Statement by Senator George Borrello on Violence Against Staff in Correctional Facilities

JAMESTOWN, NY – Senator George Borrello issued a statement today in response to a memo issued by Acting Commissioner of the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) Anthony Annucci regarding the rising level of inmate violence against prison guards and staff.

“It is telling that the Acting Commissioner of the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision has issued a memo condemning the violence that is being perpetrated by inmates against guards and staff in correctional facilities.

In recent years, correctional officers, their union representatives and many of us in the Legislature have spoken out about the rising incidents of violence inside our prisons and urged state officials to take stronger safety measures. These requests fell on deaf ears. The commissioner’s overdue acknowledgement suggests that the situation has become untenable.

What his memo lacks, however, is a recognition that much of the blame for spiraling violence has been self-created. It is due to increasingly lenient department policies and pro-criminal laws emanating from the Democrat majorities in the Legislature. Criminal coddling, along with disrespect for law enforcement, has emboldened criminals and encouraged violence.

It is time that the governor and commissioner start listening to the union’s recommendations because their members are on the front lines of this disaster created by One Party Rule in Albany.”