Overall Violence in Prison Continues to Surge in 2nd Year of HALT Act
Union Renews Call to Improve Safety into New York’s Prisons and County Jails by Amending the HALT Act
Press release
Albany, NY – A year after the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association, Inc. (NYSCOPBA) demanded that New York State Legislators address the skyrocketing violence within New York’s correctional facilities after state-maintained statistics revealed a significant increase in assaults during the first year the HALT Act was in place, the Union is once again calling for an amendment of the Humane Alternatives for Long Term (HALT) Solitary Confinement Act to address the 35 % increase in inmate assaults that occurred in the second year HALT was in place.
The HALT Act, which went into effect on April 2, 2022, severely limits, or in some cases eliminates, the ability to place incarcerated individuals in Special Housing Units separated from the general population, and state data shows the rate of assaults in prisons continues to skyrocket since the law was implemented.
NYSCOPBA President Chris Summers said: “It’s unfathomable that the New York State Legislature continues to ignore or acknowledge what is clear to those of us who work in prisons and county jails. The statistics clearly indicate that since April of 2022, violence in our prisons has increased to levels that are unsustainable as staffing shortages and mandatory overtime have pushed staff to their limits.”
According to numbers maintained by the NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS), in the second year the HALT Act has been in place, there were a combined 4227 assaults on staff and inmate on inmate assaults. That is an increase of 35 % from the following year when there were 3113 total assaults recorded in New York’s correctional facilities. The first year HALT was in effect, assaults increased by nearly 33 % from the previous year. In the two years since HALT went into effect, assaults have nearly doubled.
“The numbers do not lie. Conditions in prison have never been worse and for supporters of HALT to sit idly by and ignore that this ridiculous legislation is contributing to the historic levels of violence is doing a disservice to the brave and hard-working men and women of NYSCOPBA. As we near the end of another legislative session, it is reprehensible that the legislators who voted for HALT continue to turn a blind eye to the violence. It not only puts staff in danger, but the inmates they advocate for.” – stated President Summers.