The statement below can be attributed to Michael B. Powers, President
of the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent
Association, Inc. (NYSCOPBA):
“The Governor and Legislature have seemingly done the
impossible. They’ve made one of the most dangerous prison systems in the
country even more dangerous for both incarcerated individuals and correctional
officers. The stats don't lie — prison violence is at an all-time high. “By
consolidating the incarcerated into other facilities, prisons will be overpopulated
and violence will only increase. This does nothing to reduce the prison
population and improve prison conditions that certain Legislators and the Governor
have been advocating for. If anything, it does the opposite. And the archaic
and inhumane practice of double bunking has artificially created open beds, and
open beds gives the Administration false justification. “On top of that,
closing prisons will undoubtedly devastate two communities and with only 90
days’ notice, despite a law in place mandating one year’s notice. Jobs will be
lost, the tax base will suffer and the local economy will be crushed — all
because of the Governor and the Legislature. “And if the Administration says
there will be no layoffs, we all know that statement is twisting the truth.
These closures are going to force families to uproot and move across the state,
and that's not a choice that all will make. We demand that the Governor reveal
the prisons that will be closed immediately. “Simply put, the Governor and the
Legislature have unequivocally turned their backs on the men and women who keep
order in our prisons. This is something we won't soon forget.”
