California’s prison guards violated policy regarding the use of force in confrontations with inmates nearly half the time, reports the California Office of Inspector General.

The report, based on use-of-force incidents between July 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017, noted that just 52 percent of such incidents were deemed by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to be fully compliant with department policy. So 48 percent of the 3,709 incidents did not.

The report also notes that department policy requiring staff to video-record interviews of inmates “who allege unnecessary or excessive force, or who sustain serious or great bodily injury possibly from the use of force,” are followed only 57 percent of the time.

Further, in dozens of cases, the OIG determined that prison guards didn’t adequately report an imminent threat to justify the use of force.

“While the number of such instances is relatively small in comparison to the totality of all use-of-force incidents in the period, the negative impact of any such incident involving unnecessary force can be quite significant in its potential to create tension between the inmate population and staff members, and in exposing the department to legal liability,” the report notes.

Indeed, it should not be lost that the California prison system has been under federal court monitoring and has been subject to considerable scrutiny over the years over the treatment of prisoners.

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Orange County Register endorsements for the Tuesday, Nov. 3 general election For example, in 2015, the OIG issued a damning report on a pattern of abuse by guards at High Desert State Prison in Susanville. That report cited questionable uses of force against inmates with disabilities — and the efforts of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association to hinder their investigation.

With over 100,000 people in the state prison system, it is imperative that the CDCR continues to ensure the prison guards comply with policies intended to prevent unnecessary harm and avoid costly litigation.

The least that should be expected from the prison guards is professionalism.

After all, despite the Legislative Analyst’s Office questioning the need for it, the state Legislature overwhelmingly approved a 5 percent raise to the most highly paid prison guards in the country.