TVW Weekly Interview Programs
TVW Washington's Public Affairs Network
Public Affairs Made Public
Below is what we covered on our interview programs this week. With selected transcript detail so you can quickly find topics/quotes of interest.
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A lot of the gambling in Washington takes place in large glitzy casinos or cozy neighborhood card rooms.
There's a darker type of betting that happens in underground events with makeshift dirt arenas or cinder block lined pits where spectators bet on which dog or rooster will prevail in a vicious fight.
This week The Impact delves into how state and local investigators are working to interrupt animal fighting operations and some of the recent changes to state law that help them do that.
The show features a panel interview with? Sam Moore, the founder and president of Washington State Animal Fighting Task Force, and Ronnie Cooper, a special agent supervisor for the Washington State Gambling Commission. The full episode is available here or you can jump to specific portions of the interview using the links below.
Cooper 3:11-3:18 ?“The gambling commission, we've investigated cock fighting throughout the state and, and most of it's in our rural areas.”
Cooper 3:38-3:46 “They're time consuming and they take a while to investigate, but in the end, I think it's worth it.”
Cooper 9:18-9:33 “I've seen them feed birds a lot of different things including cocaine and meth, methamphetamine, to get them hyped up for that, just that… the few seconds or moments in the fighting ring to be able to fight the other bird.”
Cooper 4:43-5:18 “We work very, very closely with animal control throughout the state. The element of gambling is always going to be present, whether it's dog fighting or cock fighting. And so that's where we come in.? And so we work together to go from the beginning to the end and animal control. They have their issues that they investigate and then we kind of piggyback off that, finding the gambling nexus and then we go that route for charging them for professional gambling.”
Moore 11:40-12:11 “Dogs are a lot easier to conceal.? I have dealt with cases where they were concealed on top of apartments, roof tops, they were concealed in basements. They were stacked about five crates high.? The dog fighting, it's easier to conceal and we've heard of fights happening where people will rent out Airbnb rooms. They'll have a fight there and clean everything up and then leave.? No one knows any different.”
Moore?5:37-6:11 “They look at it as a business for a lot of them, this is their livelihood. This is how they make their money. And for them it is their business. A lot of times whether it is cock fighting or dog fighting, we are seeing, you know, prostitution, drug deals, you know, gambling and it's a family event. So we're also seeing a lot of children at these events which ultimately desensitize them to it.”
Moore 18:30-19:04 “The birds are a little bit easier to point out. If you see multiple birds on a property? that are housed individually, while it may not be? a hard red flag, it is something that animal control or law enforcement should at least put eyes on to ensure that everything is, you know, being handled the way that it should be. So that's the big indicator for cockfighting in general.”
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She began her career in state government later than many, at age 40, but was appointed by Governor Jay Inslee to oversee three of the most high-profile agencies in state government: Western State Hospital in Steilacoom, the mammoth Department of Social and Health Services, and most recently the Washington State Department of Corrections.
Soon-to-depart Corrections Secretary Cheryl Strange sits down with host Austin Jenkins for an exit interview in which she discusses the challenges of leading a large state agency, working with Governor Inslee, trends in prison policy, and much more.
On the beginning of her working relationship with Governor Inslee:
4:56-5:34 ?I think Governor Inslee was very interested in advancing behavioral health, mental health in our state. I mean under Governor Inslee we went from 48th in the nation of psychiatric services to 33rd, in a very short period of time under his leadership, that took a lot to do. My role was to help him, advise him, he had heard that I knew about mental health, and it really started with a conversation with him in Seattle about what was going on at Western…”
Her advice for a person asked to lead a major state agency:
19:27-19:53 ? My staff will tell you whether it was at DSHS or whether it was before I came into government, I’ve never worked so hard as I did working for Cheryl Strange, and I never had so much fun and felt so, that our work was important, so I do believe that is a piece of it, is inspiring people, describing the why, I think that people are looking for something to believe in…”
52:14-52:50 ? Rely on people. You are not expected to know everything. Do not make that mistake of feeling like you can’t ask somebody or you can’t admit you’re stuck … Bring in people, surround yourself around people that are in it for the same reason you are.
On reasons for the state’s success in lowering the rate of recidivism below the national average:
22:29-22:44 ? “If you are going to take a bit out of crime, so to speak, then you have to replace it with something, you know. You have to have a liveable wage job, you have to have a place to live, you have to have access to health care…”
On ensuring safety in prisons for correctional officers:
44:27-44:57 ? This is the science behind good correctional practice: You have to run safe, humane prisons. If you are not 100% focused on safe, and humane, there will be problems. You see that across the country. Lack of investments. It’s very important to have good sound correctional practices as a basis for safety.”
Other topics discussed:
6:35: Western State Hospital losing accreditation
12:15: Leading the Department of Social and Health Services
31:30: Solitary confinement
41:20: Suicides in prison
42:15: Learning from prisons in Norway
47:15: Formal closure of the death chamber at Walla Walla