Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C-Batavia) recently joined his colleagues in the Assembly to oppose Gov. Hochul’s proposed plan to close up to five New York state prisons within the next year.
Yesterday, members of the Assembly Republican Conference held a press conference to discuss the dangers this initiative would present for correctional facilities, their staff, and inmate populations.
Correction officers across the state have been speaking out in recent weeks about the poor working conditions due to understaffing and low pay.
Over the last year, New York’s prison population has grown by roughly 1,400, making these issues all the more apparent. Hawley has multiple prisons within his district including Albion and Orleans Correctional Facility and nearby Attica & Wyoming Correctional Facility.
Hawley is frustrated the governor is moving forward with this proposal and is calling on his colleagues in the Legislature to push back against this policy.
“This decision by the governor is unnecessary and unreasonable,” said Hawley. “Correction officers should not have to worry about being out of a job and unable to provide for their families. Closing prisons like this will only make the current staffing crisis worse and push prospective officers out of the field. Inmates will be crowded into smaller prisons, making it a more dangerous environment for staff members. We’ve already seen numerous officers sustain injuries due to overcrowding and increased violence. I hope the governor will recognize these problems and give our correction officers the tools they need to do their jobs.”
Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) today criticized Gov. Cuomo’s new proposal to close several more unspecified prisons as part of the 2020-21 Executive Budget. Hawley, backing concerns of the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOBA), chastised the governor for continuing to erode public safety by proposing to close more prisons.
“Whether it’s staying mum while bail-less crime laws put violent offenders back on the streets, supporting a pay raise for incarcerated felons, giving tablets to prisoners, voting rights for parolees, granting driver’s licenses to illegals or closing more prisons, this governor is on the wrong side of virtually every public safety issue imaginable and single-handily putting the public at risk,” Hawley said.
“We are going to see more riots and more inmate attacks on corrections officers, as double bunking and overfilled prisons cause more violence. I stand firmly against these prison closures and will advocate against any more prison closures as budget talks move forward,” Hawley continued.
The governor cited a rapid decline in the state prison population and a changing economic development strategy focused less on prisons as the driving economic factor in his proposal. Gov. Cuomo closed Livingston Correctional Facility and Lincoln Correctional Facility last year.
“The members of NYSCOBA are some of the bravest and most resilient law enforcement officers our state has, and increasing inmate populations at maximum security establishments puts them in more danger,” Hawley finished. “Our NYSCOBA officers are crucial to keeping our prisons safe and orderly but also protecting the surrounding community, and I will always stand with them against perilous and misguided proposals like these.”
