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| Officers concerned about staffing & safety |
| By uticaod.com |
| Published: 09/17/2009 |
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VERONA — Local correction officers and union leaders voiced concerns about dwindling staffing and inefficient practices in the area’s correctional facilities during a forum with state lawmakers Wednesday. The forum that took place at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill High School was sponsored by state Assemblyman David Townsend, R-Sylvan Beach, and state Assemblyman Marc Butler, R-Newport. It was one of more than a dozen forums hosted across the state in recent months to gather input on how to improve working conditions and safety in the state’s correctional facilities. “Everybody realizes New York state is in a new ballgame now, particularly in terms of our finances,” Butler said. “We want to make sure in any tough decision, we make the intelligent decision but also the right decision for the people involved.” Locally, more than 2,400 people are employed at the four Oneida County prisons where the combined inmate population has decreased by more than 20 percent since 1999, according to state Department of Correctional Service records. Donn Rowe, president of the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association that represents the officers, said he’s concerned about job cuts for officers. While the prison population has declined, the state’s facilities still are operating at more than 100 percent capacity, he said. “Despite these overcrowding conditions, the state still continues to cut correctional officer posts, which are much needed to ensure the safety of correctional officers and inmates alike,” Rowe said. Correction Officer David Wlock – one of about a dozen officers to attend the forum – said one of his chief concerns about his job is safety of both inmates and officers in light of a shrinking staff. Read More. |
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