Irving, N.Y. (WBEN) - New York State lawmakers, law enforcement agencies and families of correctional officers stood together in solidarity in Irving on Thursday, calling upon Gov. Kathy Hochul to improve working conditions for prison workers and suspend prison visitations in wake of repeat drug exposure incidents at two local correctional facilities resulting in hospitalizations of staff.
"Myself and my colleagues that you see standing up here have sent a letter to the governor demanding that, through executive order, she suspend contact visits for all prisoners in every correctional facility here in New York State. That is the only solution," said State Sen. George Borrello on Thursday.
Specifically, this demand quickly follows several recent events at the Collins Correctional Facility and Wyoming Correctional Facility within in a 10-day span, where corrections officers and staff were hospitalized as a result of exposure to "suspected fentanyl and other unknown drugs during interactions with inmates."
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"While the recent incidents in Collins and Wyoming Correctional Facilities have elevated this issue, it is not a new one at all," said Andrew Molitor, Chautauqua County Assistant District Attorney.
"Since 2019 crimes have been committed at an increased rate in correctional facilities across New York, our jails and our prisons. Chautauqua County is no different than anywhere else in the state. We have COs that are getting punched in the face, who are having their heads slammed against the ground, they're getting splashed with urine and feces. [Visitors] are bringing fentanyl into jails and god knows what else. That's putting every single one of you at risk. In addition to that, they're mixing violent felons with non-violent felons. So what's the result of that? Increased gang assaults across correctional facilities in New York and in Chautauqua County."
On top of the added danger that corrections officers and staff face when they come into work, many of them speak of how understaffed their facilities are and how overworked the COs are. A few COs in attendance called out how they work quadruple shifts, meaning four eight-hour shifts stacked on top of each other, which equates to a full 24 hours of work.
"I field phone calls from husbands and wives. Is it really true that my significant other is is working 24 hours, 32 hours? I just sat in Collins the other day and talked to a woman, and it, you know, breaks my heart, because she was on her fourth shift, quadruple in between. And why are they doing that? Because they're helping one another," said Kenny Gold, Union President of the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA).
Many state legislators and officers also took called for a repeal of HALT (Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement) Act, which:
- Restricts the use of segregated confinement and creates alternative therapeutic and rehabilitative confinement options;
- Limits the length of time a person may be in segregated confinement;
- Excludes certain persons from being placed in segregated confinement
The goal of the bill was to make New York's prison and jail practices more humane. Instead, officials claim it is allowing criminals inside these correctional facilities with minimal accountability for any violent actions against corrections officers or other inmates.
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