COBA: Jeopardizes Safety
Protest Jail System Plans to Civilianize

By REUVEN BLAU

The Correction Department said last week that it will cut costs by civilianizing uniformed positions performing administrative functions to help close the city's projected budget gap.

NORMAN SEABROOK: Jails already short-staffed.

Correction Officers Benevolent Association President Norman Seabrook blasted that proposal. "That doesn't cut costs, because you are still paying somebody to do a function," he asserted during a March 21 phone interview. "Reducing the number of Correction Officers jeopardizes the safety and security of the entire institution."

Horn: No Post Cuts

Correction Commissioner Martin F. Horn maintained that the department will not eliminate critical staffing in the jails or discharge planning funds. "The budget initiatives we have taken will not jeopardize safety, security, or our commitment to re-entry programs," he testified March 14 before the City Council's Fire and Criminal Justice Services Committee.

The announced cuts come as the department is gearing up for an increased number of inmates this year, which will result in higher agency costs.

MARTIN F. HORN: No impact on safety.

The boost is expected due to the rise in the total number of misdemeanor arrests, which jumped last year from 303,414 to 332,082, a 10-percent increase, according to the state's Division of Criminal Justice Services.

'Already Understaffed'

Commissioner Horn testified that the 2009 budget will cover 9,389 uniformed personnel and 1,490 civilian staff to supervise an average daily inmate population projected to be 14,127, about 200 above last year's average.

Mr. Seabrook argued that the jails were ill-prepared to handle that anticipated influx. "We are probably about 2,000 officers understaffed," he contended. "The roster keeps depleting and we are not hiring enough Correction Officers right now."

At the Council hearing, Mr. Horn stressed that last year city jails were safer in 2007 than in any other year since data on inmate violence was tracked.

Cameras Have Helped

Over the last five years, the department has implemented several initiatives to prevent assaults in the jails like the installation of surveillance cameras in certain areas, Mr. Horn said.

His administration has also deployed 61 additional officers to problematic housing areas to improve safety. In addition, the department enacted a drug interdiction initiative designed to reduce the introduction of illegal substances into the jails. Mr. Horn testified that the agency renewed its emphasis on proper inmate classification to separate vulnerable and predatory inmates.

During the Council hearing, he outlined the department's revised capital plan to renovate jails in Brooklyn and The Bronx, which will help cut inmate transportation time to courts, place them closer to their families, and create contingency housing.

The plan, which calls for ultimately shrinking the jail system by more than 3,000 beds, was initially hailed by the unions representing correction personnel and by the Legal Aid Society's Prisoners' Rights Project, a group that has frequently been at odds with the Correction Department.

But Mr. Seabrook last week said he couldn't understand how the department was looking to cut costs and expand at the same time. "It's sort of comical," he remarked. "In one breath they are saying save and with the other hand you are spending."

'This Plan's Better'

Commissioner Horn defended the comprehensive restructuring, which was announced in 2005. "We believe that our borough plan is better for families, better for justice, and better for public safety," he told the Council.

The new beds will enable the department to eliminate the use of temporary trailer dormitories on Rikers Island called modulars, which were installed in the 1980s to accommodate the rapid growth of the inmate population, he has said.

According to Mr. Horn, building new facilities and renovating old complexes will be cheaper than repairing run-down jails on Rikers. He has also noted that all construction workers on the island must be carefully checked.

'Move Forward'

"The time has come to move forward," Mr. Horn testified. "Costs have gone up since we first announced our plan, and, with more delay, they will rise even higher."

But Mr. Seabrook was not convinced. "I think the department needs to be concentrating on increasing the number of correction officers, reinvesting into the institutions that we have and making them safer, as opposed to trying to appease an administration that doesn't know what we do," he said. "Correction Officers are out of sight, out of mind. We are the unsung heroes of law-enforcement, and if you want to continue to cut, how safe would you really be?"