NYSCOPBA Says Officers Unfairly Targeted
MALONE - The New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association says the state's plan to shutter housing units at 17 state prisons - including two in St. Lawrence County and two in Malone - unfairly target the prison system's first line of defense, uniformed officers.
Erik J. Kriss, a DOCS spokesman, said no one employed at the affected facilities will lose his or her job as a result of each consolidation, wherein two underpopulated dorms would be merged into one.
The 882-bed capacity will see the loss of one unit - 60 beds and 10 staff positions, while the closure of a 60-bed unit at the 882-bed Riverview Correctional Facility in Ogdensburg will impact five employees.
At Franklin Correctional Facility, two units - for a total of 120 beds - and 10 staff positions will be impacted at the 1,730-bed facility. At nearby Bare Hill Correctional Facility, one unit - 60 beds - and five staff positions would be eliminated. Bare Hill Correctional Facility is a 1,722-bed prison.
"Everyone who is there and is working will continue to have their job," he said. "They may just report to a different housing unit."
DOCS, in a written statement, said the plan will reduce the agency's overtime expenses because there will be fewer vacant posts for which officers will be required to work extra hours to cover. The agency says prisons were chosen for unit closure based on staff attrition and vacancy rates.
NYSCOBPA Treasurer John P. Telisky said the union's membership feels it is taken an unfair hit in Albany's efforts to cut costs.
"Our members all feel the prison systems should be the right size from top to bottom," Mr. Telisky said.
The union representative said 878 DOCS administrative employees remain employed in "unit two," the administrative unit in Albany.
"And there are still administrators in ever facility," he said. "Those numbers remain almost perfectly in tact. We haven't seen one administrator cut or transferred."
Mr. Telisky said he feels leaving "a big bureaucracy in Albany" while eliminating officers could jeopardize the system's security.
"This needs to stop," he said of the cuts. "The responsiveness of all our facilities are being cut. Losing just one officer can effect the core responsiveness of a facility. This is basic risk management."
Other correctional facilities slated to lose units, beds and staff include Adirondack in Essex County; Albion in Orleans County; Altona in Clinton County; Butler in Wayne County; Cape Vincent and Watertown in Jefferson County; Groveland and Livingston in Livingston County; Mohawk and Oneida in Oneida County; Mt. McGregor in Saratoga County; Washington in Washington Facility; and Wyoming and Wyoming County.
Additionally, in the coming months, DOCS will take 77 general confinement beds off line at the men's maximum security Clinton Correctional Facility and renovate the space for an enhanced Intermediate Care Program unit for offenders with mental health treatment needs. That will allow some staff positions to remain temporarily unfilled at Clinton.
