 January 27, 2003
"It is my intention that the department's reorganization provide enhanced public safety and improved service for Alaskans," Murkowski said. "I have directed the department to re-focus its limited resources on its public safety mission, including officer safety and front line operations, and on successful inmate programs, such as job training and education, and the chaplaincy program." Commissioner Marc Antrim has been directed to review job classifications for probation officers and administrative staff positions, and to implement a rank structure for the division of institutions and probation and parole to clarify the chain of command within the department. "I agree with Commissioner Antrim that, in order to streamline operations and better manage facilities within the Anchorage bowl, he should merge the management of the Anchorage Jail and Cook Inlet Pre-Trial into a single unit with one superintendent, and two assistant superintendents," Murkowski said. To assist with measuring and evaluating agency, institutional and program efficiencies, an internal auditor position has been assigned to the commissioner's office. A special assistant for training has been assigned to the Correctional Academy to re-tool the department's officer recruitment and training programs. The Academy will expand and enhance training opportunities for officers, as well as provide additional officer safety training for probation officers, who, on a daily basis, manage demanding caseloads involving extensive independent fieldwork. The inmate health care unit has been moved to the division of administrative services, where the director can work closely with the medical director and other state agencies to maintain quality health care for Alaska's inmate population, while undertaking a variety of cost containment measures.
Source of News Release:
|
||