Union Says Assaults On Correction Officers At State Prisons Are Up

Inmate assaults on correction officers are on pace for a five year high and have increased 11% since last year.

That's according to the New York State Correction Officers and Police Benevolent Association, which represents nearly 20,000 correction officers statewide.

NYSCOPBA President Michael Powers says the State Department of Corrections has recently reported that there were zero serious assaults in 2014.

He says the assaults, which have increased 24% since 2010, coincide with the closure of four correctional facilities this past July.

The union says the assaults are not concentrated in just a small number of prisons and are occurring regularly statewide.

They say there needs to be an overhaul of the Department of Correction's philosophy regarding the safety of all staff working inside the prison system.

The New York State Department of Corrections says they reported that there were two serious injuries from inmate assaults in 2014.

The DOCCS say while there has been an uptick in the rates of assaults on staff, there is no correlation to any of the prison closures.

It also says about 80-percent of the assaults take place at the department's 17 maximum security facilities.

The Department says it remains committed to ensuring safety for all.