Cuomo’s visit to the prison included a tour and a
visit with inmates
COXSACKIE – Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Thursday he will add over 100 corrections officers to the ranks of those in state prisons in an effort to curb violence inside their walls.
With 54 prisons in New York, that equates to two additional CO’s per prison.
Cuomo toured Greene Correctional Facility in Coxsackie on Thursday before making the announcement.
Michael Powers, president of the New York State Corrections Officers
PBA said with the release of non-violent drug offenders in recent years,
the state’s prisons are left “with more violent, more volatile
inmate populations.” In recent years, inmate violence against officers
has increased by over 50 percent and inmate on inmate violence has increased
by over 60 percent, he said. This is all happening at a time when the
prison population is decreasing.
The rise in synthetic marijuana in the prisons has fueled much of the violence, Powers said.
“This is certainly a step in the right direction and we are hopeful that the governor will continue to recognize the need for additional staff in future years to ensure a safer work environment for the men and women of NYSCOPBA as well as the safer environment for the state’s prison population,” Powers said.
Cuomo also called on the state legislature to pass his “Raise the
Age” legislation that would take certain 16 and 17-year-old prisoners
out of adult prisons and place them youth facilities.
“Sixteen- and 17-year-olds going into a state facility that has older, violent criminals is not a good mix,” the governor said. “Taking a 16- and 17-year-old who is just beginning his or her life and putting them in a prison situation where we do the best we can to provide services, but this is not going to be a positive experience, and they are not going to be associating with positive people, in my opinion, it is too early to condemn a 16-year-old to a life without redemption.”
He said youths housed in adult facilities are five times more likely to be sexually assaulted; two times more likely to be injured by prison staff; and eight times more likely to commit suicide than their peers in juvenile facilities.
