Patterson was named to replace Scott Carver, whom Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. demoted earlier this month after a scathing legislative audit uncovered a pattern of policy violations, training deficiencies and unfair treatment.

During a Senate confirmation committee examination, Patterson promised to restore fairness to the department, which employs 2,400 people and houses more than 6,200 inmates.

Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, requested the audit one year ago and said it was the most "scathing" audit he has ever seen.

And he had some stern advice for Patterson.

"You are going to have to surround yourself with competent lieutenants," said Buttars, or face an administration "sabotaged" by the Corrections executives who have created this "deep, deep heavy-duty problem."

Patterson said he would remove executives contributing to favoritism complaints. He has also sent an e-mail to all employees, seeking advice on how to improve morale.

"Some simply want to have their voices heard," he said.

And that goes to the heart of the audit, which said employees feared retaliation and expected favoritism.

The audit focused on 10 cases, which included one in which the head of the ethics and internal affairs unit lied to a Highway Patrol officer during a traffic stop and another in which a captain was kept on paid administrative leave for seven months after testing positive for meth.

Legislative auditors also found that 107 Corrections workers had not maintained their police certification standards.

The audit echoed concerns Huntsman said he heard when he came into office in 2005. He instructed Carver to fix the culture of the department.

"And when [the same complaints] came to light again, it became apparent to me that they were still festering and that gave rise to my desire to make a quick fix," Huntsman said.

He picked Patterson, in part, because of his lack of experience in the prison system.

Patterson, a former county attorney from Kansas, had been serving as the director of the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, which advises the governor on all law enforcement matters. He is not a law enforcement officer, but plans to gain his police certification within the next year.

The head of the sentencing commission, Robert Yeates, will take Patterson's old job.

And Carver, the demoted Corrections executive, will now lead the sentencing commission.

Huntsman said he didn't fire Carver because "I thought Carver still had some good public service left in him. I have generally been impressed with Scott Carver as a human being, as a public servant."

But Huntsman did remove Carver's managerial responsibility.

Huntsman has asked Patterson to create an informal advisory group to help in the transition. Patterson said he is in the process of doing so. He has also interviewed more than 20 top officials who serve at the director's pleasure as he seeks to craft his own management team.

In addition to addressing concerns raised by the audit, Patterson must gear himself for the political nature of the job.

Sen. Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, grilled him about his views on privatized prisons. Patterson said he is open to allowing a private company to run a prison facility.

Patterson will also lobby for pay raises for corrections officers, who make less than those who work in most county jails.

He found at least one ally in Fruit Heights GOP Sen. Greg Bell, who said "This Legislature can not starve departments of funds."

Bell said expecting "A-plus performance on D-plus wages" may have contributed to the findings of the audit.

The full audit is available at www.le.state.ut.us/audit.

mcanham@sltrib.com