June 01, 2009
Downsizing state prison system
As thousands of state workers prepare to rally in Albany against budget cuts Tuesday, the Plattsburgh Press-Republican looks at the numbers behind prison closings, consolidations and job cuts.
"You're playing a risky game with safety," said Donn Rowe, president of the state Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA). Instead of eliminating 2,000 jobs at prisons, he calls for cuts in the Albany headquarters of the Department of Correctional Services, which has about 1,000 employees, the newspaper reports. But, DOCS spokesperson Erik Kriss said those cuts and others are being made to help save the state money during these troubling financial times.
"The commissioner has been leaving vacant administrative positions both at facilities and in the central office ...We don't want to put it all on the front line. Everyone has to take a hit." Kriss offers historical perspective. The state has seen a 16-percent decrease in the inmate population since 1999, Kriss said, but the correction-officer population has decreased only 3.4 percent in that time. The lead story in today's Stateline.org, a web-based national news service, focuses on the closure of the minimum-security annex at Sullivan Correctional Facility in Fallsburg. New York is not alone in seeking cuts in prison costs, according to the story. Other states, including Colorado, Kansas, Nevada and North Carolina, also have considered closing prisons this year as a way to save money in tough times.
As previously reported by the Daily News, NYSCOBPA will pay its members $100 to participate in the Albany rally. In addition, they will get free bus transportation and lunch vouchers (union memo, here).
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