A conversation with Kasey Mlujeak at MI Department of Corrections

In this podcast we talk with Kasey Mlujeak from the Michigan Department of Corrections(MDOC) at the Jackson Prison. Kasey is the Radio Communications Coordinator and Radio Shop Manager. We discuss what all she does to keep over 5,000 radios running, operating, repaired and replaced as necessary at all 27 Michigan prisons. We discuss all of this and more! Transcript here: https://www.michigan.gov//mpscs/-/media/Project/Websites/MPSCS/Social_Media/Transcripts/MPSCS-Corrections-Mlujeak-Podcast-Transcript.pdf

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:11

Hi, welcome to our podcast, Tune with MPSDS. My name is Judy Light, and today we have a very special guest with us, Casey Molucci. She is the Department of Corrections Radio Communications Coordinator, sometimes called the Radio Shop Manager, and she serves many different important communications-related roles at the department. And today we're going to talk to Casey about interoperability, radios, and supporting public safety communications in our correction system. Hi, Casey. Hi. How are you doing? I'm excellent.

SPEAKER_01 0:44

I'm glad you could visit today. I'm glad we are too. Could you tell us a little bit about yourself? Absolutely. I've worked for the Department of Corrections for 28 years, and I oversee all things radio communications within the Department of Corrections.

SPEAKER_02 0:58

Now that's the entire department, not just the Jackson area where we're in. Wow. How many prisons in our system?

SPEAKER_01 1:06

We have 27 prisons. And we also have a detention center in Detroit that's cooperated with DPD. And we have many, many other offices and tasks that take care of parole and probation. Oopscana recovery unit, emergency response teams, all operating within our system.

SPEAKER_02 1:26

That's kind of mammoth. What kind of hobbies do you have?

SPEAKER_01 1:30

Well, my daughter and I live on a farm that I like to call a ranch now. And we have horses and dogs, even even had cattle before. I've had goats before, and I've been a poultry farmer twice. Oh my good, twice.

SPEAKER_02 1:45

So you are well-rounded. So you've got the technical side and you've got the rural side. Um, what kind of clubs have you joined?

SPEAKER_01 1:54

Lately, last year I picked up Bullseye Shooting, and I actually qualified with a score high enough to be on our director's team for the Department of Corrections at a state police pistol match. And the latest hobby I've picked up has been country line dance lessons.

SPEAKER_02 2:10

That explains the boots you're wearing today. I noted that. Um, can you tell us a little bit about your role at Department of Corrections and what you do there?

SPEAKER_01 2:18

The MDOC has over 5,000 radios. My primary job is to keep those radios running, operating, repaired, and replaced as necessary. And when doing that, I take care of absolute all tasks related to it. So if we start in the very concept phase of let's build a new system at a facility. So in this case, you know, I'll use an example. Uh Chippewa Correctional Facility needs a new repeater installed. So conceptually, I'll start at the very beginning. I'll do the product specification and what's needed, everything from the repeater itself to the antenna to jumper lines to battery backups. And I'll also do the FCC licensing. Enter the order in Sigma after getting vendor quotes, receive the product, do the receiver, get the radios ready, and either get them installed myself or hire a vendor.

SPEAKER_02 3:18

How many people do you have on staff to help you with this?

SPEAKER_01 3:21

I have one guy that works here. He's classified as a laborer. His name is Matt. And he works half the time here and half the time at our emergency warehouse. Our emergency warehouse has been running since COVID started. Okay. And that takes care of our COVID supplies and PPE.

SPEAKER_02 3:39

So that's an enormous amount of work just for one little task. Um, and that task is not little. What are the other things you got, Judy? I have more jobs than that. Go.

SPEAKER_01 3:53

I really do have more jobs than that. Tell me. That's just my first job. Um we kind of act as a VTS hub here. So any of the vehicles that are ordered for the Department of Corrections, which would be uh transportation vans for CFA transportation or facility transportation, vans and cars that are caged for parole and probation, perimeter vehicles that are at each one of our facilities times two, and undercover vehicles and sometimes the movement of you know general purpose vehicles, or when we we change operations and have to realign some vehicle use. Many times they come through here also. So I receive all of the new vehicles, spec the equipment, order the equipment, get the equipment installed, and issue the vehicles, and also receive the turn-in vehicles.

