ACTION VOWED ON PRISON STUDY; REPORT DETAILS GROSS MISCONDUCT AT CHINO YOUTH FACILITY.

Byline: Monica Valencia Staff Writer

State prison officials say they will take immediate action to address wrongs outlined in a report revealing gross misconduct at the Herman G. Stark Youth Correctional Facility.

The vow comes after a six-month investigation determined that guards have brutalized and mistreated wards for more than two years at the Chino facility, which also is under scrutiny for violating state laws by allowing wards to be used as guinea pigs to test a psychiatric drug administered by Stanford University.

Robert Presley, state secretary of the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency, said he was stunned by the report and vowed to address the findings.

``We want a quick turnaround and will have everything concluded within 60 days,'' Presley said, referring to prison officials' reform plans.

Guards have been accused of firing potentially lethal riot control guns at close range to remove inmates, locking belligerent inmates in cells with urine and feces and forcing prisoners to fight rival gang members before they are allowed into the Youth Authority's general population.

The report also revealed that some guards had beaten prisoners outside the view of the facility's surveillance cameras. Presley said cameras would be installed at all of Stark's ``blind spot'' areas to eliminate the possibility of guards handcuffing and slamming inmates on the ground outside the range of video cameras.

The ``unrestrained program,'' which pits rival gang members against each other, was eliminated a few weeks ago, Presley said, adding that 24 percent of the time the program resulted in inmates fighting and guards using tear gas or pepper spray.

A complete audit of the ward grievance process will be completed within 45 days and polygraph tests no longer will be used to determine whether inmate complaints are valid. Before, if an inmate did not pass a polygraph test his grievance was dismissed.

Open-ended drug prescriptions must be eliminated immediately, Presley said. Doctors will be brought in to conduct follow-up exams on inmates before they can get another prescription.

Staffers have been instructed to immediately review all cell extraction procedures, Presley said. Any weapons used in cell extraction must be approved by state prison officials. All cell extractions will now be videotaped and closely monitored.

Steven Chatten, acting chief deputy of the youth authority, was suspended in May while the state Inspector General investigated the Stark prison, where he served as superintendent. The investigation followed complaints of excess force that compared security and management to a military state.

The severe measures are a fallout of the slaying of Ineasie Baker more than two years ago, Stark staffers said. When Chatten left the Stark facility in March, he was replaced by Xavier Ruiz who began his career with CYA in 1973.

At the same time, Mary Herrera was also appointed deputy superintendent. Herrera, who has worked for the CYA for 23 years, was transferred from the Ventura juvenile prison after investigators found a 20-year pattern of mismanagement and sexual misconduct.

The Stark facility houses more than 1,400 inmates, ages 18 to 25. Their crimes range from arson to kidnapping to murder, although many committed those crimes when they were still juveniles.

The institution is one of 11 youth correctional agencies and four conservation camps run by the CYA. The Youth Authority supervises 14,600 offenders younger than 25, more than one-third of whom are on parole. The California Youth and Adult Correctional Agency is the nation's largest correctional agency with a budget of nearly $5 billion and a staff of more than 50,000.