By Robert Harding
The Citizen, Auburn, N.Y.
NEW YORK — The New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, a union representing correction officers, is asking Gov. Kathy Hochul to increase pay and improve safety to address a “staffing crisis” in prisons.
During a press conference in Albany last week, Hochul acknowledged the “recruitment challenges” for prison staff. She noted, though, that the declining incarcerated population is also a factor.
The state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision says there are 33,429 incarcerated individuals in prisons. At its peak, the prison population was 72,649 in 1999.
As the incarcerated population declined, the state began to close prisons. Since 2011, the state has closed 24 correctional facilities.
DOCCS is planning to close two maximum-security prisons this year. The state budget allows the Hochul administration to expedite the closure of up to five prisons in the 2024-25 fiscal year.
According to DOCCS, staffing reductions “have been consistent with incarcerated population declines.” Over a 25-year period, the number of correction officers has decreased from 22,112 to 14,533.
RELATED: The 2024-25 New York state budget agreement allowed Gov. Kathy Hochul to expedite the closure of up to five prisons. On July 18, the DOCCS announced two prisons would close.
“From a government policy perspective, it makes sense to often right-size institutions within our control, and prisons are part of that,” Hochul said.
But NYSCOPBA President Chris Summers thinks the state should take a different approach. Instead of closing prisons, he supports pay increases and revisions to the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act. NYSCOPBA has blamed HALT, which limits the use of solitary confinement, for the rise in prison violence.
NYSCOPBA members ratified a three-year contract in March that includes annual pay raises. Employees will also receive lump sum bonuses and up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave.
However, the new contract does not address safety concerns in prisons. Assaults on staff are on pace to top 2,000 this year. The record, set last year, is 1,671.
Staffing shortages are posing other problems for correction officers. According to Summers, NYSCOPBA members “are being forced to work unprecedented amounts of mandatory overtime, which at times includes shifts as long as 24 hours straight.”
Summers supports a “comprehensive approach” to address the prison staffing woes and create a safer work environment for his members.
One idea floated by Hochul was dismissed by Summers. The governor proposed raising the maximum age for correction officers, but Summers noted that there isn’t an age restriction.
Hochul previously proposed lowering the hiring age for correction officers from 21 to 19. But state lawmakers did not support the plan and it wasn’t included in the final budget.
“We’re trying to come up with creative ways to encourage more people to go into these professions,” Hochul said. “They’re critically important for our security and making sure that when the need for them is there, that we have enough people there to support them and not create an additional burden on their coworkers.”
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