SPEAKER_02 4:43

So you do coming and going? Yes. All by yourself. All by myself. Well, Matt, you and Matt.

SPEAKER_01 4:49

Yep. We have an installer here now, which is good. Um, the other thing that happens here is the processing and programming and issuing of PPDs, which are our duress body alarm systems at facilities. I'm the centralized buyer for our ERT, which is our emergency response team's equipment, which ranges from boots to handcuffs to rifles to pepper ball launchers, everything.

SPEAKER_02 5:18

All sorts of fun stuff. Now you've got a cage designated back here. It says radio shop, and that's where all the magic happens or is stored. So when you get some of these things that need to be swapped out, what sort of things are you uh sending back in for like recycling?

SPEAKER_01 5:39

Oh, yeah. The uh the other side job I do is uh master recycler. So out of this building, of course, any and all batteries for the entire department. So when I say entire department, that's any facility or office or unit or operation that we have can send me these items for recycling. So batteries, any any chemistry whole department, and we normally ship about 4,000 plus pounds per shipment to the recycler. Per shipment. We also take range brass, in which we take the range brass and make a transaction and buy paper targets. So there's there's a win-win on that. And we also do electronics scrap and do a reuse program of security equipment within the department.

SPEAKER_02 6:27

So you know how to work it so you do get trade-ins. So when you swap out something, it comes back as a credit.

SPEAKER_01 6:35

Yeah, as long as you have a vendor willing to play along and buy a product and sell a product in the same transaction, you can do the right DTMB paperwork for that to actually be legit.

SPEAKER_02 6:46

So you're saving your department lots of money. All the time. Over the past 28 years.

SPEAKER_01 6:52

Every day. Well, actually, not whole 28. I started in prison first. I was not a money saver when I started. First hat with FDOC. When I first started with the department, that was in 1993 as a prison counselor at the state prison of southern Michigan. The old SPSM right here. Correct. Okay. Inside the walls, summertime. Well, 1993. ADSEG was my first work location.

SPEAKER_02 7:17

Now, these reimbursable monies that you get back, do you have a ballpark estimate on what you've gotten back throughout the years?

SPEAKER_01 7:27

As far as just recyclables? You know, it's it's small scale because you know it's not a million-dollar product, but it's it's going where it needs to go. Right. The batteries stay out of the landfill. Right. And there's different types of batteries. Right. So that's any any kind of battery. You can have lithium or alkaline or cat, you know, any of the cadmium products don't go to the landfill. They get processed at the recycler.

SPEAKER_02 7:54

When you first started taking over this um this job of radio coordinator, how did that come about? What was here before?

SPEAKER_01 8:05

Actually, in in 1997, there was no centralized radio support for the prison department. Prior to that, there's never been any centralized operations for radio communications or support for anybody and everybody in the prison department. So the Department of Corrections actually trusted me or said, go ahead, or they were disbelievers. And in 1997, actually it rolls in in 1997. I was at the training academy, and I was the liaison person identified to be the Department of Corrections person that deals with the state police when MPSCS first happened. Oh in 1997. I was there. You were here for our beginning. Yes, I was there for your beginning. Good. And in it was in the beginning of 98, I approached the administration for the DOC and I said, hey, give me two guys and $1,500 in tools, and we can get this all done. And they were like, they were disbelievers, but after a year they believed. But they did it. Yeah. So I set up, I set up an install shop, and it's actually a mile back from the back wall at Jackson. And, you know, since then the building's been demoed. But I took two guys and got them on loan because they were uh we we used to have two radio tech positions at State Prison of Southern Michigan for when they had to do the AMFM channels. There was channel switches in the cells. They could have A, B, or C. There was a switch in each cell that they could select the music. And so the DOC had old historic radio tech positions. And those are the two people I borrowed. Wow. You chose wisely. To do radio equipment installs into vehicles for the DOC.

SPEAKER_02 10:01

How many vehicles did you start out with before you knew it was going to be a large-scale thing?

SPEAKER_01 10:08

300 plus. Wow. Wow. That was in 1998 when MPSCS was boom town. And if you go back into the history of that, all of that was being done by outside contractors.

