Correction agents in more than two dozen facilities in the north of New York this week started to hold the strike and protest after recent assaults against staff And after a state memo acknowledged that staff shortages would likely continue.
According to State Correctional Agents and the Police Benvolent Association (NYSCOPBA), the police protest against working conditions, including endowment and safety.
Indeed, according to data from the State Department of Correctional Services and Community Supervision (Doccs), there were 2,070 assaults against staff throughout the state in 2024, which was much more than the four years previous. Most of these assaults have occurred in maximum security prisons. There have already been 160 recorded during the calendar year 2025.
Last week, A Correctional Facility Collins incident in the County of Erie has led to three minor injuries to staff members and to the blocking prison.
In addition, the attacks between incarcerated individuals were also considerably higher in 2024 than in previous years, more than double the amount in 2020, with 249 already in 2025.
These assaults have led to injuries for prison staff. The same data since November, 630 assaults against staff have led to minor injuries, 48 with moderate injuries and 11 with serious injuries.
Regarding the staff, even the state has recognized its shortcomings. According to an internal memorandum published on February 10 of the DOCC Commissioner, Daniel Martustello, “we continue to have critical vacancies throughout the department, in particular with the position of correction agent. While some of our recruitment strategies, such as regional hiring, have started to see positive results, we have achieved a point where we must perform a complete examination of each publication on our conspiracy plan, as well as all articles which are filled on a temporary basis and will really redefine the way we put business. »»
In addition, Marttuscello declared in the note obtained Tuesday by Spectrum News that “the community in general discusses that 70% of our original endowment model is the new 100%”.
State staff are considerably reduced by what it was years ago, mainly due to the number of people imprisoned in the state has considerably reduced. According to DOCC data, since 1999, the prison population of New York has decreased by approximately 54%, against a summit of 72,649 people imprisoned at 33,594. Consequently, since 2011, the State has eliminated more than 15,000 prisons beds and closed a total of 26 correctional establishments due to the excess capacity of the bed, which led to an overall annual saving of around 492 million Dollars.
When the number of people imprisoned is down 54%, the number of staff members in New York prisons is down 37%. At the end of 2024, there were 14,095 correction agents employed, sergeants and lieutenants. Twenty years ago, there were 21,068.
Current strikes are not sanctioned by NYSCOPBA, as the state’s law of the state prohibits public employees from hitting.