As an employee working within the field of
criminal justice, you risk your health and welfare
everyday by working directly with inmates, arrestees
and convicted felons. It is a known fact that
assault rates upon law enforcement staff resulting in serious
injuries are increasing in our state.
As a Chapter of the 10,000+ member
National Staff
Assault Task Force, the
WSATF was
organized in July of 2007 by current and former
members of the Washington State Department of
Corrections who recognized a need to assist staff
members who have been assaulted and injured by
inmates. The Task
Force was formed by a group of concerned employees who have banded together and
formed a
non-profit, membership controlled,
employee organization to fight back. In its simplest
form, this is about, “cops helping cops.”
The
WSATF was established to provide Staff assault
support, and to aide crime victims within our
community. Far too many times, employees are forgotten about after an assault. The
Task Force has established an organization that will
make sure that assault victims will not be
forgotten. This system ensures that each and every
member has a voice. Once the staff member has been
assisted, the offender will be held accountable
through the Civil Court process when appropriate.
When an
offender assaults a staff member, the Task
Force ensures that an asset check is performed to
see if the inmate has any assets. Many people
believe that all inmates are poor. This is the
farthest from the truth. Many offenders have monies
that you and I don’t see. Once the check is
complete, based on the amount of funds that are
available, the Task Force will file a lawsuit in the
appropriate court. Once the lawsuit is settled, any
judgment awarded will go directly to the assaulted
staff member, as it should.
Even if the offender has no outside assets, they may
have a trust account at the institution along with
Legal Financial Obligations (LFOs.) It may be small
potatoes to you and me, but ask an inmate if he
wants you to own his trust account. One has to
remember that it’s not about the money; it’s about
holding these convicted felons accountable for their
actions.
The Washington Staff Assault Task Force TM was
instrumental in the passing of House Bill 1334 –
This law streamlines the process of collection for
civil judgments of assault. Before this law was
passed, the garnishment procedure was slow,
burdensome, and expensive. To date over $1,400.00
has been removed from inmate accounts and dispensed
to the correctional staff they assaulted, as it
should.
Please see “How
a Bill Became a Law” to read about the
passage of a new law that provides accountability
and deterrence or assaults by taking away an
inmate's ability to purchase creature comforts.
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