PRISONS GET NEW GUIDELINES; USE-OF-FORCE RESTRICTIONS IN LOCKUPS DRAW MIXED REACTIONS.

Byline: Daily News Staff and Wire Services

Correctional officers at Lancaster's state prison face new restrictions starting April 1 on their use of firearms to break up fights.

While California has been the only state that lets prison officers use gunfire to break up inmate fistfights, the new statewide policy will allow guards to use deadly force only to defend an employee or inmate from the immediate threat of death, to prevent an escape or to stop a riot or arson.

The change has been praised by inmate rights' groups, but has raised concerns among the guards who must maintain order in overcrowded conditions.

``The frustration is that five of us are assaulted every day,'' said Lance Corcoran, vice president of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association in Sacramento, speaking about incidents at all 33 state prisons.

Correctional officers said that the changes were first announced last year. They are now compiled in a four-page report as opposed to 17 pages in earlier guidelines.

``I know that their intent is to make it more understandable,'' said Corcoran. ``We are optimistic that they can do that. We're supportive of that.''

In the past year, officers at the state prison in Lancaster have fired 26 warning shots, prison officials said. The warning shots were aimed away from inmates and no one was hit, they said.

The shots were fired only after inmates failed to follow orders to stop fighting or cease assaulting officers, the officials said.

Statistics for how many inmates have been shot since the prison opened in 1993 were unavailable. No one has been killed in Lancaster, prison officials said.

``We've been very fortunate,'' said prison spokeswoman Lt. Diane Gonzales. ``We've only had very few incidents.''

Gonzales, who attended training on the new policy last week, said the new guidelines are very clear.

``It's asking staff to closely monitor and evaluate all their options before using use of force,'' said Gonzales. ``They wanted to standardize the rules for everybody.''

California prison guards have used lethal violence at a much higher rate than guards in other states.

Between 1994 and 1998, 12 inmates in California's maximum-security prisons were fatally shot and 32 were wounded by guards firing high-power rifles to stop fights. In all other states combined, six prisoners were shot and killed while attempting to escape during the same period.

Guards' shootings of inmates and alleged abuse of prisoners have prompted state and federal civil rights probes. At Corcoran State Prison, eight officers were indicted for allegedly staging gladiator-style fights between inmates.

In November, an independent panel found that deadly force was not justified in 24 of 31 inmate shootings at Corcoran from 1989 to 1995. In some instances, guards shot inmates engaged in routine fistfights, killing seven of them.