Michigan prison audits finds falsified cell searches, missed tool inspections, and inaccurate metal detectors

(FOX 2) - Staff at Michigan prisons failed to comply with correction department policies a majority of the time, an audit of certain locations found.

Reviews of operations at the Richard Handlon Correctional Facility, the Baraga Correctional Facility, and the Ionia Correctional Facility found gaps in reporting and inspections, as well as employees not accurately recording when cell blocks are being searched.

Big picture view:

From missed radio checks and tool inspections to falsified cell search logbooks and failures to search people or vehicles coming into prisons, the Office of the Auditor General in Michigan found dozens of problems at prisons around Michigan.

Reports from three different prisons located in Ionia County in mid-Michigan and Baraga County in the Upper Peninsula documented gaps in required checks of tools, arsenals, prisoner cells, and the prisoners themselves.

At the Richard A. Handlon Correctional Facility, which houses 1,100 prisoners, officers lied about searching cells 4% of the time while 33% of searches were less than a minute, calling into question the thoroughness of the searches.

Meanwhile, staff at the Baraga Correctional Facility, which houses 595 prisoners, the inventory of tools was not always maintained, while 28% of facility-owned vehicles that came through the entrance did so without a manifest, despite carrying unknown items.

Dig deeper:

One of the more alarming patterns observed was a lack of detection by metal detectors at the Richard A. Handlon Correctional Facility.

Employees performing the audit conducted walk-throughs at four different locations, attempting to bring in welding rods, stainless steel, and welded scrap metal. Only one location detected one of the items.

There were 46 instances of the detector missing objects carried by hand, clenched fist, under arm, and pant leg pockets, the audit found.

According to the audit, none of the detectors were appropriately calibrated to detect metal. 

Objects carried through metal detectors that the machines missed at the Richard A. Handlon Correctional Facility

At the Ionia Correctional Facility, metal detectors had more success, catching items 17 times out of 28 tests.

Auditors were still able to bring needle nose tweezers, scissors, seam cutters and rippers 11 times.

Objects carried through metal detectors that the machines missed at the Ionia Correctional Facility

What they're saying:

In each of the three audits, the Michigan Department of Transportation cited staffing shortages that led to missed searches and poor documentation of tool and arsenal inventories. 

The Baraga County Correctional Facility has been managing with 23% of positions vacant. This has led to an increase in need for overtime, which has led to violations of the department's 32-hourt rule, which limits how often an employee is required to work past their shift.

Employees say this has "negatively affected their ability to carry out their job duties" while 97% of workers say it made their job more dangerous.