Filthy cells and hallways. No showers or laundry. Insufficient medical care. All programming and visits cancelled. No legal calls or attorney visits. Increased tensions and violence. Prisoners found dead in their cells.
This has been the scene in many New York state prisons since corrections officers walked out in protest on Feb. 17. The strike was illegal and unsanctioned by the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association, but strikers insisted their actions were justified.
A central demand of the striking officers is a repeal of the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act, and a remedy for understaffing and mandatory overtime. Officers argue that these factors have created unsafe working conditions, resulting in increased resignations and retirements, exacerbating the already serious understaffing problem.
The HALT Act, which was signed into law in 2021, imposes strict limits on the use of solitary confinement as punishment. In passing the bill, the New York Legislature noted that studies have consistently found that solitary confinement “can cause deep and permanent psychological, physical, developmental and social harm.”
The strikers argue, however, that HALT’s mandates have deprived them of the ability to impose significant consequences for misbehavior, and without the threat of lengthy confinement, violent prisoners are emboldened to attack both staff and their incarcerated peers.
Officer recruitment has been a major issue for years, and many New York state prisons are chronically understaffed. As a result, officers are frequently forced to work excessive overtime hours, robbing them of family time and leading to burnout.
But repealing HALT will only compound the problem.
Research has shown that rather than deter misbehavior, solitary often does the opposite. As the state Legislature noted, “People often have more difficulty complying with prison rules after being placed in segregated confinement.”
Despite these clear warning signs, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision has temporarily suspended portions of the HALT Act in response to the strikes.
In a settlement agreement with the union on March 1, DOCCS agreed to continue the HALT suspension for 90 days, and thereafter apply a “circuit breaker” metric, which would assess daily staffing levels at facilities and cancel prison programming on days when those facilities are critically understaffed. In addition, the National Guard would temporarily remain in a support posture to prevent mandatory 24-hour overtime.
But the strikers rejected this initial agreement between their union and the state, and did not return to work, saying the agreement did not go far enough and did not offer any long-term solutions.
Fortunately, long-term solutions exist — just not the ones strikers are asking for. Two bills pending before the state Legislature would deter misbehavior without compounding the issues that cause it and by prioritizing rehabilitation over punitive punishment.
The first is the Earned Time Act, which proposes to expand opportunities for prisoners to earn time off their sentences by following prison rules and participating in treatment, educational, vocational and work programs. Incidents of misbehavior would result in less opportunity to earn such credits.
This would offer a significant incentive for prisoners to maintain good disciplinary records, while also encouraging engagement with constructive programming.
The Earned Time Act is retroactive and therefore would provide immediate relief. People who have already spent years in educational, vocational and rehabilitative programming would receive credit for their efforts and could be released. This disproportionately includes older prisoners, who are the least likely to reoffend and whose medical costs make them more expensive to house.
Another promising bill is the Second Look Act. It proposes that individuals who have served at least 10 years or half their sentence may apply for a sentence reduction. The deciding court would take into consideration institutional record, efforts toward rehabilitation and other factors.
As with the Earned Time Act, the opportunity of a sentence reduction would provide a powerful deterrent for misbehavior and incentives for personal development.
Enacting the Second Look Act would put New York on par with 12 other states, the District of Columbia, and the federal system, which have all enacted similar legislation.
Proponents say these bills would alleviate the understaffing problem by releasing incarcerated individuals who have made significant efforts toward rehabilitation. The population would be reduced and some facilities could even be closed, consolidating staff.
The financial benefits of such legislation are clear: The average annual cost to incarcerate one person in New York state is close to $115,000. The costs of constant officer overtime, plus deployment of the National Guard, add additional burdens for taxpayers.
A reduction in population would amount to significant savings, but there are less obvious benefits too. Lower recidivism rates will save the costs of prosecuting reoffenders and the litigation of appeals, as well as the social costs of crime. Not to mention the effect of converting wards of the state into contributors to the tax base.
One thing is clear: The current model of New York corrections has collapsed. The circuit breaker metric confirms that DOCCS cannot operate with consistent rehabilitative programming. This means the prison system will mostly warehouse prisoners, then dump them into society when they are even more desocialized, further removed from the workforce, and often more entrenched in destructive habits and thought patterns.
On March 9, another agreement was reached between the union and DOCCS to end the strike. This deal is similar to the Feb. 28 agreement that striking officers rejected, which called for a temporary suspension of HALT. For this latest agreement to take effect, 85% of staff must return to work. As of this writing, it remains unclear if that threshold will be met.
Even if officers return to work, the National Guard will still be needed to avoid forced 24-hour overtime. Costs are piling up, people are dying and DOCCS is still failing to deliver essential services in many facilities. The need to act is urgent, and there is pending legislation that offers a possible solution.
