also said most guilty pleas have been moved to the afternoon, at
Stankus’ request.
Kamage said video conferencing has helped slightly, but the department
still encounters some problems, such as a lack of advance notice for some
prisoner transports.
His office does not know of some transports until the day before and that
could interfere with previously scheduled out-of-county transports, the
sheriff said.
Stankus said his office, which has eight fewer employees than the prior
administration, could use an additional five deputies solely for prisoner
transport.
Stankus said the number of transports was much higher at this time last
year because overcrowding at the county prison forced inmates to be moved to
other facilities, causing deputies to travel to bring them to court.
The increased workload contributed to Stankus projecting that he would go
over budget by at least $175,000 in 2002. He said he raised the issue with
commissioners but they never fully addressed it.
Commissioners have stated publicly they cannot afford to increase the
department’s staff.
Where the cuts were made
A review of a sample of the department’s schedules before and after the
lay-offs shows the sheriff reduced the number of employees in almost all
areas.
Scheduling rosters for the department include the following changes:
The number of employees who handle protection-from-abuse orders and issue
arrest warrants dropped from 12 to nine.
Stankus said he needs deputies serving papers, including PFAs, around the
clock to ensure paperwork can be served on individuals who work various
shifts.
In January and February 2002, Stankus’ office served 149 PFAs. This year in
the same time frame, his deputies served 143.
Gun permits are now only issued on Monday and Wednesday at the main
courthouse, instead of Monday through Friday, plus one day in Hazleton.
Three other deputies, who handle office matters, assist in transporting
inmates when possible.
No cuts were made at the Hazleton annex, which has four deputies.
Those deputies serve paperwork in southern Luzerne County, Stankus said.
Bringing them to the main office would not be productive because they would
have to drive regularly from Wilkes-Barre to the Hazleton area to serve
paperwork, he said.
This year at the Hazleton office deputies have served 23 PFAs, 17 arrest
warrants, and 200 civil documents. No records for January or February 2002
were available.
The sheriff’s community service program lost one employee. Those deputies
go to schools and other institutions for the Junior Deputy program, “Stranger
Danger,” and dangers of drug and alcohol with young school children.
They also teach safety tips to senior citizens, and car seat tips to
parents, Stankus said.
Some of that work, such as car seat safety, duplicates work done by other
authorities. Stankus said those programs were started before he took office
and he considers them vital.
Diane Yakscoe, a Crestwood School District employee who coordinates the
Junior Deputy program at Rice Elementary, said the community service deputies
are priceless. “They do provide an awesome community service.”
In the Junior Deputy program, deputies go to a school for five weeks and
teach a grade about various issues, such as retail theft, vandalism or gun
safety.
“This outshines anything I’ve ever had in the school,” she said. “The
part that impresses me the most is that the deputies follow up with kids.”
For instance, the deputies often conduct an anti-tobacco program for
sixth-grade students – many of whom were in the junior deputy program in
fourth grade.
“These people, the deputies, genuinely care about our kids,” she said.
“It’s just a shame if these programs wouldn’t be able to be presented because
of a lack of manpower.”
David Weiss, a Times Leader staff writer, can be reached at 831-7397.