Inmate Violence Surges as a Result of New York State Law

The New York State prison system can be complex and there seems to be a significant increase in the amount of inmate violence. A New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA) representative is speaking out on the rising problem.

NYSCOPBA Central Region Vice President Bryan Hluska announced that the violence at Mohawk Correctional Facility in Rome has been surging in 2024 and will well surpass the number of attacks that occurred in 2023. These attacks included inmate on inmate attacks and inmate on staff attacks.

Hluska says at the current pace, inmate on inmate assaults will rise by fifty percent from 2023 and threaten to exceed 3,000 assaults in 2024. Inmate on staff assaults will rise by 30% from the previous year. Hluska tells WIBX that there have been seven inmate on inmate fights in a 5 day period, which resulted in two inmates needing to be treated at a local hospital. Injuries included a broken jaw and multiple cuts and abrasions.

Hluska says,

The number of assaults are staggering in our facilities and there is no end in sight.  Short staffing, mandated overtime and ridiculous disciplinary policies have contributed to the historic levels of violence. In four short years, inmate on inmate violence will have tripled at its current pace. There is literally nothing left to protect staff and other inmates from being attacked by violent inmates who know there is no disciplinary system left to punish them. Our members are literally treading water trying to keep themselves safe while performing their duties to the best of their abilities. It is a unsustainable system in its current form and the state needs to take immediate action to address the violence.

What Hluska is referring to is The Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement (HALT) Act. This bill was signed into law by former Governor Andrew Cuomo back in 2021 and limits the use of solitary confinement in correctional facilities. The law defines solitary confinement as when an incarcerated person is confined to their cell for less than seven hours a day, and limits the amount of time they can spend in solitary confinement to 15 days in a row or 20 days in a 60-day period.

Hluska and other correctional officers believe this law has emboldened inmates and has eliminated a useful punishment for those tasked with guarding them. Not only do they not fear punishment as a result on attacks on other inmates, but attacks on staff as well. Hluska says one recent attack on a correctional officer resulted in that guard suffering a knee injury.

The officer in the above named case attempted to handcuff an inmate that appeared to be intoxicated, according to Hluska. The officer handcuffed the inmate in order to frisk him, searching for contraband. During the search, Hluska says the inmate kicked backward and struck the officers knee. The officer then dispersed OC spray, which worked, and the inmate became compliant. The inmate was then transferred to a new dorm.

In the past, an inmate would be put into solitary confinement as punishment, but the HALT Act prevents that. It has made a COs job very difficult. The NYSCOPBA officials will continue to call out things that happen that put their members at risk.