SPEAKER_02 10:22

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 10:22

On the original installs of new MPSCS equipment. Wow. And they just let you, they trusted you.

SPEAKER_02 10:31

Sink or swim. They chose wisely. We are going to break with some PSAs here, and we will be right back.

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SPEAKER_02 11:31

Hi everybody and welcome back. We are talking with Casey Moluctic today at Department of Corrections. And Casey, could you tell us about the evolution of your partnership with Michigan Public Safety Communications System and when that started back in 97-98?

SPEAKER_01 11:46

Absolutely. In 97, I told you before I was put in the position of being the primary liaison for any interaction from the MDOC with the MSP, because MSP was the lead agency at the time of MPSCS. And that goes back into the day when the commanding officer was Captain Steffel. Okay. And I remember when I went to Ferris State, we studied his search and seizure books. So it was an absolute pleasure to work with him.

SPEAKER_02 12:13

Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_01 12:14

As related to public safety radio. And another one of my favorite from that era was Sergeant Don Arbeck. He was a sergeant at the time when I started intertwining with state police communications. Because the Department of Corrections didn't have any centralized radio support at all for the DOC. Wow. And I was able to latch on to those guys, spend any of the hours necessary learning what they did. And they, of course, were willing to teach me just about anything related to radio. Thank goodness. So that was a big boost up right there. Yeah. That I had the freedom to spend that much time with MSP Communications back then. And that was primarily in 97-98. 98 is when I set up shop for DOC on prison property. Okay. And we began doing our own our own installs. And so to deal with a fledgling fledgling operation where, you know, there was there was no radio shop for DOC. Um, I started getting involved with all things radio in the prison department and noticed how broken it was. I can imagine. Broken is the best word. Unfortunately. A complete mishmash of non-standard equipment, non-standard operations, non-standard everything. Oh boy. So the evolution from 1997 to where we sit today is absolutely enormous.

SPEAKER_02 13:40

I can't even what what type of equipment do you deal with in prison? It's it's more than just the radios.

SPEAKER_01 13:49

Yeah, for for the radios, um, we have about 5,000. There's more than 5,000. Uh the MPSCS radios of that count is about a thousand. Oh. So we have 4,000 plus conventional analog radios. We do run a little bit of the Moto Turbo digital technology. Okay, but an absolute minimum. Most of ours are conventional radio, VHF, UHF 420s, 460s, 450s, and VHF 150s. So we use a different type of equipment for our daily operations inside the facilities. All of our facilities, 27 of them, have conventional systems. Our detention center in Detroit is our only place that operates their daily primary communications on MPSCS.

SPEAKER_02 14:39

Oh my goodness, that's the only one?

SPEAKER_01 14:41

The only one. We don't use that many radios in Detroit. Right. Our operations are different. Okay. Because it's a pre pre-arrangement detention center. Right. And we use the Detroit Simulcast for in-building coverage. There we are. And so when you deal with prison properties, which are the toughest RF blockers in existence, we use our own single-site systems on grounds.

SPEAKER_02 15:08

How do you collaborate with Michigan Public Safety Communications System for your communication needs? What what do we help you with?

SPEAKER_01 15:15

When whenever I buy equipment for MPSCS, which lately has only been on the lifecycle funding, very little funding beyond that has gone into the purchase of radio gear for MPSCS. But when I when I do have to add radios to the system and or remove radios from the system or change programming on them, I do the job tickets and so the work gets done and the technicians either come here and do it or else a meet and greet with however we line it up for whatever location in the state needs the work done.

SPEAKER_02 15:50

How are radios used in the daily activity of a state correctional agency like this?

SPEAKER_01 15:56

Radios are the primary safety of life tool for staff insider correctional facilities. So other than their voice and logic and dealing with human-on-human communications, that's their number one tech tool.

SPEAKER_02 16:10

Right. Right. Um, can you tell us about the different types of radios you use and how those have changed throughout the years? I'm asking that, and we're sitting here next to a wall that's got, I think I counted 52 different types and models of radios.

