mid criticism of Probation boss Juanita Holmes, department issues memos on media contact, USB drives

Probation commissioner Juanita Holmes moved last week to highlight policies aimed at controlling the information flow in the midst of criticism from her mandate resulting from a July 28 hearing in the agency, the Daily News learned.

The help of Holmes, Antonio Pullano, sent an email on Friday to probation employees reminding them of a policy that they should not speak with journalists, a copy of this document displays. A second written order is released in the middle of the week with the exception of the use of thumb readers in the office, which can be used to make copies of the agency’s documents.

Earlier last week, a panel appeared at the entrance to the cabins of the human resources division at the 18th floor headquarters of the 33 Beaver St. “Authorized staff only”, indicates the panel, a photo obtained by news emissions.

The Memos intervene after the news revealed Thursday that Holmes sidelined her information chief Razwan Mirza while hiring his niece, Demmi Slaughter, for a role in the department. The agency said that it had been hired as a “certified IT administrator”, but a implementation document obtained by news shows it to the listed as “Deputy Commissioner for Information Technologies”.

The news also obtained statistics on internal agencies which showed that the rearrangements of the probationancers had increased by 19% during the mandate of Holmes. Holmes had said twice during the hearing that rearrangements were down, then tried to blame her predecessor Ana Bermudez to handle the statistics supposedly. The number of rearrangements is a key indicator for an agency that is supposed to prevent reoffending probationaries.

The movements took place after the news sent detailed requests to the probation and the town hall’s press office on August 11 in Mirza and the slaughter and internal statistics showing the increase in rearrangements.

The news also indicated that the city count had prohibited probation from self-registering certain contracts after finding that the agency has bypassed the supply rules in the purchase funded by taxpayers of $ 87,000 in Holmes SUV.

Probation spokesperson Regina Graham defended the e-mails of the media, saying: “It is a longtime city policy and existed in several mayor administrations and DOP commissioners.”

“In each agency in the city, anyone must obtain approval and authorization by senior supervision and the deputy mayor so that communications speak to members of the public or the press in your official quality as an employee of the city,” she said in a statement.

“This long -standing policy does not exist to protect any commissioner or mayor – there is to ensure that New Yorkers receive precise and clear information from their city government.”

Rendy desamours, spokesperson for the municipal council, said: “Dubsey data provided to the Council and the staffing in the department point to serious leadership challenges which undermine its mission and the efforts of the basic staff of the agency.

“These problems have real consequences for the public security of New Yorkers and the stability of our communities. They cannot be swept under the carpet – the management of the town hall and DOP must advance significant solutions that reduce high workloads, restore confidence and ensure that customers are effectively supported. “

The council statement was on an appeal last week by the member of the Sandy Nursy council for an external audit of probation.

Graham said Holmes “would welcome any external entity to perform an agency audit”, adding that probation was in a “outdated state” before the arrival of Holmes.

“Since the establishment of critical changes, Commissioner Holmes has received positive comments from dozens of staff members, who welcome these innovative changes and their leadership,” she wrote.

Pullano’s email on the media said: “It is a reminder that the DOP policy prevents by speaking or sharing information with the media without approval of the communication team and / or the commissioner,” said the memo in a paragraph.

The thumb ban was issued two days earlier. “By counting immediately, the use of USB discs and other removable multimedia devices is strictly prohibited on all DOP computers, laptops, tablets and networks,” said the edict of the thumb player.

“These devices have a high security risk and can expose and compromise systems data.”

The missive added: “All USB and removable media ports will be blocked to prevent unauthorized use.”

Graham explained that the thumb leads to the “high security risk (a) of high security” and said that “there is no acceptable reason to share confidential information”, although Graham did not specify what confidential information had been shared.

The “personal authorized” panels on human resources appeared in the first week last week. The HR service of probation experienced significant turnover under Holmes, and questions were raised on hiring friends and parents in positions with the agency.

The department said that because “among the 23 floors of the building, three of the floors are occupied by DOP staff … It must be indicative that these specific floors have a note signaling for” authorized staff only “.”