PENNSYLVANIA STATE CORRECTIONS OFFICERS
ASSOCIATION
|
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Contact: |
Bill
Culp |
|
|
|
866-GOPSCOA |
|
March
28, 2005 |
|
814-330-3901 |
PA
STATE CORRECTIONS OFFICERS ASSOCIATION CALLS FOR PASSAGE OF SENATE BILL 362
AFTER LATEST BRUTAL ASSAULT AT SCI-DALLAS
56
Corrections Officers have suffered assaults in less than three
months
Volume
of assaults increasing statewide due to lack of Officers
HARRISBURG
– In the wake of another vicious assault of a corrections officer, Pennsylvania
State Corrections Officers Association (PSCOA) President Donald G. McNany today
reiterated his call for state lawmakers to pass Senate Bill 362, which would
enhance safety by requiring the Department of Corrections (DOC) to fill all
vacant officer positions.
On
March 18, an inmate using a mop handle beat an officer repeatedly on the head at
SCI-Dallas. The officer was taken
to Wilkes-Barre General Hospital and treated for a serious eye injury that will
require significant long-term treatment.
With only two officers on the block overseeing 134 inmates, the other
officer could not assist in time.
Upon arriving at the scene, the second officer was injured when the
inmate threw a bucket full of hot water and chemicals in his eyes before ripping
insulation off a nearby pipe in search of a hidden weapon. Despite serving in a maximum-security
prison, the inmate walked to the dining hall to turn himself in. A subsequent search of the insulated
pipe turned up a 14-inch ice pick-type shank.
“There’s
no doubt in my mind that we would have two dead officers if that inmate had
found that shank,” McNany said.
“The worst part is there weren’t enough officers on the cell block to
bring him into custody. The inmate
actually went to the dining hall and turned himself in. This is the clearest indication yet that
we do not have enough officers to protect ourselves. Senate Bill 362 would go a long way
toward addressing this crisis.”
Last month, McNany called for the resignation of SCI-Mahanoy
Superintendent Edward Klem after a string vicious attacks on Corrections
Officers occurred and Superintendent Klem refused to lockdown the institution.
Since January 1, 56 assaults have been documented by PSCOA
statewide. Assaults have also taken
place at SCIs Albion, Chester, Dallas, Frackville, Graterford, Greene,
Houtzdale, Laurel Highlands, Pine Grove, Retreat, Somerset, Rockview, and
Warren.
To help Officers at all institutions better deal with a skyrocketing
prison population, McNany is also calling for the Pennsylvania General Assembly
to pass Senate Bill 362, which would compel the Department to fill all
authorized officer positions.
Funding has been provided for these positions in the current state
budget.
This
past year, as many as 200 positions have gone unfilled by the department in what
can only be categorized as a cost-saving measure. Senate Bill 362 doesn’t create one new
job, but merely requires that all positions funded in the budget be
filled.
Overcrowding
and understaffing are worse than official data show. DOC argues improvements made at some
institutions have enabled the increase in capacity, but it didn’t proportionally
increase the number of Corrections Officers. According to department statistics,
from
2001 through mid-2004, the number of prisoners increased from 32,173 to 40,697
(more than 26 percent), while the number of Corrections Officers increased from
7,045 to 7,551 (just 7 percent).
Today,
seven institutions are at a higher capacity rate than SCI-Camp Hill was 15 years
ago when a four-day riot left a trail of devastation. Overpopulation and understaffing were
cited as two key reasons for that riot.
Today, we are witnessing those same problems.
“In my 13 years as a Corrections Officer, I have never seen so many
vicious attacks on Officers,” McNany said.
“If the Department won’t put the safety of our Officers as a top
priority, our state lawmakers must step in. If it’s one thing that inmates
understand, it’s a numbers advantage.
Something must be done before an Officer is
killed.”