UNLIKE LUNGREN, LOCKYER WILL TARGET ABUSE IN PRISONS

GOOD news from Sacramento: Bill Lockyer, the new attorney general, has
signaled he'll be tough on crimes that his conservative predecessor, Dan
Lungren, wouldn't touch -- those committed by guards inside the state
prisons.

Lockyer said this week he'll create a unit in his office to investigate
serious allegations of abuse of prisoners by guards. Its first order of
business will be the five fatal shootings and 19 other incidents resulting
in injuries to inmates at Corcoran State Prison that a state panel last
fall determined were unjustified.

Lockyer's promise contrasts with Lungren's inaction. From 1989 to last
year, guards killed three dozen inmates in California prisons, a number
that exceeded that of all other state and federal prisons combined. Many of
the prisoners, though unarmed, were shot under a shoot-first policy of
ending fights; some were provoked into combat for the guards' pleasure,
like gladiators in a Roman circus.

Lungren's office had a hands-off policy. Only after the Los Angeles
Times reported on the deaths did he launch an investigation, and then only
into one incident. Lungren said he didn't want to overlap with the work of
a federal grand jury, which by then had begun a broad investigation that
resulted in numerous criminal indictments. The attorney general's office
investigation ended with none.

The 28,000-member California Correctional Peace Officers Association closed
ranks and squelched internal Department of Corrections inquiries. Its
restrictions on guards' testimony assured a whitewash. The association had
contributed $1.5 million to Gov. Pete Wilson's campaigns and backed Lungren
for attorney general in 1994, although not his run for governor last year.

But the union has nothing to gain from defending a minority of thugs whose
brutality has badly tarnished its image, so it may be coming around. A
union spokesman endorsed Lockyer's proposal as a fairer alternative to
internal Corrections investigations or to federal investigations, which he
characterized as politicized.

A prison rights group also is backing Lockyer's plan, as is thedistrict
attorneys' association. Investigating abuse in prisons in their counties
had fallen to the DAs by default; most will be happy to pass the burden to
the attorney general.

The use of deadly force in the state's prisons has declined dramatically
since Cal Terhune became director of Corrections two years ago and
instituted non-lethal methods of control. The Legislature also gave him
$190 million in new prison spending, including more money for ombudsmen and
training for guards.

The Legislature also created an Office of Inspector General, with separate
authority to oversee the prisons. Its independence will be critical to hold
Corrections officials accountable and provide a buffer from union pressure.

But the inspector general is not a prosecutor and can't substitute for
vigorous work by the Department of Justice. By designating staff to pursue
allegations, Lockyer is signaling that charges of misconduct by prison
officials finally will be taken seriously.