CLALLAM BAY — Ron Fraker, who started work at Clallam Bay Corrections Center as a correctional officer, was named the superintendent of the 850-inmate prison on Thursday.
Fraker, 63, replaces Karen Brunson, who retired in January.
At that time, Fraker, who was serving as associate superintendent, was named acting superintendent of the facility, which houses medium-, close- and maximum-security units.
Reduced violence
Fraker, who has worked with various offender programs since he joined the correctional center’s staff in 1990, is credited with helping to reduce violence by about 16 percent in the past two years, a state Department of Corrections written statement said.
The Forks native is the first superintendent at the prison, which opened in 1985, to have begun there as a correctional officer, the written statement said.
“I think that helps me relate to our staff members,” Fraker said. “They know I understand what it’s like to work here and what it takes to succeed here.”
Credits staff
He credits the staff and the programs he has helped implement for cutting violence at the prison.
“One of the things we have done is the Step Down program,” Fraker said.
“When offenders spend long periods of time in isolation, they can go through this one-year program, which helps change behavior problems and attitudes before they go back into general population or back into society.
“By the end of it, they should have a different perspective of where they want to go when they get out.”
Fraker said that key reasons for the reduction in violence include an increased focus on programs and a philosophical change in how staff members interact with inmates.
“In the past, if an inmate refused to come out of his cell, we would automatically have officers forcibly extract him,” Fraker said.
“Now our initial action is to use crisis negotiators in those situations, which reduced staff injuries and showed inmates that they don’t have to resort to violence.”
Unique challenges
Deputy Prisons Director Dan Pacholke said in the department’s statement, “Clallam Bay has some unique challenges that require a talented, experienced superintendent.
“Inmates there tend to be younger and more likely to have committed a violent offense, so you’ve got to have a steady leader.”
Fraker said one challenge ahead will be maintaining the facilities programs in the face of a state budget shortfall of $9 billion.
“We don’t know exactly what the impacts will be, but we know that we will be affected and the programs will be affected,” he said.
Fraker served 20 years in the U.S. Air Force before joining the Clallam Bay Corrections Center staff.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladaily news.com.
