New York correctional officers say new law jeopardizes safety - WCAX

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (WCAX) - The correctional officers union in New York says a new law is jeopardizing their safety.

The Humane Alternative to Long-term Solitary Confinement Act or HALT went into effect in the state on Friday.

The legislation limits the use of solitary confinement to 15 days, and if more time is needed, the inmate is sent to a unit for alternative rehab measures.

On Thursday, the Upstate Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison in Malone with 622 inmates and 384 staff, did a HALT trial run when a brawl broke out among five inmates in the residential rehab units.

In two days, nine prison guards were sent to area hospitals from injuries caused by inmates and the union says HALT is to blame.

“We’re not there to be punching bags, we are there for care, custody and control of the incarcerated population and our job isn’t there to go get assaulted on a daily basis,” said John Roberts of the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association or NYSCOPBA.

Roberts says prison staffers have already resigned over HALT going into effect and that it will put added strain on the system.

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source: https://www.wcax.com/2022/04/04/new-york-correctional-officers-say-new-law-jeopardizes-safety/

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