Stafford Creek prison fined after staff fails to enforce COVID-19 safety measures
The Department of Corrections in Washington has been fined $60,000 after staff at the Stafford Creek Corrections Center in Aberdeen failed to properly enforce COVID-19 safety measures.
The Department of Labor & Industries initiated inspections in June of 2021 after a correctional officer at the facility contracted and soon died due to COVID-19, according to a press statement released by L&I. Another staff member tested positive during that ongoing inspection, and also later died from the virus.
According to the news release, three employees died from COVID-19 at Stafford Creek between December 2020 and August 2021. The facility has also reported 176 confirmed cases of the virus among the staff there. Although case numbers within the employees aren’t as high as other DOC locations, Stafford Creek has had three out of the four total DOC deaths come from its staff.
The facility has also seen a significant number of COVID-19 cases in the incarcerated population, according to DOC COVID-19 data. At least 1,244 confirmed cases have been reported at Stafford Creek. Five incarcerated individuals have died due to COVID-19, the highest count from any other DOC location. The data was not clear about when the deaths occurred. The current capacity of inmates at the facility is 1,936 according to the DOC website.
It is unclear if the COVID-19 safety protocols are enforced with the incarcerated individuals at the facility, but Rachel Ericson, deputy communications director for the Washington State Department of Corrections, said in an email that “all incarcerated individuals within Washington State Department of Corrections facilities are required to wear masks.”
When asked by McClatchy who checks to make sure that protocols are being followed with incarcerated individuals, Ericson said that, “staff members provide on-site adjustments when necessary,” but did not elaborate further.
Stafford Creek was initially fined $9,000 in June after L&I discovered that the facility had not been enforcing mask use or social distancing policies. Its latest investigations, which found that staff still were not enforcing COVID-19 procedures, resulted in new fines and a citation for a “willful serious violation.”
In a pre-written statement, Cheryl Strange, secretary for the Washington State Department of Corrections, called the compliance issue troubling. She noted in the statement that she has “called for a review of the safety culture at Stafford Creek Corrections Center,” though the statement was not specific as to what the review will entail. Strange also added that DOC “is continuously working to ensure compliance with proper masking and social distancing protocols.”
According to the statement released by L&I, the DOC is already attempting to correct its previous mistakes by enforcing mask and social distancing mandates, creating barriers with plexiglass, and requiring management to monitor safety compliance with staff via surveillance cameras. Other protocols have been addressed as well.
The press release noted too that Gov. Jay Inslee’s vaccine mandates have required DOC employees to be vaccinated in order to keep their positions.
If the DOC decides to appeal the citation, they have 15 days to do so according to L&I. Penalty fines will go into a supplemental pension fund for worker’s compensation, which goes toward “families of those who have died on the job” or injured employees.
This story was originally published December 23, 2021 at 1:09 PM.
