Dora Schriro's 'Parallel Universe'
Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) has described Dora Schriro as "one of America's leading minds on modern, effective prison management." Schriro needs all the smarts her "leading mind" can produce: She took over as director of a state prison system that badly requires an overhaul.
Since her arrival in July last year, Schriro (pronounced SHREE-roh) has visited every correctional facility in the state and conducted a top-to-bottom review of their operations. She has also examined the make up of the prison population, determined to resolve the problem of severe overcrowding. She found that 45 percent of the population growth comes not from new offenders but from felons who have violated probation or parole. Her conclusion: Reducing the propensity for violating probation or parole will cut drastically into overcrowding.
Schriro is also known for promoting a "parallel universe" model, which she described as "the notion that life inside prison should resemble life outside prison and that inmates acquire values, habits and skills that will help them become productive, law-abiding citizens. This means they will all work, contribute to the restitution of their victims, and participate in basic educational and vocational training."
In Schriro's view, this model — proved successful in Missouri, where she previously headed the state's prison system — will drastically reduce recidivism rates.
That will obviously help solve overcrowding problems and, she believes, help reduce crime itself.
Charles Flannagan, a CO at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Tucson and a member of Local 3204 (Council 97), agrees with Schriro's philosophy and strategy. He particularly likes her strong support of a labor/management partnership: "She recognizes that corrections departments with union representation have lower staff turnovers, better pay and benefits, and higher employee morale." Schriro meets regularly with ACU leaders to discuss budget proposals and other personnel-related issues.
"Staff are frequently left out of problem-solving and decision- making processes," Schriro says. "We learn best from our own colleagues. They are the most critical problem-solvers, and I consider them a valuable resource in our mission to build the new Arizona Department of Corrections as the best in the country."
