State Correction Head Says Union's Distorting Impact of Jail Cuts

BRIAN FISCHER: With fewer inmates, DOCS overstaffed.

State Department of Correctional Services Commissioner Brian Fischer last week said that the New York State Correction Officers and Police Benevolent Association has been engaging in a campaign of disinformation as the department continues to reduce the size of its staff because the level of inmates has decreased.

DOCS closed three correctional camps on July 1 (in Chenango, Franklin and Saratoga counties) and plans to close prison annexes on Oct. 1 (in Chautauqua, Dutchess, Livingston, Sullivan, Ulster and Washington counties) for budgetary reasons. This follows a 16- percent decline in the state prison population since December 1999, including respective decreases of more than 20 percent and 50 percent in the mediumand minimum-security populations.

Says Union's Numbers Are Wrong

"There has been some inaccurate information about recent situations in the department," Mr. Fischer said in a conference call last week. He added that the department was responding to a general decrease in the prison population, which may accelerate with the revision of the Rockefeller drug laws that imposed mandatory sentences on drug offenders. "While the union has a right to criticize, it is important to note the changes in the system."

NYSCOPBA asserts that the prisons in the state are actually at 104- percent capacity, which will be exacerbated by any new closures proposed. Mr. Fischer said that the union is using an archaic Federal formula to come up with those numbers. "If you want to use those figures—and nobody does, including the Feds—we are over capacity, but we are not," he said.

Mr. Fischer said that while there will be an impact from the loss of jobs at the facilities slated to be closed, the services provided come at a high cost to the department. The Commissioner also said the department has focused on creating jobs in certain sectors of the jail system that focus on disabilities and rehabilitation, where 308 new positions have been filled since 2007. "While we are shrinking in one area, we are growing in others," he said.

NYSCOPBA President Donn Rowe has repeatedly railed against an increase in the staffing of the central office, which he asserts is bloated. Mr. Fischer said last week that of those positions created, 92 percent have been jobs in facilities, while only 24 of the posts were in the central office. "One of the reasons why we have one of the best systems in the country is that we have centralization," Mr. Fischer said. "I don't know why the union has a problem with it."

Mr. Rowe did not return a call for comment.