Correctional officers group urges action amid uptick in assaults at prisons

Officials with the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association say attacks behind bars have doubled, despite a decrease in the number of inmates statewide.

News 12 Staff

Apr 27, 2021, 9:51 PM

Updated 1,315 days ago

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Officials with the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association say attacks behind bars have doubled, despite a decrease in the number of inmates statewide.
News 12 is told a monthlong string of violence at Green Haven in Dutchess County has seriously injured six officers and a doctor on staff.
Officials are now calling on state lawmakers to reverse changes to state law that they believe are enabling prison violence among felons.
"The reason I stand here today is to let everyone know we will no longer sit idly by,” says NYSCOPBA Mid-Hudson region President Chris Murrow. "These are our friends, our coworkers and family. They're just trying to do a job that's already being done in an extreme environment.”
Among calls for immediate action, the group wants the ‘HALT’ legislation, which restricts the use of solitary confinement, overturned.News 12 reached out to the state Corrections Department for comment, but has not yet heard back.