Jail assaults jump, Rikers staffing cut blamed
City streets are not the only places in New York erupting
in violence.
On Rikers Island there have been 40 slashings and stabbings
in just the first half of 2012, jail sources said. At that rate, the number
would more than double the 35 reported in all of last year.
Violent inmate attacks on officers are also on track to
far outpace last year’s total, records show.
Jail insiders blame a nearly 25% staffing reduction in
the now 30-person gang unit, as well as strict new rules that ban overtime.
“That’s what’s hurting us,” a jail source said. “We need
those areas filled.”
The Correction Department, meanwhile, cites increased
vigilance in reporting attacks following a recent scandal where investigators
discovered unreported incidents in which jail officers used force against
inmates.
Jail officials also blamed the rise in bloody attacks
behind bars on the spike in New York City’s crime. Serious crime during the
first six months of the year — including rape, robbery, felony assaults and
murder — was up about 4% citywide. A recent spate of violence saw 77 people
shot in a single week.
“The same individuals who are violent in the street and
then remanded to jail, bring these very tendencies with them when they are
arrested and taken into custody,” Commissioner Dora Schriro said. “We are
taking every measure permitted by law to avert injuries to others.”
That was little solace for inmate Corey Parron, who was
slashed across the face by two suspected Bloods members — Jorod Skinner and
Donald White — on July 9, records show. Parron and his attackers were housed in
the department’s special “restraint unit,” where dangerous inmates are escorted
everywhere by officers and repeatedly searched.
As of Saturday, Parron’s alleged attackers hadn’t been
criminally charged, as short-staffed department investigators struggle to keep
up with the backlog of similar cases, sources said.
“It’s outrageous,” a jail insider said.
The Correction Department wouldn’t discuss the backlog.
There have been 84 serious assaults by inmates on
officers this year — on pace to eclipse 140 such attacks last year. The
increase comes as jail officials examine ways to curb the violence.
Jail honchos recently changed the way they classify
inmates by housing the most dangers ones in the same facilities, away from the
general population, authorities said. Department bigwigs have also expanded the
K-9 unit, increased jail searches and installed more video cameras.
And they’ve purchased six state-of-the art full-body
scanning machines in an effort to find new, hard-to-detect titanium blades that
are being smuggled inside.
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