SPEAKER_01 16:25

Yeah, what she sees in front of her is I like to call it the evolution of radio in the Department of Corrections. So the radios that I I have on display at the office uh range back, if I were to count 10, 20, 30, almost 40 years. So the models of radios when I first started intertwining with radio and corrections, there were there were more than 15 models of radios. Oh my god. More than. Um, in all kinds of you know, states of disrepair, states of ill logic, not saying everything was licensed right. But they got the job done for that's what they had then. Right. So now we are at three different models of portable radios in our facilities. So I've narrowed it down to three models. Soon it will be two, I hope. Oh, good. So over on my right, wish you could see it, is enough radios to do five facilities. So what I do is I I spec and order the equipment to re do a whole facility radio switch. So all new gear in, all gear out. So each facility typically has somewhere between 100 and 220 inside for for one facility. And right now we're in the XPR 7000 series.

SPEAKER_02 17:54

How long does it take to swap out a facility's radios like that? Do you do it in a week? Do you do it in a month? Well, it takes a lot of hours. I can imagine.

SPEAKER_01 18:03

Takes a lot of hours. These are big boxes. Yeah. So remember, each radio when it comes from Motorola is in a it's just a paperweight, so it still has to be programmed. And yes.

SPEAKER_02 18:13

Um, now can you tell us about the different types of radios that you're using? Why did you go to the ones that you're going to? Are they just that much better?

SPEAKER_01 18:23

Well, it's the the facility systems we have. I mean, there's there's nothing fancy. It's not it's not MPSCS grade equipment. It's not a digital trunk network providing whole state coverage. It's a single site at a prison. So we need just a conventional radio with the MDC 1200 signaling that we need. So we use the MDC 1200 signaling for push talk ID, okay, uh, emergency alert, which is the orange button push. Yep. We do that over conventional radio. Okay. And we also do radio disable, radio enable. Oh, right. Those also have data data signaling on them in addition to regular analog talk channels.

SPEAKER_02 19:05

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 19:06

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 19:06

So you have various needs put into the basic radios that you need.

SPEAKER_01 19:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:15

You know, and it's I compare today's actual radio models to to the same thing as your cell phone. Oh, okay. So it is similar to the MPSCS is if we go back in the time to the radios that I bought in 1998, it would be like talking on an iPhone 3 versus the radios that you buy now are like your iPhone 12.

SPEAKER_02 19:40

There you go.

SPEAKER_01 19:41

And I compare the same thing with the facility radios is you know, will it work? Will these new radios work on our system? Well, it's yeah, it's like you getting an iPhone 11. You've been talking on an iPhone 5.

SPEAKER_02 19:53

Same network, different tool. Now, what kind of talk groups? Um, how many talk groups? What are you doing with those? How they work.

SPEAKER_01 20:02

Oh, for MPSCS, we've we've pretty much clustered it down to two primary. So the DOC has two primary hailing talk groups, and that would be for our southern region and one for our northern region. Oh. So we have two primaries. So every facility in the southern region is on the the the talk group they're supposed to be on for hailing, and same with the northern. So that way we can have any of our transportation units or staff working in the field know how they can get a hold of the the nearest facility by them or the facility receiving their transportation.

SPEAKER_02 20:43

Did you figure out all the programming yourself? You're doing that too?

SPEAKER_01 20:48

Yeah, I developed all their talk group plans. And the templates and the template drafts. Wow. RPU, of course, writes the drafts, programs the radios, but I still have the software here for the Apex portables and mobiles. And I write the files for the facility radios too.

SPEAKER_02 21:05

And again, you've got how many people on your staff?

SPEAKER_01 21:07

I have one laborer working half of the day. And Casey.

SPEAKER_02 21:13

Uh can you briefly tell us about the radio life cycle replacement program and how MPSCS under DTMB has collaborated to help with that?

SPEAKER_01 21:23

Absolutely. Yeah, as far as my notes tell me, it goes back to fiscal year 15. So fiscal year 15 was the beginning of when MPSCS DTMB started the life cycle radio replacement program for radio units that are subscribed to the state of Michigan system.

SPEAKER_02 21:44

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 21:45

So the DOC has participated in all of that life cycle replacement funding. And when I say funding, it was DTMB allocates the max amount of money to replace X amount of units. The DOC being me. Places the order, receives the order, does the paperwork, provides DTMB with proof of EFT, and we get reimbursed the money. So from fiscal year 15 through fiscal year 21, that was over $2.1 million. That's pretty significant. It's huge because on the same the same sidewalk, I'm trying to purchase radios with DOC allocations for inside DOC systems. And it made I guess it made it easier for them to come off a million dollars or two million dollars for facility radios if DTMB has the MPSCS radios covered under life cycle.

