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| Cuomo cuts corrections budget, closes prisons |
| By northcountrypublicradio.org- Natasha Haverty |
| Published: 01/22/2014 |
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Jan 22, 2014 — Cuomo still plans to close four prisons later this year, including two here in the North Country. In his speech yesterday the Governor also spoke about putting more resources into programs to help offenders return to society and stay in society. This comes only a few weeks after Cuomo talked about rolling back the "madness" of mass incarceration in New York. The new budget reduces funding for the Department of Corrections by $8 million. Here in the north country, the closure of Chateaugay and Mt. McGregor will mean the loss of 431 jobs. That means those workers will be transferred to other prisons, some here in the region, and others downstate. Public spokesman for the prison guards’ union NYSCOBA James Miller says that’s going to hurt communities where the economies are especially fragile. "It goes well beyond working in those facilities, Miller says. "It’s that they are a large part of that community and dependent upon where they get transferred to there’s a distinct possibility that they would have to move out of that area." The state’s prison population is lower today than it has been in two decades. Cuomo says there’s actually extra room in the prison system. That’s where the administration, and NYSCOBA, disagree. Miller says closing prisons makes other prisons more crowded, which makes a CO’s job harder, and more dangerous. "So that’s really created a dangerous environment for the members here. I think if you put out the statistics DOCCS put out in their annual report, the number of assaults on staff is at a 5-year high," said Miller. Read More. |
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