THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 17, 1996 TAG: 9608170027
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: 28 lines
In ``Two Cents' Worth'' (Aug. 5), you reference a recent criminal indictment against an officer employed by the Virginia Department of Corrections. Your commentary was misleading in that it failed to mention that the department initiated the investigation.
Governor Allen and I do not tolerate criminal activity within the department or in its facilities. The Department of Corrections constantly polices officers to ensure a safe working environment.
The criminal indictment, in fact, stemmed from one of our own internal-affairs investigations. One bad apple does not spoil the orchard. It is unfair to the thousands of correctional officers who report to duty every day to keep us safe and to keep violent predators incarcerated to categorize all correctional officers the same.
The Department of Corrections will continue taking swift and decisive action when needed to maintain a safe prison environment. This indictment is just one example of our continuing efforts to ensure safe and secure prisons.
JERRY W. KILGORE
Secretary of Public Safety
Commonwealth of Virginia
Richmond, Aug. 6, 1996 by CNB