Cites Drop in Assaults
Horn: Jail System Is Among Safest

By REUVEN BLAU

Correction Commissioner Martin F. Horn July 26 announced that the first half of the year was one of the safest six-month periods recorded in city jails, with assaults and other violent incidents nearing record lows.

NORMAN SEABROOK: COs have jails secured.

According to Mr. Horn, stabbings and slashings dropped by 39 percent, from 18 to 11, compared to the first six months of 2006. "It is very hard to get a good-news story out about the things that go on in the jails," he said, following a graduation ceremony for 90 new Correction Officers. "So when we have good news I think it's our obligation to the men and women who work so hard to achieve this to tell their story."

Staff Force Uses Up

The decrease in assaults and injuries to inmates and staff came as use of force by staff jumped from 614 to 660, over the same six-month period. Mr. Horn said that hike that was due in part to officers more commonly using new extra-potent chemical sprays such as MACE to disrupt inmate fights before they escalate.

The latest figures came after there was an across-the-board jump in jail violence last year, despite the facilities not being filled to capacity. Those figures and several violent incidents were highlighted in a recent front-page Village Voice article.

The Chief-Leader/Pat Arnow 'NO JAILS SAFER THAN OURS': Correction Commissioner Martin Horn says that after a brief spike in jail violence last year, assaults by inmates and injuries suffered by both inmates and staff declined during the first half of 2007.

Mr. Horn called that increase an aberration. "Anyone can focus on a particular day, a particular month," he said. "As with the stock market, there are blips, there are ups and downs, but the overall trend line is dramatically down and we have numbers to prove it." That year there were more than 1,000 such assaults, but the department recorded only 37 in Fiscal Year 2006, Mr. Horn noted. But a source indicated that there were three such assaults in the jails last week.

'As Safe As Any Jails'

Violence on Rikers Island and at the city's other jails has sharply decreased over the last 12 years, Mr. Horn noted. "By any reasonable measure the jails are demonstrably safer," he told reporters. "And I would venture to say are among the safest of jails ... of anywhere in the country."

The Chief-Leader/Pat Arnow THE BOLDEST AND THE CUTEST: Correction Officer Marsha Mangaroo, celebrating her graduation with her daughter, Tania Clark, was among the 90 recruits who completed 15 weeks of training and will now be assigned to city jails.

Norman Seabrook, president of the Correction Officers' Benevolent Association, said that violence drops when the number of inmates decreases. "If we were at 100 percent capacity, we'd have almost double the numbers of what we have now," he remarked.

Asked about the Village Voice article, he responded, "I know that inmates do not run the city's jail system. I know that Correction Officers are fully in charge of the system, and the way that it works."

The union president then acknowledged that the jails remained dangerous places. "Inmates get involved in their little skirmishes with one another because of gang affiliation; that's not the fault of the Correction Officers," he said. "They come into the system like that and we try to deal with it as best we can."

Injuries, Assaults Down

Mr. Horn stressed that other key figures showed that there has been an overall decrease in jail violence this year. Inmate-on-inmate injuries dropped by 7 percent and related infractions charged to inmates declined by 6 percent over the first six months. In addition, serious assaults on staff decreased by 5 percent and serious injuries suffered by inmates were reduced by 2 percent over that same period. There were also no homicides or escapes. There were two suicides inside the jails, which is down from the five inmates who took their lives in FY 2005.

The decreases, Mr. Horn said, are a result of various new department policies and procedures, including properly classifying dangerous inmates to keep them away from other vulnerable prisoners. "It didn't happen by coincidence," he remarked. "It happened because we track it, we measure it, we pay attention to it and we talk about it." The increase in use of force by staff, he added, was mainly due to officers' added use of chemical sprays to break up fights. "We believe that it is a very effective tool for an individual supervising several inmates, perhaps as many as 50 inmates," Mr. Horn said. "When two inmates are fighting, we believe that it is far more effective for that officer to use the chemical agent to try and break it up than to intervene personally."