SPEAKER_02 22:41

Right.

SPEAKER_01 22:42

Because I'm lifecycle replacing radios inside the facilities too at the same time. I don't know how you keep this straight. Good spreadsheets?

SPEAKER_02 22:52

Good answer.

SPEAKER_01 22:53

Big brain good spreadsheets.

SPEAKER_02 22:55

Um this is the program to help upgrade the radios at the Department of Corrections and to lifecycle out older assets.

SPEAKER_01 23:02

Yeah, I recently during during Rona, during COVID, I was able to carve out some time to go through my old record keeping. And I was able to gather in with numerous numerous requests from from my facilities to turn in all old equipment and I would send them pictures of the Saber, the XTS, the Spectra. You know, literally be like, anybody have any of these? Turn it in, I'm taking it out of service. Good. So I was able to get all the numbers on paper and get that equipment in. And I actually I used the art process to electronically recycle that radio equipment.

SPEAKER_02 23:47

Can you tell us a story about how the radios have been instrumental in keeping officers safe? You've been with the Department of Corrections for a lot of years, so I'm sure you've got some stories for that.

SPEAKER_01 23:57

Well, like I said, the the two-way radio, public safety radio, is the number one safety of life tech tool in prison. Our correctional facilities, I don't know how many saves there has been because of radio.

SPEAKER_02 24:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:12

Um, in addition to two-way radio, I also take care of all the radio recorders, which also leads me into I pull the radio audio for a lot of criticals that happen. Critical incidents. And to hear the type of traffic that comes over the air, it's crazy.

SPEAKER_02 24:32

It's pretty hair raising. And I know if you're inside and you don't have a radio, some you feel kind of naked.

SPEAKER_01 24:40

Your your choice is a radio or a PPD or nothing.

SPEAKER_02 24:42

Yeah. And nothing is not an option. Yeah. Yeah. It's not always comfortable in prison. Um how what happens if they're inside there and the radios aren't working?

SPEAKER_01 24:56

Well, normally all of the I I keep in direct contact with all the facilities, primarily the arsenal sergeants. But a lot of people at a lot of facilities I stay in contact with either by talking too much or typing too much. And uh they let me know when something doesn't work. Okay. So depending on what's wrong, because there's a lot of components involved in it. So something being broken can be just a portable or uh a mobile in a vehicle or uh a desk set in a control center or the repeaters themselves. You know, we've had the wind blow over antennas and pull them off of buildings. Oh, we've had power surges take out equipment. So in in the build in the radio shop that you're in right now, I have enough equipment here that we won't run out. So lead time and if anything breaks or fails, I have something that'll replace it. Everybody call Casey with your broken stuff. Lead time on buying new electronics is multiple months out. So I had to make sure we had them in stock. Casey has foresight.

SPEAKER_02 26:02

She's got an amazing shop here. Um, what kind of advice could you give a young person who wants to enter the field you're in or wants to enter corrections?

SPEAKER_01 26:12

Well, as a young person, I think the state employment is a great opportunity. You get in, you get benefits. Even, you know, we can have discussions all day about 401 versus pension. We can we can argue it, I'm a pensioner. I'm always saying that I'm a pensioner. And people are like, oh, thumbs down. But the reality of it is, is if you can walk into a job and get instant benefits and a paycheck that's coming right away, and you're always going to know you get paid, and you get all the benefits that you need and the ability to put into your own 401-457, the state's a good place.

SPEAKER_02 26:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:50

Find a job that'll make you happy.

SPEAKER_02 26:52

Well, and maybe they can be like you, and you really made your own world here. It's been amazing. It's cool. That's all we've got for today, and we would like to thank Casey for being here to tell us about herself and her role at Department of Corrections. And we hope you enjoyed the show, and we will be back soon. Be sure to look us up at www.michigan.gov slash mpsts and on Twitter at mpsts. You can also subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and Google Podcasts so you never miss an episode. And we will see you the next time. Thank you.