Stronger Spray Helps

The spray officers now use is also more potent. "We have moved to a more-effective, concentrated spray, well within the guidelines of our oversight agencies," he said. "So it is a little stronger, and the officers have greater confidence in it."

Previously, officers were reluctant to use the spray for one second as instructed, he added. "I think when the department first went into it, there was a timidity with respect to its use," he said. "It's very hard to spray for one second. We've made some changes to our procedures." Officers are now taught to spray for several seconds.

The figures were revealed after a new class of 90 recruits was sworn in at a morning ceremony at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

The department has struggled to recruit new officers at the reduced starting salary of $26,667, which rises to $34,742 after six months, for a combined first-year compensation of $30,705.

"We are optimistic about the coming year," Mr. Horn said, noting that the number of people applying for the position has steadily increased since October 2006. In all, 25,000 people have filed for the Aug. 4 exam, up from the 14,036 who signed up for the 2006 test.

'They're Coming Back'

"I think there was a momentary decline," he observed. "I think it's coming back. We are very encouraged by the increased number of filers."

The department, however, is still 360 officers below its targeted hiring, he said. "We will try to make that up in the coming fiscal year," he continued. The department plans to hire 1,200 or more officers this year, he told reporters. The agency is also working to create a Recruitment Unit, which it hopes will generate additional applicants, as slightly more than half of the agency becomes eligible to retire within the next five years. "We've made a major investment in recruiting," he said.

The new recruits finished a 15-week instruction course at the New York City Training Academy in Middle Village, Queens. The training included classes in security, use-of-force techniques, constitutional law, chemical agents, physical instruction, communication skills, investigation procedures and first aid. The class valedictorian was CO Rawlstan Decoteau and the class salutatorian was CO Hiroshi Tsuboi.

Names of Graduates

The Company E graduates are: Johnell Alston, Stanley Ambroise, Tasha Anderson, Jayson Andjelovic, John Anthony, Haicha Appolon, Maria Audelo, Terri Bartholemew, Tanisha Bell, Latoya Best, Paul Bunton, Vickie Cabble, Akeri Cammock, Nurys Capellan, Jared Chavez, Jose Cintron, Andrew Clarke, Alisha Clayton-Williams, Flavio Colorado, Dwayne Cotton, Sidney Davies, Peter Dedvukaj and Omyada Diaz.

The Company F graduates are: Shaun Duncan, Lloyd Edmondson, Regana Faulk, Adam Fier, Jonathan Ford, Roy Fret, Karren Gilkes, Terrence Gomes, Michael Griffith, Erle Gunther, Steve Gutierrez, Kai Harold, Kenya Harris, Shao Huang, Kathia Hyman, Taqesha Jackson, Catrina James, Donald Johnson, Clarence King, Kattya Lagos, David Lopez, Lamont Lowry, Marsha Mangaroo and Nancy Marrero.

The Company G graduates are: Jahmaine Martin, Kyreema McClain, Jamar McMorris, Leonida Mercado, Carlos Merwin, Rannie Miles, Ruben Moreno, Shante Orr, Nora Ortiz, Tamitcha Owens, Pamela Parsley, Eric Paz, Raynaldo Persad, Ashlei Peterson, Josephine Peterson, Shana Prioleau, Sophia Richards, Victor Richards, Adam Riddick, Jamal Rigault and Madeline Rivera.

The Company H graduates are: Jamie Roldan, George Rosado, Christopher Santiago, Melonie Shervington, Prentis Smith Jr., Juan Soto, Regginal Stokes, Donnie Sykes, Mark Tavares, Eric Thompson, Almondo Turner, Damon Walker, Shenetta Walker, James Wayson, Tamika White, William Williams III, Shantel Witherspoon, Abiola Wong, Jason Woodburn and Shakeena Wright.